Talks between Iran and the United States on ending the war seemed stalled Wednesday, despite U.S. President Donald Trump earlier claiming Iran had informed his administration that it was in a “State of Collapse.”
“They want us to ‘Open the Hormuz Strait,’ as soon as possible, as they try to figure out their leadership situation,” Trump posted on social media. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about how the message was communicated.
Meanwhile, Pakistan said its weekly oil import bill has surged by about 167% due to soaring global energy prices. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Wednesday the weekly oil import bill had risen from $300 million before the Middle East conflict to $800 million.
In a similar message, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the U.S.-Israel war, combined with retaliation from Iran such as choking the Strait of Hormuz, is costing the European Union almost 500 million euros ($600 million) a day, raising prices at the pumps and fears of a jet fuel shortage within weeks.
The United Arab Emirates announced Tuesday that it will leave OPEC effective May 1, stripping the oil cartel of one of its largest producers. While the announcement won't have an immediate impact on world oil supplies that are constrained by the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, it could help lower oil prices after the war.
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A Lebanese army soldier was killed Wednesday along with his brother in an Israeli strike that targeted the motorcycle on which they were traveling from the soldier’s work post to his home in the village of al-Souaneh, the army said in a statement.
The Lebanese army has stood on the sidelines during the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, which began on March 2 when the militant group launched a salvo of missiles into Israel, two days after the U.S. and Israel launched their attacks on Iran. But soldiers have frequently gotten caught in the crossfire.
A total of 20 Lebanese army soldiers have been killed by Israeli strikes since March 2, most of them while en route to or from their duty stations, the army said. Altogether, more than 2,500 people have been killed in Lebanon during the war and during a shaky ceasefire implemented earlier this month that has reduced but not halted the fighting.
The majority of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely still at its Isfahan nuclear complex, which was bombarded by airstrikes last year and faced less intense attacks in this year’s U.S.-Israeli war, the head of the U.N. nuclear agency told The Associated Press.
Rafael Grossi said in an interview on Tuesday that the International Atomic Energy Agency has satellite images showing the effects of the latest U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Iran and that “we continue to get information.”
IAEA inspections ended at Isfahan when Israel last June launched a 12-day war that saw the United States bomb three Iranian nuclear sites.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog believes a large percentage of Iran’s highly enriched uranium “was stored there in June 2025 when the 12-day war broke out, and it has been there ever since,” Grossi said.
Pakistan’s weekly oil import bill has surged by about 167% due to soaring global prices, adding strain to the cash-strapped nation’s fragile economy, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Wednesday.
In televised remarks during a Cabinet meeting, Sharif said the weekly oil import bill had risen from $300 million before the conflict to $800 million.
He said the government is taking steps to conserve energy and reduce oil consumption, and that diplomatic efforts to promote peace are still ongoing.
European Union countries must funnel their energy aid chiefly to vulnerable households and industries or risk wasting billions of euros as the Iran war hits oil and gas prices, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Wednesday.
The U.S.-Israel war, combined with retaliation from Iran such as choking the Strait of Hormuz, is costing the EU almost 500 million euros ($600 million) a day, raising prices at the pumps and fears of a jet fuel shortage within weeks.
Von der Leyen said the world’s biggest trading bloc must draw on the lessons of the 2022 fuel crisis — when Russia used its energy might against European countries to undermine their support for Ukraine – to avoid further hurting their economies.
More than 350 billion euros “were spent on untargeted measures and this had a huge impact on member states finances,” she told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France. “So let us not make the same mistake again, and let’s focus our support where it matters most.”
Iran’s national rial currency hit a record hit Wednesday of 1.8 million to $1 as a shaky ceasefire with the U.S. and Israel still holds.
The rial had remained stable for weeks during the war, which began Feb. 28, in part because there was little trading or imports coming into the country.
The rial began to slide two days ago, hitting the record low Wednesday.
Experts warn the fall of the rial is likely to further fuel inflation in a country where many imported goods, from food and medicine to electronics and raw materials, are affected by the dollar rate.
The war is now in a ceasefire, but a U.S. blockade has continued to increase pressure on Iran’s already-battered economy, cutting into a key source of government revenue and hard currency by stopping or intercepting oil shipments.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Wednesday his government is continuing efforts to help ease tensions between the United States and Iran.
Speaking during a Cabinet meeting in Islamabad, he said a “marathon session” was held in the capital during an initial round of direct talks between the two sides on April 11, leading to progress on a ceasefire that remains in place.
He said Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Pakistan over the weekend during the ceasefire, where another extended round of talks took place between Iran and Pakistan. Araghchi later traveled to Oman, returned briefly, and then departed for Russia, Sharif said.
Sharif said before leaving for Moscow, Araghchi spoke to him by phone and “assured me that after consulting with his leadership, he would respond as soon as possible.” He did not specify what Araghchi would respond to, but Pakistan has said it is seeking to host a second round of talks between the United States and Iran.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will face questioning from members of Congress for the first time since the Iran war began.
The hearing Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee will focus on the Trump administration’s $1.5 trillion military budget for 2027.
Democratic lawmakers are likely to grill Hegseth on the Iran war’s costs and huge drawdown of critical munitions. While a ceasefire is now in place, the U.S. and Israel launched the war Feb. 28 without congressional oversight.
