Middle East crisis live: Iran says strait of Hormuz could reopen after US pauses operation

France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier group is moving into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden as part of efforts by France and Britain to prepare for a future mission to help freedom of navigation on the strait of Hormuz, France’s military said on Wednesday.

The French Armed Forces ministry said in a statement that the aircraft carrier group had crossed the Suez canal on Wednesday, en route to the south of the Red Sea.

This French aircraft carrier strike group was deployed to the eastern Mediterranean shortly after the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, and it can stay at sea between four to five months.

US president Donald Trump said that it was “too soon” to consider face-to-face talks with Tehran, according to an interview with the New York Post as the US waited for a response to its proposal to end the war.

Trump posted earlier on social media that the war with Iran could soon end and oil and natural gas shipments could restart.

But that all depends on Iran accepting a reported agreement that the US president did not detail.

“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts,” Trump wrote.

An Israeli strike in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa valley on Wednesday killed four people, Lebanon’s health ministry said, with local media reporting the attack took place before the Israeli army issued a warning to evacuate the area along with 11 other towns.

“An Israeli enemy raid on the town of Zellaya in West Bekaa resulted in four martyrs, including two women and an elderly man,” the ministry said.

Lebanese state media said the attack struck the house of the town’s mayor, killing him and three members of his family.

More on the IRGC navy’s announcement on the strait of Hormuz – in a series of posts on social media in Persian and English, it thanked captains and shipowners in the Gulf for “complying with Iran’s strait of Hormuz regulations and contributing to regional maritime security”.

It added: “With the aggressor’s threats neutralised and new protocols in place, safe [and] stable passage through [the strait] will be ensured.”

It didn’t detail what the new protocols were, but it is the first reaction from Iran after Donald Trump paused his military operation to help stranded ships pass through the strait.

Oil prices have continued to slide with the Brent crude global benchmark falling 9.2% to $99.79 a barrel - the first time it has been below $100 since 22 April.

It follows reports that the US and Iran were closing in on an agreement to bring an end to the war. Iran has also reportedly announced that the strait of Hormuz could reopen after Donald Trump paused his so-called “Project Freedom” to guide commercial ships out of the economically vital waterway.

Follow our business live blog for more:

The Israeli military said it has begun striking what it described as Hezbollah infrastructure in several areas of southern Lebanon, despite a ceasefire intended to halt fighting with the Iran-backed militant group.

Earlier the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported “several incidents” during which drones exploded near soldiers operating in Lebanon’s south. The strikes also follow a new IDF order affecting a dozen town and villages in southern Lebanon forcing more families to flee their homes.

The Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said he is “grateful” to Donald Trump for his decision to pause his “Project Freedom” in the strait of Hormuz.

Sharif said the decision will lead to a “lasting agreement that secures durable peace and stability” for the region.

In a post on X, he wrote:

I am grateful to President Donald Trump for his courageous leadership and timely announcement regarding the pause in Project Freedom in the Strait of Hormuz.

President Trump’s gracious response to the request made by Pakistan and other brotherly countries, particularly the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and my dear brother Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia H.R.H Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will go a long way towards advancing regional peace, stability and reconciliation during this sensitive period.

Pakistan remains firmly committed to supporting all efforts that promote restraint and a peaceful resolution of conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy. We are very hopeful that the current momentum will lead to a lasting agreement that secures durable peace and stability for the region and beyond.

Oil prices dropped after Axios reported that the US and Iran were close to an agreement to end the war, accelerating an earlier decline. Hours earlier, Donald Trump paused “Project Freedom”, his initiative to reopen the strait of Hormuz, to see whether a deal could be worked out, citing “great progress” towards a “final agreement” with Iran.

The price of Brent crude, the most commonly used global benchmark for oil, has fallen about 7% to $101.97 a barrel today.

For more updates on the economic impacts of the Iran war and other financial news, you can follow our business live blog here:

Reuters has said a Pakistani source involved in US-Iran peace efforts has confirmed the Axios report.

“We will close this very soon. We are getting close,” the source said, according to the news agency.

The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has asked the European Commission to activate its blocking statute to prevent compliance with US sanctions on the international criminal court (ICC) over its investigation into Israel’s actions in Gaza.

The EU blocking statute is a legal mechanism that would effectively allow European companies to ignore the US sanctions.

In a post on X, Sánchez wrote:

Spain does not look the other way. Sanctioning those who defend international justice puts the entire human rights system at risk.

The EU cannot remain idle in the face of this persecution.

That is why, today, we ask the Commission to activate the Blocking Statute, to protect the independence of the international criminal court and the United Nations, and their actions to end the genocide in Gaza.

Donald Trump signed an executive order in February last year that authorises aggressive economic sanctions against the ICC, accusing the body of “illegitimate and baseless actions” targeting the US and Israel.

The US president issued the order in response to the court’s decision in 2024 to approve prosecutor Karim Khan’s requests for arrest warrants against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has spoken on the phone with Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, according to a statement on the former’s Telegram channel.

The statement said:

The parties in this conversation, whilst reviewing the latest regional developments, stressed the continuation of the path of diplomacy and cooperation between regional countries to prevent the emergence and escalation of tension.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have long been deeply distrustful of each other, and regional tensions have escalated sharply since the US and Israel launched strikes against Tehran on 28 February. Iran has responded with retaliatory attacks against Israel as well as US allies in the Gulf.

We have more statements from Beijing following Araghchi and Wang’s meeting.

The Chinese foreign ministry said Wang had urged the US and Iran to heed international calls to reopen the strait of Hormuz, where an effective blockade has brought roughly 20% of global oil trade to a virtual standstill.

The ministry said China recognised Iran’s “legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy” - a bone of contention in stalled talks between Washington and Tehran.

We have some statements coming through the newswires on this morning’s meeting between the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, and his chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing.

Araghchi described China as a close ally and said bilateral cooperation “will become stronger under current circumstances”, Reuters reported, quoting a statement from Iran’s Isna news agency.

“We will do our best to protect our legitimate rights and interests in the negotiations ... We only accept a fair and comprehensive agreement,” he added regarding talks between Iran and the US to end the conflict.

Wang said China is a reliable strategic partner to Iran, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

The Chinese foreign minister told Araghchi that China was “deeply distressed” over the war, according to AP, quoting a video of the meeting.

“We believe that a comprehensive ceasefire is urgently needed, that a resumption of hostilities is not acceptable, and that it is particularly important to remain committed to dialogue and negotiations,” Wang said.

It is the first time Araghchi has travelled to China since the outbreak of war in late February. His visit comes a week before Donald Trump is due to hold talks with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this week that the two leaders will seek to keep the US-China relationship on track following a trade truce in October. Bessent also urged China to intensify its diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to open the strait of Hormuz to international shipping.

The UK work and pensions secretary, Pat McFadden, has warned that job losses “could happen” in Britain due to the economic impacts of the Iran war.

He said the UK economy was “going in the right direction” at the start of the year and unemployment figures for February showed a decline. He added that interest rates were expected to come down and the markets were pricing in cuts during the course of the year.

“The truth is, with the effect of the Iran war, we can’t count on any of that at the moment,” he told Sky News.

“There is likely to be an effect on prices, which feeds through from energy costs, and there may well be labour market implications.”

When asked if this meant job losses, McFadden replied: “Yes. It could happen.

“The market projections for unemployment for the rest of the year have been revised upwards as a direct result of the Iran war.”

In Lebanon, the Israeli military has ordered people in 12 southern towns and villages to flee their homes as its bombing campaign continues unabated.

In a social media post, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee urged people to move at least a kilometre from their homes “to open areas”. Most of the towns and villages are located north of the Litani River, south of which the IDF has stationed its troops.

Adraee said the IDF was “compelled to act” against what he described as Hezbollah’s ceasefire violations.

More than a million people in Lebanon have been internally displaced as a result of the war.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has called a US-proposed UN resolution demanding Iran stop attacks and laying mines in the strait of Hormuz a test of the utility of the UN and urged China and Russia not to repeat vetoes.

UN security council members began closed talks on Tuesday on a text the US drafted with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar, which, if it were to pass, could lead to sanctions against Iran, and potentially authorise force, if Tehran fails to halt attacks and threats to commercial shipping.

The new draft avoids explicit language authorising force while still operating under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, Reuters reported, which allows the security council to impose measures ranging from sanctions to military action.

“Everyone wouldn’t want to see this vetoed again, and we’ve made some slight adjustments to the language,” Rubio told reporters on Tuesday at a White House briefing.

“I don’t know if it will avoid a veto or not,” he added.

South Korean shipper HMM said it had secured a vessel to tow a bulk carrier it operates to a port in Dubai after an explosion and fire damaged the ship, which had been stranded in the strait of Hormuz.

Donald Trump blamed the incident on an Iranian attack, while South Korea’s foreign ministry said the cause of the fire would only be confirmed after the vessel was towed back to port and inspected.

HMM said the damaged vessel was expected to arrive in Dubai on Thursday night or Friday morning Seoul time, according to Reuters.

The Panama-flagged ship, named HMM Namu, suffered an explosion and caught fire on Monday evening. The fire was later extinguished, with no casualties and all 24 crew members remaining on board, according to the company.

Here are some images from Beirut’s growing tent encampments. Lebanon’s health ministry says more than 2,600 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since 2 March, and over a million people displaced.

And while we’re talking fuel prices: Jet fuel has doubled in price since the start of the war on Iran. The Guardian’s Zoe Williams takes a look at how bad the disruption could get and if it will accelerate the route to jet zero.

We had this in our earlier blog, but it’s worth recapping here. The US national average retail price of gasoline surpassed $4.50 a gallon on Tuesday for the first time since July 2022, data from GasBuddy showed.

As the US Memorial Day weekend approaches and with it peak summer driving season, surging pump prices pose a major political risk for President Donald Trump and his Republican party as they campaign for midterm elections in November.

Without de-escalation in the Middle East, analysts say US motor fuel prices could rise past prior records.