Live updates: Trump to send envoys Witkoff and Kushner to Pakistan for talks with Iran foreign minister – AP News

The State Department says a detained Kuwaiti-American journalist who was arrested in Kuwait has been released after intervention by the Trump administration.

The department said late Friday that Ahmed Shihab-Eldin had been freed and allowed to leave Kuwait. It offered no other details, citing privacy concerns.

Shortly after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi touched down in Pakistan, his government made it clear that there would be no direct negotiations with American government representatives during this visit.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmael Baqaei said on X that “No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the U.S.” Instead, Baqaei said Pakistani officials would convey messages between the delegations.

Baqaei thanked the Pakistani government for its “ongoing mediation & good offices for ending American imposed war of aggression.”

The White House said earlier Friday that its envoys would meet Araghchi.

Sadri Haghshenas spends her days selling borek — a layered, savory pastry — at a shop in Istanbul, but her mind is on her daughter in Tehran.

The family had to send her home to Iran after they ran into difficulties renewing her visa, despite fears that a shaky ceasefire could soon collapse.

For years, short-term residency permits have allowed tens of thousands of Iranians to pursue economic opportunities and enjoy relative stability in neighboring Turkey. But it’s a precarious situation, and the war has raised the stakes.

“I swear, I cry every day,” Haghshenas said, raising her hands from behind the counter of the pastry shop. “There is no life in my country, there is no life here, what shall I do?”

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that the U.S. does not plan to renew a waiver allowing the purchase of Russian oil and petroleum products that are currently at sea. He also said a renewal of a one-time waiver for Iranian oil at sea is totally off the table.

“Not the Iranians,” Bessent told The Associated Press. “We have the blockade, and there’s no oil coming out.”

In an AP interview about the impact of the war on the global energy market and other topics, Bessent also said he had no plans to extend the sanctions relief for Russia.

“I wouldn’t imagine that we’d have another extension. I think the Russian oil on the water has been largely sucked up,” he said.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said an Iranian delegation led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad on Friday.

Araghchi was received by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and other senior officials upon arrival.

In a statement, it said during the visit Araghchi is expected to meet Pakistan’s senior leadership to discuss the latest regional developments and ongoing efforts to promote regional peace and stability.

The Trump administration is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil.

The move, announced Friday and first reported by The Associated Press, makes good on the Trump administration’s threat to impose secondary sanctions on companies and countries that do business with Iran. It’s also part of the Republican administration’s overall ramped-up campaign to cut off Iran’s key source of revenue — its oil exports.

Concurrently, the U.S. this month imposed a physical blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway that is crucial to global energy supplies.

These sanctions come just a few weeks before President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping are due to meet in China.

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Among those killed in three separate Israeli strikes on Friday across Gaza were a woman and a child, health officials said.

An afternoon drone strike near a police checkpoint in northwestern Gaza City killed two Palestinians and wounded two others, according to officials at Shifa hospital.

The Israeli military acknowledged the strike, saying that it targeted “terrorists” without providing evidence or further details.

In the evening, another strike targeted a police vehicle in southern Gaza, killing at least seven, according to officials at Nasser hospital. A third strike in northern Gaza killed a woman and a child, health officials at Shifa hospital said.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the evening strikes.

Deadly Israeli strikes are a near-daily threat in Gaza, where more than 790 Palestinians have been killed despite a ceasefire with Hamas since October, according to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Leavitt told reporters the president decided to send Witkoff and Kushner “to hear the Iranians out.”

“We’ve certainly seen some progress from the Iranian side in the last couple of days,” Leavitt said. She did not offer any details about what U.S. officials were hearing.

President Donald Trump is sending his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan on Saturday to continue talks with Iran, the White House said Friday.

White House press secretary Karolien Leavitt said in an interview on Fox News Channel that the two will have talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

“We’re hopeful that it will be a productive conversation and hopefully move the ball forward to a deal,” Leavitt said.

She said that Vice President JD Vance would not be traveling but that he remains “deeply involved.”

Leavitt said he will be in the U.S., along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the president’s national security team, on “standby” to fly to Pakistan “if necessary.”

The ministry included figures released Friday that 7,719 people were wounded in the latest Israel-Hezbollah war that broke out March 2.

It was the first time the ministry has released new figures since April 17, when a ceasefire went into effect.

Despite the ceasefire, the death toll rose by 197 in one week because bodies were apparently recovered from areas that previously had been out of reach.

It’s his first public acknowledgment of the diagnosis.

He said that roughly a year and a half ago he had prostate surgery. Then two and a half months ago, his doctors discovered and treated a small tumor at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital with radiation therapy. That was not announced at the time.

“I requested to delay its publication by two months so that it would not be released at the height of the war” against Iran, the 76-year-old Israeli leader said, to prevent “more false propaganda against Israel.”

He said he was healthy and called the tumor a “minor medical issue.”

Netanyahu’s health was the subject of speculation during the early weeks of the war with Iran as fake, AI-generated images circulated suggesting he had died, including on Iranian state media.

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That’s according to the Panama Canal Authority.

While passage through the waterway usually comes at a flat rate via reservations, companies without reservations can cross by paying an additional fee in an auction for slots, which are awarded to the highest bidder rather than waiting for days off the coast of Panama City.

That price has ballooned in recent weeks as Iran and the United States have bottlenecked the key shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz, and demand for those slots has skyrocketed. Ships have increasingly traveled through the Panama Canal as shipments are rerouted and buyers purchase from other countries to avoid commerce through the now-treacherous Middle Eastern waterway.

“With all the bombings, the missiles, the drones … companies are saying it’s safer and less expensive to cross through the Panama Canal,” said Rodrigo Noriega, a lawyer and analyst in Panama City. “All of this is affecting global supply chains.”

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The Israeli military said it hit sites from which rockets were launched toward the town of Shtula a day earlier.

The strikes targeted the town of Deir Aames, which is outside the border area in Lebanon that Israeli forces have declared a buffer zone and continued to occupy since a 10-day truce was implemented last week. Earlier Friday, the Israeli military issued a warning for residents of Deir Aames to leave.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a three-week extension to the Israel-Hezbollah truce, but both sides have continued to fire at each other.

In a Telegram post Friday, Zelenskyy said his meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was productive and that both countries are developing a strategic security agreement.

The agreement includes three elements, he said: exporting Ukraine’s defense expertise and capabilities, expanding energy cooperation, and strengthening food security.

“We are working together to strengthen our nations and partners. We have defined tasks for our teams and I expect their prompt and full implementation,” he said.

Saudi Arabia, along with other Mideast countries, has been targeted by missile and drone attacks from Iran since the war began.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a social media post that the purpose of his upcoming tour to Islamabad, Pakistan; Muscat, Oman; and Moscow is to “closely coordinate with our partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments.”

Araghchi’s comments didn’t address any possible resumption of talks with the U.S., but Pakistani officials have been intensifying efforts in recent weeks to get the U.S. and Iran to a second round of ceasefire negotiations.

Ali Fayyadh said in comments Friday that the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that was extended for three weeks the day before has no meaning as long as Israel continues its attacks, targeted killings and strikes on Lebanese villages.

Since the 10-day ceasefire went into effect last Friday it has been repeatedly violated by both sides.

Fayyadh said every Israeli attack against any Lebanese target, regardless of its nature, gives his group that right to respond appropriately.

He added that any ceasefire that doesn’t constitute a prelude to an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory affirms the Lebanese people’s “inalienable and final right to resist” the occupation and expel it from our land in order to restore full Lebanese sovereignty.

President Joseph Aoun’s comments Friday came during a visit to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus where he’s a guest at the European Union summit.

Aoun said in a speech that “Lebanon’s stability is part of the region’s stability.”

He added that Lebanon refuses to be a bargaining chip in regional conflicts. He was apparently referring to Iran, which has put a permanent ceasefire between Israel and the militant Hezbollah group on top of its list in talks with the U.S..

Aoun said Lebanon, like other countries in the region, “places great importance on de-escalation, stability, and peace.”

Aoun used World Bank figures, saying the Israel-Hezbollah was has caused damage worth $1.4 billion to Lebanon’s infrastructure and that 38,000 housing units were destroyed.

He said 150,000 people in Lebanon are without homes.

Today, offering escorts in the Strait of Hormuz wouldn’t be so easy. Military technology has advanced since the “Tanker war.”

The U.S. hasn’t defined the same clear, narrow goals in this war as it did in the 1980s. And it’s not clear international shippers would feel safe even with an American Navy escort given it’s a combatant now.

The U.S. Navy has long been familiar with the small boat tactics deployed by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has adapted to international sanctions blocking its ability to access military vessels by using smaller civilian ships for military purposes.

For years, the Guard has used vessels the size of small commercial fishing boats to shadow American aircraft carriers whenever they pass through the strait. Instead of bearing fishing poles, most have Soviet-era heavy machine guns bolted to their bows with a small rocket launcher atop.

Using those small boats, Iran seized two cargo ships this week.

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A surge for Intel following a blowout profit report is leading technology stocks higher, while oil prices keep swinging in the wait for what’s next with the Iran war.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% early Friday and pulled near its all-time high set Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 74 points, while the Nasdaq composite jumped a market-leading 0.7%.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude to be delivered in June was down 0.4% at $104.67 after yo-yoing between roughly $103 and $107.

European stock markets were modestly lower and Asian markets closed mixed.

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In a statement in Islamabad, the foreign ministry said Lavrov appreciated Pakistan’s “constructive role” in facilitating dialogue between Iran and the United States.

Dar reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to supporting efforts that promote dialogue and diplomacy to resolve disputes, it said.

Both sides agreed to remain in contact, it added.

The army said in a statement Friday that a remotely piloted aircraft was downed in southern Lebanon following the launch of a small surface-to-air missile by the militant group Hezbollah.

The military said the incident is under review.

The statement came after Hezbollah said it shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone over the outskirts of the southern city of Tyre.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Friday that his government is in talks with Iran to allow two Malaysian-owned tankers carrying fuel supplies to pass through.

The vessels have exited the Strait of Hormuz but face severe restrictions despite earlier clearance given by the Iranian government, he was cited as saying by the national Bernama news agency. He didn’t provide further details.

One Malaysian vessel has earlier reached home and another is expected to enter Malaysian waters soon, he said. Another is stranded at port due to technical problems, he added.

Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon on Friday that the military is prepared to deal with any Iranian ships that “recklessly and irresponsibly” lay more mines.

But he said he wouldn’t speculate on reports that it will likely take six months to clear mines in the strait. The Associated Press reported that the Pentagon gave that timeline in a classified briefing to lawmakers this week.

Hegseth was responding to statements from President Trump who said Thursday that he has ordered the military to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats deploying mines.

Hegseth said the U.S. is confident it can clear any mines it identifies “and would encourage other countries to be a part of such an effort as well.”

The crews of all three merchant vessels seized by the U.S. military over the past week are still in U.S. custody, Gen. Dan Caine said at a briefing Friday.

“We will continue to conduct similar maritime interdiction actions and activities in the Pacific and Indian Oceans against Iranian ships and vessels of the Dark Fleet,” Caine said.

Caine also said the crew of the Tousca, the first merchant ship seized by U.S. forces Sunday, “repeatedly ignored U.S. warnings” over a six-hour period. Caine said this behavior prompted the crew of the Navy destroyer following the ship to fire five warning shots.

“The vessel and her crew continued to ignore warnings and, after exhausting all other measures, CENTCOM authorized disabling fire against the Tousca,” Caine said. Then, according to Caine, the destroyer disabled the ship’s engine by firing nine inert rounds from the destroyer’s 5-inch guns “precisely into the engine room and engine space on board the Tousca.”

“Not surprisingly, the vessel then reported issues with their engine, went dead in the water and began to comply with U.S. directions,” Caine added.

The U.S. secretary of defense suggested traditional U.S. allies in Europe are “freeriding” and being disloyal by not using their own forces to open the Strait of Hormuz that’s been closed because of President Trump’s Iran war.

“We are not counting on Europe, but they need the Strait of Hormuz much more than we do,” Hegseth insisted. He mocked a recent European confab, saying U.S. allies “might want to start doing less talking” instead of holding “a fancy conference” and “a silly conference.”

Iran’s maneuver to choke off the strait has disrupted global energy supplies — especially in Europe, where many leaders remain frustrated. French President Emmanuel Macron said at one point that the U.S. can’t complain about a lack of support “in an operation they chose to undertake alone.”

Hegseth’s broadsides echo Trump’s swipes that other nations should “Go get your own oil!” and “start learning how to fight for yourself.”

IRNA said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also would go to Oman and Russia.

The trip to Pakistan comes as officials there have been trying to get the United States and Iran to a second round of ceasefire negotiations.

The IRNA report said Araghchi’s trip, beginning Friday, is focused on “bilateral consultations and discussions on ongoing regional developments, as well as the latest situation surrounding the imposed war by the United States and Israel against Iran.”

Speaking to reporters Friday at the Pentagon, Hegseth said the U.S. blockade of Iranian shipping will continue “as long as it takes” to accomplish America’s “bold and dangerous” mission to end Iran’s threat to global security.

U.S. officials say that so far the blockade has turned back 34 ships, but ship-tracking data shows Iran has still been to move some of its sanctioned oil.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence said “a steady flow of shadow fleet traffic” has passed in and out of the Persian Gulf, including 11 tankers with Iranian cargo that have left the Gulf of Oman outside the strait since April 13.

The maritime intelligence firm Windward said this week that Iranian traffic continues to flow “via deception.”

Iranians are able to evade the blockade by faking tracking data and by traveling through Pakistani territorial waters.

The Israeli army’s statement Friday regarding the village of Deir Aames came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks.

The military said the militant group Hezbollah is using Deir Aames to launch attacks against Israel.

The military said residents of the village should move 1,000 meters outside Deir Aames.

The group said the Hermes 450 drone was shot down with a surface-to-air missile Friday over the outskirts of southern port city of Tyre.

Hezbollah said it was in retaliation for Israeli violation of Lebanese air space.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s message Friday came as the world marked the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace.

In the message, Sharif said Pakistan remains guided by the principles of the United Nations Charter amid growing global security challenges and will continue to promote diplomacy to advance regional and international peace.

He also highlighted Pakistan’s ongoing mediation efforts, saying they’re rooted in a commitment to cooperation and conflict resolution.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Saudi Arabia on Friday for talks on potential agreements covering energy, infrastructure and security, he said in a post on Telegram.

Zelenskyy is set to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“Yesterday, at a meeting with European leaders, we secured financial guarantees for our stability,” Zelenskyy posted, referring to a crucial 90 billion-euro loan approved by European leaders. “Today we are developing agreements with Saudi Arabia in the fields of security, energy and infrastructure.”

The visit is his second trip to Saudi Arabia in a month, following a late-March visit focused on air defense technology.

The White House said that Trump issued a 90-day extension to the Jones Act waiver, making it easier for non-American vessels to transport oil and natural gas in the wake of the Iran War.

Trump first announced a 60-day waiver in mid-March and the move has been seen as helping to stabilize energy prices and making it easier for more ships to travel to the U.S. following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The post on social media by a White House press aide said: “New data compiled since the initial waiver was issued revealed that significantly more supply was able to reach U.S. ports faster.”

Two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press on Friday about the visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. They declined to provide any other details, other than to say he would be accompanied by a small government delegation and could arrive as soon as Friday.

Pakistan has been trying to restart ceasefire talks between Iran and the United States.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The sculpture of Jesus on the cross, in a small shrine in the southern Lebanese village of Debel, had been defaced by an Israeli soldier, drawing widespread condemnation.

Israel’s military said Tuesday that it replaced the sculpture. But Akel Naddaf, head of the municipality of Debel, told The Associated Press Friday that the family whose property the crucifix was on rejected the Israeli military’s offer.

Instead, Naddaf said the destroyed crucifix was replaced by one provided by Italy via its peacekeepers in the United Nations force known as UNIFIL. It was erected in a small ceremony attended by clergy and local residents as well as peacekeepers.

Italy’s embassy in Lebanon said Thursday that its UNIFIL members replaced the damaged crucifix. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called it “a powerful message of peace, hope, and dialogue.”

Acute food insecurity and malnutrition remain at alarmingly high levels worldwide, with conflict and displacement pushing millions into extreme hunger, according to an international report released Friday.

U.N. Secretary‑General António Guterres said conflict remained the primary driver of food crises, calling hunger in war zones “entirely man‑made.”

The Global Report on Food Crises 2026, published by a global alliance including the United Nations and the EU, found that about 266 million people across 47 countries experienced high levels of “acute food insecurity” in 2025, nearly double the share recorded a decade earlier.

Ten countries accounted for roughly two‑thirds of those affected, including Afghanistan, Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

For the first time in the report’s history, famine was confirmed in two separate contexts in the same year — in Gaza and parts of Sudan — marking what authors described as a sharp escalation in the most severe forms of hunger.

The U.N. peacekeeping force deployed in southern Lebanon, or UNIFIL, says Corporal Rico Pramudia, 31, died at a Beirut hospital after he was critically wounded following a projectile explosion in his base in Adchit al-Qusayr, southern Lebanon, on March 29.

The attack in Adchit al-Qusayr also killed an Indonesian peacekeeper.

Two other Indonesian peacekeepers were also killed in southern Lebanon shortly after.

UNIFIL said all parties must uphold their obligations under international law and ensure the safety and security of U.N. personnel and property at all times.

Earlier this month, two French peacekeepers were killed in an attack in southern Lebanon.

Kuwait says explosive drones launched from Iraq have struck two sites on the northern land border Friday morning.

The Kuwait army said on X that the drones caused material damage, but that there were no reports of casualties.

A weeklong, lockdown-like security clampdown in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad and nearby Rawalpindi has sparked frustration among residents, who urged authorities to ease restrictions so they can resume normal commutes.

Roads leading into Islamabad’s heavily guarded Red Zone have appeared deserted at times, with concrete barricades, barbed wire and security personnel dominating normally busy corridors. The absence of routine traffic has added to a sense of disruption in the twin cities.

“We were happy that Pakistan is hosting these talks to end the war between America and Iran. But now almost a week has passed, and it takes me one to two hours instead of 30 minutes, depending on traffic, to reach home from Islamabad to Rawalpindi,” said Sher Khan, a lift operator at a shopping plaza.

There is still no official word on exactly when the talks will take place.

Authorities have deployed thousands of police and paramilitary troops since last weekend.

While Pakistan is still trying to secure Iran’s participation, there has been no confirmation yet on when Tehran will send its delegation. The visit by the U.S. delegation is also on hold.

Some Lebanese people in Beirut believe south Lebanon should be included in a ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.

They said a deal will not be sustainable without a lasting truce between Iran and the United States.

“It is not related to Hezbollah and Israel, but to Iran and the US. If they reach an agreement, the whole of the Middle East will be calm, but if not, there will be escalation in Lebanon and the rest of the world,” Joe Ghafari said.

Diala Ammar said it is “unfair” for the south to stay at war while the rest of the country “lives normally.”

Israeli forces occupying a strip of territory extending several miles into southern Lebanon have continued strikes, while Hezbollah has attacked Israeli forces there.

Pakistan completed repayment of $3.45 billion in deposits to the United Arab Emirates, returning a final $1 billion tranche, Pakistan’s central bank said Friday.

Pakistan had to arrange $3 billion in fresh financing from Saudi Arabia to support its foreign reserves.

The UAE placed the deposits with Pakistan in 2018 to bolster foreign exchange reserves.

The repayment comes weeks after the UAE asked Pakistan to return the funds without publicly explaining the reason for the abrupt request.

Media reports in Pakistan suggested the UAE’s request was linked to geopolitical differences over regional developments, though the government in Islamabad has downplayed such claims, maintaining that bilateral ties remain strong.

Iran’s top diplomat has called Pakistani officials over the ceasefire in the war with the United States and Israel.

A statement Friday said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s army chief.

Araghchi’s statement said the men spoke about “regional developments and issues related to the ceasefire,” without elaborating.

Hours later, a statement issued on behalf of Dar acknowledged the call, saying “both sides exchanged views on regional developments, the ceasefire, and ongoing diplomatic efforts being pursued by Islamabad in the context of U.S.-Iran engagement.”

Pakistan has been trying to get American and Iranian officials back to the negotiating table in Islamabad, where they had hoped to have talks earlier this week that didn’t materialize.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said peace negotiations between the United States and Iran are at risk of forging a “weaker” agreement than one struck a decade ago.

“If the talks are only about the nuclear (issue) and there are no nuclear experts around the table, then we will end up with an agreement that is weaker than the JCPoA was,” Kallas said Friday in Cyprus, referring to a 2015 deal struck during the Obama administration that Trump pulled the U.S. out of in 2018.

Kallas said if negotiators do not table Iran’s “missile programs, their support to proxies, and also hybrid and cyber activities in Europe” there is a possibility “we will end up with a more dangerous Iran.”

A medical aid convoy left Turkey headed for Iran, an official told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency on Friday.

The six trucks departed Van in eastern Turkey to pass through the Gurbulak border crossing, Van Health Director Muhammed Tosun said.

“The materials include medicines and medical supplies,” Tosun said.

“We previously sent three trucks. With today’s trucks, a total of nine trucks of aid materials will have been delivered to our Iranian colleagues to serve their citizens,” he said.