US Iran War Live Updates: JD Vance departs for Islamabad, optimistic for 'positive' Iran negotiations

Iran-backed Hezbollah fired around 30 projectiles from Lebanon into Israel on Friday, the Israeli military said, reporting that some strikes caused damage. Air‑raid sirens were activated across northern Israel near the Lebanese border, where Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have continued to exchange fire despite a truce in the broader conflict involving Iran. Israeli emergency services reported a strike in Safed, where a direct hit damaged several vehicles.

The White House was “directly involved” in shaping a social media post by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in which he “earnestly” requested US President Donald Trump to extend his April 7 deadline on Iran for two weeks, according to a media report. The New York Times said the “White House was directly involved in shaping the message” that was shared on X on Tuesday by Sharif in which wrote "diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in near future”.

Israel has approved the establishment of 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli media reports and the watchdog Peace Now, which said the decision was taken "secretly" in early April. "The security cabinet secretly decided to establish 34 new settlements," Peace Now said in a statement released late on Thursday.

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have raised concerns over ongoing tensions in the Middle East, warning of their potential impact on global trade and heightened geopolitical risks. In a joint statement, the leaders emphasized the need to stay vigilant amid evolving global and regional challenges. They also reiterated their commitment to strengthening regional financial integration as a way to cushion the impact of external shocks, including those stemming from the Middle East situation.

Silver prices on Friday fell by Rs 3,549 to Rs 2,40,219 per kilogram as participants reduced their bets.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange, silver contracts for the May delivery declined Rs 3,549, or 1.46 per cent, to Rs 2,40,219 per kg in a business turnover of 1,718 lots.

(Source: PTI)

Spain's foreign minister said on Friday that he had spoken with his Iranian counterpart and urged him to negotiate in good faith during talks with the United States in Islamabad.

"I encourage Iran -- this is what I conveyed to the Iranian foreign minister -- to take part in those negotiations and to participate in good faith," Jose Manuel Albares told the press, adding that he had spoken with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, "the day before yesterday" and had also asked him to halt "all missile and drone launches".

Albares once again slammed Israel for continuing its attacks on Lebanon, where it has been fighting Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

"Lebanon is a disgrace on the conscience of humanity. The level of violence, the violation of international law and international humanitarian law by Israel is unacceptable," Albares said.

Oil prices climbed on Friday, driven by fresh anxiety over ​supplies from Saudi Arabia and as tanker ​traffic through the critical Strait of Hormuz remained largely frozen.

Prices were still headed ​for a loss as nerves eased over a fragile two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, while Israel signalled a potential diplomatic opening, saying it was ready to begin direct talks with Lebanon as soon as possible.

Brent crude futures added 96 cents, ‌or 1%, to $96.88 ⁠a barrel ⁠as of 0604 GMT. West Texas Intermediate futures were up 78 cents, 0.80%, at $98.65 a barrel.

For this week, both contracts have ​so far lost about 11%, the biggest weekly decline since June 2025 when the previous Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran were ​halted.

Attacks on Saudi energy facilities have cut the kingdom's oil production capacity by around 600,000 barrels per day and throughput on its East-West Pipeline by about 700,000 bpd, Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Thursday, ​citing an official source at the Ministry of Energy.

Concerns of further ⁠oil supply ‌disruptions were heightened after the report, ANZ analysts said in a Friday note.

The dollar headed on Friday for its largest weekly drop since January, as investors sold safe assets on optimism ​that oil shipping will resume if a ceasefire holds ​in the Gulf.

The dollar had towered in March as one of the few bastions of safety as ​the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran sent oil prices rocketing and hit stocks and gold, while inflation worries sank bonds.

But since a shaky ceasefire was agreed on Tuesday those positions are being unwound.

The euro has rallied through its 200-day moving average this week to trade at $1.1694, a break of chart resistance that opens ‌the way to further ⁠gains.

The risk-sensitive ⁠Australian and New Zealand dollars are looking at weekly rises of nearly 3% on the dollar, with the Aussie trading just above 70 cents and the kiwi at $0.5847. Sterling ​has shot up 1.8% this week and above its 200-day moving average to $1.3424.

The ​Chinese ​government has ​given state refiners the green light to ‌tap ⁠commercial ⁠oil reserves ​as the Iran war drags ​on, Bloomberg News reported ​on Thursday, citing ⁠people familiar ‌with ​the ​matter.

Refiners ⁠including Sinopec and China ​National Petroleum will be ​able to tap commercial inventories held at processing ‌plants or in storage ​facilities, ​the ⁠report added.

Reuters could not immediately verify the ​report.

U.S. Deputy Secretary ​of State Christopher Landau ​summoned Iraqi Ambassador Nizar Khirullah on Thursday ​after a drone struck a major U.S. diplomatic facility in Baghdad, the State Department said in a statement.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said earlier ‌that Iraqi "terrorist ⁠militias," ⁠who Washington accused of being aligned with Iran, had conducted multiple drone ​attacks near the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center and Baghdad International Airport on ​Wednesday.

The State Department said Landau acknowledged the Iraqi security forces' efforts to respond while emphasizing "the Iraqi government's failure to prevent ​these attacks."

The State Department said Washington ⁠expects the ‌Iraqi government to take measures to dismantle ​Iran-aligned militia ​groups in Iraq.

It also said that "some elements associated ⁠with the Iraqi government continue to actively provide ​political, financial, and operational cover for the ​militias."

Dozens of people have been killed in Iraq since the start of the Iran war, according to Iraqi health authorities. Those include civilians, members of the Iran-affiliated Shi'ite Popular Mobilisation Forces, U.S.-allied Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, police and army.

Air raid alerts rang out across Israel early Friday, including in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv and in the southern coastal city of Ashdod following rocket fire from Lebanon.

Continued fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah is testing a fragile truce reached between the United States and Iran.

Israel and Hezbollah exchanged fire repeatedly on Thursday.

The Israeli army's Home Front Command issued alerts for several areas following Friday's rocket fire, including the Tel Aviv area and southern communities far from the Lebanon border.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, but Israeli media reported that air-defence systems had intercepted at least one incoming rocket.

Hezbollah posted several statements on Telegram saying it had launched three waves of rocket and drone strikes in the early hours of the morning against Israeli soldiers on both sides of the border as well as a town in northern Israel.

​Israel's ​military said ​on Friday that Hezbollah had ‌launched ⁠a ⁠missile ​at Israel, triggering ​air raid sirens in ​parts ⁠of the ‌country, ​including ​in ⁠Tel Aviv.

Hezbollah said ​it targeted "Israeli ​military" infrastructure in the northern ‌city of Haifa ​in ​the ⁠late hours of Thursday.

Kuwait said drones were fired towards its territory and caused significant damage, the first attack reported in the Gulf on Thursday as the ceasefire between Iran and the United States entered its second day.

The Kuwaiti National Guard said in a statement that the attack targeted one of its sites, "causing significant damage, without wounding anyone".

The army had earlier said that its air defences were "currently facing hostile drone attacks that have penetrated the country's airspace, targeting several vital installations".

The Gulf countries have been targeted by hundreds of Iranian missiles and drones since the beginning of the war, which was triggered by Israeli-US strikes on Iran on February 28.

​Operational activities ​have been halted ​at several energy facilities in ‌Saudi ⁠Arabia ⁠due ​to recent attacks, Saudi state ​news agency SPA reported ​on ⁠Thursday citing an ‌official ​source ​at ⁠the ministry of energy.

The ​attacks resulted in ​the death of one Saudi ‌national from the industrial security ​personnel ​of ⁠the Saudi energy company, SPA added.

In a potential boost to Middle East ceasefire efforts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible” aimed at disarming Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants and establishing relations between the neighbors.

The two countries have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Netanyahu later stressed that there was no ceasefire between them. In a video statement, he said Israel will keep striking Hezbollah until security is restored in northern Israel.

There was no immediate response from Lebanon. But Israel-Lebanon negotiations were expected to begin next week at the State Department in Washington, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the delicacy of the matter.

The prospect of talks appeared to bolster the tentative ceasefire in the Iran war that has staggered under the weight of Israel’s bombardment of Beirut, Tehran’s continued chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz and uncertainty over whether talks can find common ground.

However later Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the ceasefire, writing on his social media platform: “Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz.”

US President Donald Trump on Thursday angrily lashed out at multiple well-known conservative commentators who have criticized his war against Iran, slamming his onetime allies as attention-seeking "NUT JOBS."

"They're stupid people, they know it, their families know it, and everyone else knows it, too!" Trump wrote in a nearly 500-word social media post.

In the president's crosshairs were Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly -- two former Fox News hosts turned independent podcasters -- as well as Candace Owens and Alex Jones, also podcasters and prominent conspiracy theorists.

All four have vocally criticized Trump over the war, slamming him for abandoning his anti-war campaign promises and -- to varying degrees -- accusing him of bowing to pressure from Israel to launch the conflict.

Their criticism has highlighted a divide among American conservatives over the war, a potential major political risk for Trump's Republican Party heading into the November midterm elections.