U.S. President Donald Trump

April 16, 2026 10:19 PM

Trump says Israel and Lebanon agree on ceasefire, optimism grows on ending Iran war

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Lebanon and Israel had agreed on a 10-day ceasefire, as optimism grew that the Iran war may be nearing an end. Trump said in a social media post that the ceasefire would start at 5 p.m. EST (2100 GMT), aiming to halt a conflict between Israel and the Iran-aligned Lebanese group Hezbollah that was reignited by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. He said he had held "excellent conversations" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and...

April 16, 2026 8:13 PM

Israel continues strikes in Lebanon as ceasefire diplomacy faces hurdles

Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon continued on Thursday despite intensified diplomatic efforts across West Asia, with tensions remaining high and ceasefire negotiations facing growing hurdles. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier rejected Lebanese proposals for direct talks but later signalled openness to de escalation following pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump. Hezbollah, meanwhile, continued launching rockets toward Israeli positions and accused the Le...

April 16, 2026 4:13 PM

Hopes for deal to end Iran war grow, but nuclear issues unresolved

Optimism grew on Thursday that the Iran war may be near an end, with a key Pakistani mediator having made a breakthrough on "sticky issues", a source said, although Iran warned the fate of its nuclear program had not been resolved. The United States and Pakistan have been talking up the prospects for a deal in the more than six-week war, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying the accord would open the crucial Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas supply flows. Clo...

April 16, 2026 3:18 PM

Pope Leo to hold peace meeting in Cameroon amid Trump attacks

Pope Leo was travelling to the biggest city in Cameroon's conflict-hit anglophone region on Thursday, the latest stop on an ambitious four-country Africa tour amid attacks on the pontiff by U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump's attacks on Leo, who has emerged as a vocal critic of the Iran war, have caused dismay in Africa, where more than a fifth of the world's Catholics live. Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, joined in on Tuesday, saying the pope was wrong to say t...

April 16, 2026 3:04 PM

Trump says Lebanese and Israeli leaders to speak, Pakistan says Lebanon peace essential

U.S. President Donald Trump said Lebanese and Israeli leaders will speak for the first time in decades on Thursday, while Pakistan said peace in Lebanon was essential for talks it is mediating between Washington and Tehran on ending the Iran war. The Lebanon conflict spiralled out of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, with the Iran-backed Hezbollah opening fire in support of Tehran on March 2, prompting an Israeli offensive in Lebanon just 15 months after the last major conflict. The Israeli secu...

April 15, 2026 10:24 PM

Trump says Iran war ‘close to over’; Pakistan army chief arrives in Tehran to mediate

U.S. President Donald Trump said the war he launched with Israel on Iran was close to over, as the army chief of mediator Pakistan arrived in Tehran to try to prevent a renewal of the conflict. The diplomatic push came as U.S. and Iranian officials weighed a return to Pakistan for further talks after negotiations there ended on Sunday without a breakthrough. Israel expects a two-week ceasefire agreed last week with the Iranians to be extended, a source told Reuters. Pakistan's military confi...

April 15, 2026 7:21 PM

Trump says Iran war could end soon, as US blockades Iranian ports

U.S. President Donald Trump said the war with Iran could end soon,telling the world to watch out for an "amazing two days", while U.S. forces imposing a blockade turned back vessels leaving Iranian ports. With the prospect of U.S. and Iranian officials returning to Pakistan for more talks, Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. delegation at negotiations that ended on Sunday without a breakthrough, said he felt positive about where things stood. "I think you're going to be watching an amaz...

April 15, 2026 6:04 PM

Trump backs government AI safeguards in banking system, acknowledges risks

U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged the risks artificial intelligence posed to the banking system and said there should be government safeguards, but also believed the technology could make the banking system better and safer, according to an interview broadcast on Wednesday. Asked if AI could undermine confidence in the banking system, Trump told Fox Business Network: "Yeah, probably. But it could also be the kind of technology that allows greatness in the banking system, makes it better ...

April 13, 2026 8:57 PM

NATO allies refuse to join Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade

NATO allies said on Monday they would not get involved in U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, proposing instead to intervene only once fighting ends, in a move likely to anger Trump and increase strains in the alliance. Trump said the U.S. military would work with other countries to block all maritime traffic in the waterway, after weekend talks failed to reach an agreement to end the six-week conflict with Iran. The U.S. military later specified that the blocka...

April 13, 2026 5:19 PM

Iran threatens to retaliate against Gulf ports for US blockade

The U.S. military said it will begin a blockade of ships leaving Iran's ports on Monday, and Tehran threatened to retaliate against ports of its Gulf neighbours, after weekend talks failed to reach a deal to end the war, leaving a ceasefire in jeopardy. Oil prices surged when trade reopened on Monday, with no sign of a swift reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to ease the worst ever disruption in supplies. Since the war started, Iran has effectively shut the strait to all vessels except its own,...