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Middle East crisis live: ceasefire under pressure and talks in doubt as Iran threatens to ‘retaliate’ to US seizure of ship | US-Israel war on Iran
Key events
Oil prices surge amid uncertainty over strait and peace talks
Oil prices surged on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran closed the strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it.
In early trading on Monday, the price of Brent crude climbed 5.8% to $95.64 per barrel. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate increased 6.4% to $87.90 per barrel.
S+P 500 futures fell around 0.6% and European futures fell 1.1%. But equity benchmarks in Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo shrugged off risks to advance, with Taiwan’s shares touching a record high and the other two not far behind.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.8%, Japan’s Nikkei climbed 1% and South Korea’s Kopsi rose 1.4%.
However, one of the strongest notes of caution in markets on Monday came from Australia’s largest business lender, National Australia Bank, which flagged a $500m impairment charge as it expects the war to drive up bad debts.
Despite all the uncertainty, Pakistan appears to be preparing for talks between the US and Iran to proceed.
Two giant US C-17 cargo planes landed at an airbase on Sunday afternoon, carrying security equipment and vehicles in preparation for the US delegation’s arrival, two Pakistani security sources said.
Municipal authorities in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad halted public transport and heavy-goods traffic through the city.
Barbed wire was rolled out near the Serena Hotel, where last week’s talks were held. The hotel told all guests to leave.
Bahrain to review citizenship for those deemed threat to its security
Bahrain’s king has ordered a review of citizenship of those deemed a threat to the island kingdom, amid an intensified crackdown on dissent during the war in the Middle East.
According to the state-run Bahrain News Agency, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa ordered the government to immediately take measures against “those who have betrayed the nation or undermined its security and stability”, including stripping Bahraini citizenship from those “who don’t deserve it”.
“The situation is still delicate,” the king was quoted as saying.
Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, has been one of the hardest hit by Iranian missile and drone attacks during the war.
Authorities in the small Shiite-majority island, which is ruled by a Sunni monarchy, have detained many people over the course of the war.
More than 5,000 killed since war began: report
Now in its eighth week, the Iran war has killed more than 5,000 people across several countries.
At least 3,000 people have been killed in Iran, more than 2,290 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, the Associated Press has reported. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 US service members throughout the region have also been killed.
Just to recap the latest peace talks news, and whether or not Iran will attend negotiations in Pakistan.
State broadcaster IRIB on Sunday cited Iranian sources as saying “there are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks”.
The Fars and Tasnim news agencies had earlier cited anonymous sources as saying “the overall atmosphere cannot be assessed as very positive”, adding that lifting the US blockade was a precondition for negotiations.
President Donald Trump ordered US negotiators to travel to Pakistan on Monday, just days before a ceasefire in the Middle East expires.
Summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
The shaky two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran was under further pressure on Monday morning, after the US said that it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade, and Iran said it would retaliate.
Efforts to build a more lasting peace in the region likewise appeared to be on uncertain ground, as Iranian state media said Tehran would not participate in a second round of negotiations that the US had hoped to kick off before the ceasefire expires this week.
Trump had earlier warned Iran that the US would destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran if Tehran rejected his terms, continuing a pattern of such threats throughout the war.
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Iran has reportedly rejected participation in a second round of peace talks with the US in Pakistan, citing “Washington’s excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the ongoing naval blockade, which it considers a breach of the ceasefire”, according to the official IRNA news agency.
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Hours before Iran’s statement, Trump said his negotiators would arrive in Islamabad on Monday evening. A White House official said the delegation would be led by vice-president JD Vance and include Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
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Donald Trump said in a post on Sunday that the US marines have taken custody of a vessel that tried to get past the American blockade on Iranian ports, adding that US forces stopped the ship by blowing a hole in its engine room.
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The US military confirmed that the US destroyer fired “several rounds” towards an Iranian-flagged ship that was attempting to pass through its naval blockade. In a statement released on Sunday, US Central Command said the USS Spruance intercepted the Iranian-flagged Touska ship as it travelled towards an Iranian port “in violation of the US blockade.”
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The US blockade of Iran’s ports is a violation of the ceasefire agreement and is “both unlawful and criminal”, Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, said on Sunday.
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Oil prices jumped, the US dollar rose and stock futures fell on Monday as investors dealt with conflicting messages about the Iran war and news that the strait of Hormuz was closed again. In early Asian trading Brent crude futures jumped about 7% to $96.85 a barrel and S+P 500 futures fell about 0.9%. The euro was down 0.3% at $1.1735 and the yen eased about 0.2% to 158.95 per dollar.
The prime minister said he was “staggered” to find out last week that civil servants in the Foreign Office withheld information from him.
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