Israel-Lebanon talks resume; Iran strike on vessel pauses UN Hormuz evacuation
Ship strike in Hormuz disrupts UN plan amid fragile Israel-Lebanon ceasefire talks
US-mediated Israel-Lebanon talks have been extended by another day, with the fifth round set to resume on Friday, the US State Department said. The talks come amid heightened tensions after an Iranian drone hit a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, suspending UN-led evacuation of stranded seafarers. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said the US plans to use frozen Iranian assets to buy American wheat, soybeans and corn, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to talks with Iran but ruled out any deal allowing Tehran to continue its current course. Follow our live updates:
India has removed restrictions on supplies of commercial liquified petroleum gas imposed during the Middle East war when energy supplies were hit by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
India, the world's most populous country, is the second-largest importer of LPG, much of it from the Middle East. A fifth of global oil and gas usually pass through the waterway, which was shut after the start of the US-Iran war in late February.
The government ended the restrictions late Thursday on "non-domestic packed LPG and restored supplies to the levels prevailing prior to the West Asia crisis", the petroleum ministry said in a statement.
"The supply of bulk LPG, which had been suspended at the onset of the crisis, has been relaxed by 50 percent of the pre-crisis consumption levels," the statement added.
"The restoration follows the recent improvement in the LPG supply situation."
The decision follows improved energy cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran and the US signed a deal that included opening the strategic waterway.
Saudi Aramco has restarted crude loading at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf after a near four-month pause, shipping data from LSEG shows, Reuters reports.
Two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) were seen loading at the facility, while another waited nearby. Each vessel can carry around two million barrels of crude.
The restart marks a return of activity at the key export terminal operated by Saudi Aramco at Ras Tanura.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) claimed that the US will take money from Iran as it is having a hard time with food.
Trump, while addressing Rose Garden Club Dinner with American Farmers, said that Iran will be a new market for the US.
"We have another one a new market coming up and that's called the lovely country of Iran. It's a beautiful place. Would anybody like to go there? The Islamic Republic of Iran is having a hard time with food and we're going to be taking some of their money and we'll spend it and we're going to be buying wheat, soybeans and corn a lot of it. And that process is going to be starting pretty soon. It's going to be pretty big too. I think it's going to be very big," he said.
US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon that were slated to end Thursday will go on for another day, the State Department said.
It said this fifth round discussions that began this week will resume Friday morning. "Israel and Lebanon talks remain ongoing as we continue to facilitate," the department said in a statement.
These talks come amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, an offshoot of the Mideast war that the United States and Iran are negotiating to bring to a definitive end.
Washington's top diplomat said there are limits to what it would accept in any Iran deal, as an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz led the UN to suspend an effort to evacuate trapped mariners.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio - in Bahrain as part of a regional tour to reassure Gulf partners hit hard by the Middle East war - also dismissed the idea of allowing Tehran to charge fees in the strait, saying it would open the door to "total chaos".
The United States and Iran have signed a preliminary deal to end the conflict launched by the United States and Israel in late February, embarking on negotiations expected to address Tehran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief and global energy flows through the strait, where Iran has repeatedly targeted civilian vessels.
But Gulf countries and Israel also have longstanding concerns about Iran's support for proxies in the region and its missile programme, and it remains unclear whether those topics will be handled in the talks.
After meeting with Rubio on Thursday, foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council emphasised that "lasting regional peace and security requires addressing the full spectrum of Iran's threats, including its ballistic missiles, drones and support of proxies".
Iran-backed Hezbollah on Thursday accused Israel of a "flagrant" ceasefire breach, saying it launched a drone and killed three civilians in southern Lebanon.
The group said the strike was a "direct attack" on "civilians," while Israel had earlier said it had killed fighters from Hezbollah ranks.
Hezbollah said it was the third "flagrant violation" by Israel "of the ceasefire to which it has committed itself so far".
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