US examining latest Iran proposal as Israel strikes in south Lebanon continue

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Israel's targeting of civil defence members in southern Lebanon is a "new war crime."

At least five people were killed in a strike, including three civil defence personnel.

Three Lebanese civil defence members were killed in an Israeli strike during a rescue operation in southern Lebanon.

An earlier statement by the civil defence said the three personnel were stuck beneath the rubble.

US President Donald Trump lashed out at German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the Iran war Tuesday, after reported comments by Merz that Tehran is "humiliating" Washington at the negotiating table.

"The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn't know what he's talking about!" Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network.

The U.S. government on Tuesday said it was imposing sanctions on 35 entities and individuals for their role in Iran's shadow banking architecture, accusing them of facilitating the movement of tens of billions of dollars tied to sanctions evasion and Iran's sponsorship of terrorism.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control also warned any firm making "toll" payments to the Iranian government or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for passage through the Strait of Hormuz would face significant sanctions.

The Treasury Department said the sanctions announced on Tuesday were aimed at networks that allowed Iran’s armed forces, including the IRGC, to access the international financial system to receive payment for illicit oil sales, purchase sensitive components for missiles and other weapons systems, and transfer money to Iran’s proxies.

"Iran’s shadow banking system serves as a critical financial lifeline for its armed forces, enabling activities that disrupt global trade and fuel violence across the Middle East," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

"Illicit funds funneled through this network support the regime’s ongoing terrorist operations, posing a direct threat to U.S. personnel, regional allies, and the global economy," he said, adding any institution that facilitated or engaged with these networks was at risk of "severe consequences."

Iraqi security forces opened fire at a drone flying over Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, security sources said on Tuesday, adding that it was likely being used for surveillance.

The drone managed to escape after coming under fire, the sources said, with no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The Green Zone houses government buildings and foreign missions, including the U.S. embassy, which has come under rocket and drone attacks in recent weeks following the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran.

The Lebanese civil defence said three of its members are trapped beneath the rubble after an Israeli strike targeted them during a rescue operation in southern Lebanon.

US Marines on Tuesday boarded a commercial ship in the Arabian Sea that was suspected of trying to violate the American blockade of Iranian ports, the US military said.

The M/V Blue Star III was released by US forces "after conducting a search and confirming the ship's voyage would not include an Iranian port call," Central Command, which is responsible for American forces in the Middle East, said in a post on X.

"American forces continue to operate and enforce the blockade across the Middle East. So far, 39 vessels have been redirected to ensure compliance," the military command added.

The post included a video clip showing a helicopter hovering over the vessel as Marines roped down onto shipping containers stacked on its deck.

Earlier today in the Arabian Sea, U.S. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit boarded M/V Blue Star III, a commercial ship suspected of attempting to transit to Iran in violation of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. U.S. forces released the vessel after conducting a… pic.twitter.com/UFx329OsHj

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 28, 2026

An Israeli strike on Lebanese troops and rescuers during a rescue operation in the village of Majdal Zoun in southern Lebanon wounded two Lebanese soldiers, the Lebanese army said on Tuesday.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had discovered a large Hezbollah tunnel network used by elite fighters in south Lebanon, near Israel's northern border.

Troops found "two Hezbollah terror tunnels, constructed over approximately a decade" that stretched two kilometres (more than one mile) with shafts "connecting to positions with launchers directed toward Israeli territory", an army statement said.

نفذ الجيش الإسرائيلي تفجيرات ضخمة في محيط بلدة #القنطرة قضاء #مرجعيون #جنوب_لبنان. وقد تدث الإعلام الإسرائيلي عن تفجير نفق وبنى تحتية لـ"حزب الله" بـ 570 طنًا من المتفجرات#نداء_الوطن pic.twitter.com/arBaB4ilqx

— Nidaa Al Watan نداء الوطن (@NidaaWatan) April 28, 2026

A superyacht owned by Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov was able to transit the blockaded Strait of Hormuz after undergoing maintenance in Dubai because neither Iran nor the United States objected, a source close to Mordashov said on Tuesday.

It has been unclear how the multi-deck pleasure vessel, worth over $500 million, gained permission to sail on Saturday through the commercially important waterway at the heart of the US-Israel war on Iran, where traffic has been severely restricted since February.

Sailing under a Russian flag, the yacht, called Nord, crossed the strait on an approved route in compliance with international maritime law, the source said.

"Iran did not interfere with the movement of the yacht, as it is a civilian vessel of a friendly country conducting a peaceful transit. The American side also raised no questions regarding the yacht’s movement, as it did not call at Iranian ports and has no connection to Iran," the source said.

Israel said Tuesday that Kyiv had not provided evidence to support its claims that Israel was accepting shipments of Ukrainian grain "stolen" by Russia.

"The Ukrainian government has not submitted a request for legal assistance... nor has the Ukrainian government provided evidence for its claims," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said at a news conference in response to a question.

Britain said on Tuesday the Iranian ambassador to the UK had been summoned in response to what the government described as the Iranian embassy's "unacceptable and inflammatory" comments on social media.

Britain's minister for the Middle East, Hamish Falconer, made clear that the embassy "must cease any form of communications that could be interpreted as encouraging violence in the UK or internationally", the foreign office statement said.

British police were investigating a suspected arson attack on a London memorial wall that currently commemorates Iranians killed in anti-government protests in Iran.

The Metropolitan Police said the attack in Golders Green in north London took place shortly after midnight on Monday and did not damage the wall itself.

Police said they received a report on Monday evening about a fire there earlier that day.

Counter terrorism officers were investigating, but it was "not being treated as a terrorist incident", and they were keeping an open mind on the motive.

No arrests had yet been made, police said.

"We recognise that this incident will heighten concerns in the Golders Green area," said Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams, adding the police were working closely with community leaders.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Iran has said it was in a state of collapse and wants the United States to open the Strait of Hormuz while it sorts out its leadership.

It was not clear from Trump's social media post how Iran had communicated that message, and no immediate comment from Iran was available.

"Iran has just informed us that they are in a 'State of Collapse.' They want us to 'Open the Hormuz Strait,' as soon as possible, as they try to figure out their leadership situation (Which I believe they will be able to do!)" Trump said in a social media post.

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment on the Truth Social post.

Britain on Tuesday sought to uphold a ban on pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action, which it has designated a terrorist organisation, after a court ruling that the move unlawfully interfered with freedom of expression.

London's High Court ruled in February that the ban was unlawful, although it remains in force pending the outcome of the government's appeal, which began on Tuesday.

Lawyers for Britain's interior minister, Shabana Mahmood, told the Court of Appeal that the finding that the ban had a significant impact on freedom of expression was "overstated and wrong".

Huda Ammori, who co-founded Palestine Action in 2020 and brought the successful challenge, argues proscription has imposed "severe restrictions on the fundamental free speech and assembly rights of vast numbers of people".

Israeli strikes killed three Palestinians, including a 9-year-old boy, in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, health officials said.

Medics said an Israeli drone killed the child, Adel Al-Najjar, in eastern Khan Younis in the south of the enclave, while an Israeli airstrike targeted a vehicle in Gaza City, killing two people and wounding several others.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on either incident.

A new group of wounded or ill Palestinian children from Gaza have arrived in Jordan to receive medical care, the kingdom's army said on Tuesday.

They are the 26th group of children transported to Jordan since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.

The 81 children, accompanied by 108 family members, arrived through the King Hussein, or Allenby, border crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan, the army said in a statement.

It is part of the "Jordanian medical corridor" initiative that King Abdullah II agreed to following a meeting with US President Donald Trump in February 2025.

Under the initiative, around 2,000 children will be transported to Jordan to receive medical care.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chaired a consultative meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Jeddah on Tuesday, state media said, the first in-person meeting of Gulf leaders since their states became a front in the Iran war two months ago.

A Gulf official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the meeting aimed to craft a response to the thousands of Iranian missile and drone attacks Gulf states have faced since the US and Israel launched the war with strikes on Iran on 28 February.

Saudi state media said the summit discussed "topics and issues related to regional and international developments, and the coordination of efforts regarding them".

The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday it quit OPEC and OPEC+, dealing a heavy blow to the oil exporting groups and their de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, at a time when the Iran war has caused a historic energy shock and unsettled the global economy.

The stunning loss of the UAE, a longstanding OPEC member, could create disarray and weaken the group, which has usually sought to show a united front despite internal disagreements over a range of issues from geopolitics to production quotas.

OPEC Gulf producers have already been struggling to ship exports through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes, because of Iranian threats and attacks against vessels.

Israel's top diplomat on Tuesday said Israel was "not seeking to take territory" in Lebanon, as its military presses operations in the south against Iran-backed Hezbollah despite a ceasefire.

"Israel has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon. Our presence in the areas by our northern border serves one purpose: protecting our citizens," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said at a joint news conference with his Serbian counterpart Marko Djuric.

ran's top security body has approved a temporary scheme for businesses to access the global internet with fewer restrictions, a government spokesperson told Iranian media on Tuesday, after the authorities had imposed a blackout since the start of the war against the US and Israel.

Most Iranians have been unable to access the worldwide web for the last 60 days according to the internet observatory NetBlocks, with only a few citizens having access to expensive and advanced VPNs that circumvent the restrictions.

"The Supreme National Security Council approved the 'Internet Pro' scheme to preserve businesses during times of crisis," said government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani. She did not say when the new measures, which had not been previously disclosed by the government, had been introduced.

"Once the situation is announced to be normal by relevant authorities, the situation of the internet will also change," she added, stressing that the government was receptive to people's demands and believed in access to the internet as a civil right.

Authorities initially imposed an internet blackout from 8 January in response to nationwide anti-government protests, with connections gradually coming back to normal in February until a new blackout was initiated following the start of U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran on 28 February.

In normal times, access to the global internet remains heavily restricted via censorship of many websites, while authorities are increasingly relying on an intranet to provide connected services without relying on the worldwide web, notably for schools which are currently following an online curriculum.

Iran has banned the export of steel products, local media reported on Tuesday citing customs authorities, after airstrikes targeted the country's steel industry in the war with Israel and the United States.

Fars news agency reported a directive from the Islamic republic's customs authorities "regarding the prohibition of the export" of steel products, effective from 26 April,

Five people were sentenced to life in Bahrain on Tuesday for plotting "terrorist and hostile acts" with Iran, which bombarded the tiny Gulf state during the Middle East war.

Two Afghans and three Bahrainis were convicted and a fourth Bahraini was acquitted by the High Criminal Court, the public prosecution said.

They were accused of monitoring and photographing "vital facilities" for Iran, it said.

"The Public Prosecution affirms that the crime of communicating with hostile foreign entities against the Kingdom of Bahrain is considered one of the most serious crimes affecting national security," the statement said.

The public prosecution is considering appealing against the acquittal of the sixth defendant, it added.

Qatar on Tuesday cautioned against the possibility of a "frozen conflict" in the Gulf, as talks between the US and Iran for a peace deal appeared at an impasse.

"We do not want to see a return to hostilities in the region anytime soon, we do not want to see a frozen conflict that ends up being thawed every time there is a political reason," Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said at a press conference.

The White House said on Monday that it was examining Iran's latest proposal to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed for two months since the start of the Middle East war.

Peace talks between the United States and Iran to comprehensively end the war and fully reopen the vital strait have so far proven inconclusive since a ceasefire came into force on 8 April.

"We are very keen to see an end to this war that is sustainable, that takes into account all of our concerns in the region and beyond," Ansari added.

Iran launched waves of missile and drones against Gulf states including Qatar in response to US and Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic that began on 28 February.

Saudi Arabia will host an exceptional meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Jeddah on Tuesday, the first in-person meeting of Gulf leaders since their states became a front in the Iran war two months ago.

A Gulf official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the meeting aimed to craft a response to the thousands of Iranian missile and drone attacks Gulf states have faced since the US and Israel launched the war with strikes on Iran on 28 February.

The war has seen key energy infrastructure in all six GCC states damaged, with US-linked firms and other civilian infrastructure, as well as military installations, also targeted.

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday slammed Israel for allegedly accepting shipments of Ukrainian grain "stolen" by Russia, which occupies swathes of Ukrainian agricultural land.

"Another vessel carrying such grain has arrived at a port in Israel and is preparing to unload," Zelensky wrote in a statement on social media.

He added: "The Israeli authorities cannot be unaware of which ships are arriving at the country's ports and what cargo they are carrying."

The Philippines is not worried about any reduction in US deterrence capabilities in the Indo-Pacific due to the war in the Middle East, its defence secretary said on Tuesday, although he warned China could try and seize any perceived opening.

Gilberto Teodoro's comments came in an interview with Reuters amid annual joint military drills with the United States that have drawn the largest number of participating countries ever, including Japanese combat troops for the first time.

China's recent actions in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait were "not surprising", Teodoro added, saying Beijing looked to take advantage when it thought rival powers were preoccupied elsewhere.

Manila and Beijing have been locked in a series of maritime confrontations in the South China Sea in recent years, which China claims almost entirely as its own despite a 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated those claims.

"It is not surprising that any opportunity they see, perceived opportunity, or with a perceived weakness or a perceived opening, they will take advantage," Teodoro said.

Teodoro said he had full confidence in the Mutual Defence Treaty, the long-standing security pact between Manila and Washington, and was not worried by concerns that the Iran war could weaken US strategic bandwidth in Asia.

"I'm not concerned at all about reduced deterrence," he said, pointing to the Balikatan military exercises as a sign of Washington's commitment.

Israel's military on Tuesday warned residents of more than a dozen villages and towns in southern Lebanon to immediately evacuate and head northwards, saying Hezbollah's "violation of the ceasefire" was compelling it to act.

"The IDF does not intend to harm you, and out of concern for your safety, you are required to evacuate your homes immediately and move away from the specified area towards the Sidon District," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X, adding that "anyone present near Hezbollah elements, their facilities, or their combat means is endangering their life."

#عاجل ‼️انذار عاجل الى سكان لبنان المتواجدين في القرى والبلدات التالية: الغندورية, برج قلاويه, قلويه، الصوانة, الجميجمة, صفد البطيخ, برعشيت, شقرا, عيتا الجبل, تبنين, السلطانية, بير السناسل, دونين, خربة سلم, سلع, دير كيفا

🔸في ضوء قيام حزب الله الارهابي بخرق اتفاق وقف اطلاق النار… pic.twitter.com/QNFDjCfxvH

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) April 28, 2026

The White House said it was examining Iran's latest proposal to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran insisted on Tuesday that Washington was no longer in a position to "dictate" policy to others.

US President Donald Trump met with top security advisors on Monday to discuss the Iranian proposal after Tehran passed "written messages" to Washington via Pakistan, spelling out its red lines, including on nuclear issues and Hormuz, Iran's Fars news agency reported.

The proposal was "being discussed," spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told a White House briefing.

European shares were muted on Tuesday as investors braced for a week packed with central bank meetings and corporate earnings, while weighing a diplomatic impasse in US-Iran negotiations.

Investor caution increased after US officials indicated that US President Donald Trump was dissatisfied with Iran's latest proposal on resolving the two-month-long war. The latest proposal sought to postpone a discussion on Iran's nuclear programme until the war concludes and shipping disputes are resolved.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was flat at 609.63 points by 0832 GMT. Most major regional markets were higher with Spain's IBEX 35 and UK's FTSE 100 adding 1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

Optimism surrounding technology and AI has helped Wall Street and other global markets rebound from a sharp selloff in March, while energy-dependent European stocks lag below pre-war levels.

"The current markets are pretty precariously positioned in that sentiment could easily turn negative quickly. The Iran war isn't over," said Michael Field, European equity strategist at Morningstar.

"Inflation is still coming through. And as and when central banks start raising interest rates again, which again seems to be priced in the moment...that might be the catalyst for investors to reverse some of that positivity they have towards markets.

Iran said on Tuesday that the United States was no longer able to "dictate" what other countries do, as Washington weighed a new proposal from Tehran on unblocking the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has effectively sealed off the strategic waterway since early in the United States and Israel's war, sending shockwaves through global energy markets and putting the strait at the centre of negotiations to end the conflict.

"The United States is no longer in a position to dictate its policy to independent nations," defence ministry spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik said, according to state TV, adding Washington would "accept that it must abandon its illegal and irrational demands".

While a ceasefire has halted the fighting between Iran, the US and Israel, talks on bringing a permanent conclusion to the conflict have been inconclusive.

The proposal being considered in Washington would reportedly reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for global oil and gas shipments, as broader negotiations on the war continue.

Talaei-Nik, speaking ahead of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation defence ministers' meeting, said Iran was also "ready to share its defensive military capabilities with independent countries, especially the member states" of the SCO.

Israeli authorities are systematically depriving people in Gaza of the water they need to live, Doctors Without Borders warned Tuesday, decrying a campaign of "collective punishment" against Palestinians.

The extensive destruction of civilian water infrastructure in Gaza, coupled with obstruction of access, constitutes "an integral part of Israel's genocide", said the medical charity, which goes by its French acronym MSF.

In a report entitled "Water as a Weapon", MSF said the "engineered scarcity" was occurring alongside "direct killing of civilians, the devastation of health facilities, (and) the destruction of homes".

Together, this amounted to "the deliberate infliction of destructive and inhumane conditions of life on the Palestinian population in Gaza", warned the report, based on testimonies and data MSF collected in 2024 and 2025.

"Israeli authorities know that without water, life ends," MSF emergency manager Claire San Filippo said in a statement.

"Yet they have deliberately and systematically obliterated water infrastructure in Gaza, whilst consistently blocking water-related supplies from entering."

Iran is ready to share its defensive weapons capabilities with "independent countries, especially members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)", Deputy Defence Minister Reza Talaei-Nik said during a meeting of SCO defence ministers held in the Kyrgyz capital, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Tuesday the war in the Middle East has had a "disproportionate impact" on the Asia-Pacific region, as she vowed to work closely with Japan to "navigate global disruption".

Wong spoke during a visit to Tokyo, which comes just days before Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is due to travel to Australia and Vietnam.

The economic relationship "is increasingly important as we navigate global disruption", she said. "I look forward to continuing to coordinate with you our response following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the disproportionate impact on our region."