As the US-Israeli war with Iran continues to impact and shape the region, journalists from RFE/RL deliver ongoing updates and analysis.
US forces have fired at and seized an Iranian-flagged ship in the Gulf of Oman that was attempting to evade a US maritime blockade, President Donald Trump and the Pentagon said on April 19, while Iran's military command angrily threatened to retaliate.
US President Donald Trump said his representatives are traveling to Islamabad, Pakistan, for another round of talks on April 20 with Iran as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Tehran has not yet confirmed it will take part.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticized an easing of sanctions on Russian energy, writing on X that “every dollar paid for Russian oil is money for the war.”
Iran's powerful parliament speaker said there has been "progress" in talks with Washington but that "fundamental" differences remain, while US President Donald Trump rejected what he called "blackmail" by Tehran after it again closed the Strait of Hormuz.
A shooter killed six people in Kyiv before being eliminated by Ukraine's special forces in a daylight incident on April 18, according to local officials.
The brother of jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi has told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that her life is "in serious danger" following a heart attack she suffered in prison last month.
The United States has again temporarily eased sanctions on Russian oil, issuing a new waiver that allows certain shipments already at sea to be delivered and sold, even as Washington publicly insists it is maintaining pressure on the Kremlin.
Hopes that shipping would resume through the Strait of Hormuz proved short-lived on April 18, as Iranian forces attacked at least three civilian ships after Tehran announced it was reversing its decision to reopen the vital waterway.
Ilya Remeslo, a longtime pro-Kremlin blogger who was admitted to a psychiatric hospital after abruptly directing strongly worded criticism at Russian President Vladimir Putin, says he has been released after a month in the facility in St. Petersburg.
Iran said it has opened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping traffic for the reamiiner of a 10-day cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon, and US President Donald Trump again suggested that Washington and Tehran could reach a deal to end the US-Israeli war with Iran in the near future.
A senior Republican lawmaker has raised concerns over continued US-origin components appearing in Russian weapon systems amid Ukrainian reports that recent drone strikes show evidence of Western microelectronics manufactured as recently as 2025.
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