Trump, Bessent 'destroy' Iran negotiations; US depleting weapon stocks, hides losses, costs; Strait open to non-hostiles - IRAN WAR NEWS - 17-Apr-2026 (updated)

UPDATE 1

Italy suspends defense pact with Israel

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said her country will not renew its defense agreement with Israel.

Iran reopens Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic following Lebanon ceasefire

"In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran," Araghchi stated.

Meanwhile, citing informed officials, Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported that all vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz must coordinate with Iranian forces and follow routes designated by Tehran.

Passage is restricted to commercial ships, with military vessels barred, and any ship or cargo linked to hostile states will not be permitted to cross, they added.

Iran opens Strait of Hormuz; Thousands return to southern Lebanon as ceasefire takes hold; House rejects Iran resolution by one vote

House rejects resolution to end U.S. war with Iran by one vote: The Republican-controlled House voted 213-214 on Thursday to defeat a resolution directing President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. armed forces from hostilities against Iran, one day after the Senate rejected a similar measure 52-47. Only one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.), broke with his party to support the measure.

BREAKING: Hormuz Opens Completely /Lt Col Daniel Davis - YouTube

US naval blockade of Iran to persist despite opening of Strait of Hormuz | Middle East Eye

US President Donald Trump announced in a post on Truth Social that "the Strait of Hormuz is completely open and ready for business and full passage, but the naval blockade will remain in full force as it pertains to Iran, only," until the US' "transaction with with Iran is 100% complete."

Iran says indirect engagement continues with US via Pakistan

Iran says diplomatic exchanges with the United States are continuing through Pakistan, even after recent talks in Islamabad ended without a breakthrough.

The development comes as mediation efforts intensify across the region to bring a permanent end to the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran.

Exclusive: IRGC locked 16 cruise missiles on US warships in Strait of Hormuz before they retreated

In new details of last week's operation in the Strait of Hormuz, Press TV has learned that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy locked more than a dozen cruise missiles onto aggressive US warships moments before they hastily retreated.

[...]

According to Press TV's findings, after the American warships - the USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) and the USS Frank E. Peterson (DDG 121) - failed to heed initial warnings from Iranian naval forces, the IRGC Navy locked 16 cruise missiles onto the vessels.

The enemy was then warned that if they did not withdraw from the Strait of Hormuz within minutes, the missiles would be fired.

[...]

The tense back-and-forth lasted less than an hour, largely due to the restraint exercised by Iranian forces. Shortly thereafter, the American destroyers rapidly fled the area.

Hezbollah releases video showing strike on Iron Dome radar in occupied Haifa - Yemen Press Agency

BEIRUT, April 17 (YPA) -The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon( Hezbollah) published a video showcasing an operation targeting an Iron Dome radar system at the Kiryat Eliezer site in occupied Haifa using advanced missiles.

Second carrier burns as US fleet crumbles under grind of Iran war

Another US supercarrier has suffered a fire-related incident, marking the latest in a series of operational failures plaguing American naval assets since Washington launched a war of terrorism with Israel on Iran.

Eight sailors were injured on April 14 when a fire broke out aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower during scheduled maintenance at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Virginia.

The US Navy confirmed the incident, saying the fire's cause remains under investigation.

One Palestinian killed, two injured in Israeli strike on water desalination station in Gaza City - Yemen Press Agency

Palestinian sources reported that an Israeli drone struck the water desalination facility in the Shuja'iyya area, resulting in the killing of one civilian and the injury of two others.

They added that Israeli military vehicles also opened heavy fire south of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

END UPDATES

Trump calls war on Iran a 'little diversion' | Newsfeed | Al Jazeera

'We can do whatever we want'. US President Donald Trump has described the war on Iran which has killed more than 2,000 people as a 'little diversion'. Speaking in Las Vegas, he said it was 'going swimmingly' and 'should be ending pretty soon'.

Donald Trump and Scott Bessent Destroy Any Chance to Negotiate an End to the War with Iran

Despite positive developments in expanding the ceasefire to include Lebanon and Hezbollah, the Trump administration announced new sanctions on Iran that will end any chance of negotiations with Iran. Unless Trump reverses course, the US is likely to renew its attacks on Iran and will exacerbate the international economic crisis that was ignited by the closing of the Strait of Hormuz.

[...]

[...] the Trump administration is rejecting another critical Iranian prerequisite for negotiations to end the war, i.e., Iran's demand that sanctions be lifted. Instead of lifting sanctions, the US Secretary of the Treasury announced a new round of sweeping sanctions that are aimed at Iran and China.

The Hormuz Paradox: Geopolitics in the Shadow of the 2026 Naval Blockade

The geometry of global trade shifted on April 13, 2026, when the Trump administration inverted decades of maritime doctrine in a single stroke. Following the collapse of marathon peace negotiations in Islamabad-where U.S. and Iranian delegations failed to bridge the chasm over nuclear enrichment and regional tolls-the President ordered a unilateral naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. In a move defined by "unstrategic ambiguity," the United States has transitioned from the primary guarantor of the Strait's "freedom of navigation" to its most formidable obstacle, interdicting all traffic linked to Iranian ports while simultaneously demanding that the waterway remain "open".

Col. Dan Davis: "Iran is fighting for it's life, and they are winning by surviving" | Redacted - YouTube

President Trump announced a 10-day Israel-Lebanon cease-fire, but military analyst Col. Daniel Davis calls it a "pause" for all sides to reload for a wider war. Despite claims of a potential deal, Russia's Security Council warns negotiations could mask a planned strike on Iran, and U.S. officials state they are "locked and loaded." This comes as the U.S. faces a severe munitions crisis after arming Ukraine and Israel. U.S. war stocks are critically low, potentially leaving America unable to sustain a major conflict for more than a few months.

Washington hiding billion-dollar combat losses to Iran's precision strikes: Report

Following 40 days of unrelenting US-Israeli aggression, mounting evidence reveals that the US Department of War is deliberately concealing catastrophic, billion-dollar military losses inflicted by highly effective Iranian retaliatory strikes, the Daily Mail reports.

[...]

Since the launch of the joint US-Israeli terrorist bombing campaign against Iran, the Islamic Republic has retaliated by targeting American military assets across the Persian Gulf with waves of missile and drone strikes.

As the Mail explains, "Iran's war strategy has been anything but conventional. Rather than targeting fighter jets or bombers, the IRGC has systematically attempted to blind and cripple America's command and control layer, launching attacks against radar and air defense systems".

[...]

The US Department of War has asked Planet Labs, the world's largest commercial satellite imagery provider, to withhold all images of the war region, including the bases of ally nations, indefinitely and the company has submissively complied.

White House Refuses to Disclose Iran War Costs to Senators

White House budget director Russell Vought declined to provide lawmakers with an estimate of the cost of US aggression against Iran, saying the figures "fluctuate" and are difficult to assess, American media reported.

"I wouldn't [want] to make a characterization of that at this point," he said when asked about reports the conflict may have already cost tens of billions of dollars.

Senators suggested the war could be costing up to $10 billion a week, while the administration is preparing a request for additional defense funding.

US delays delivery of weapons to European allies as war on Iran drains stockpile: Report

The United States has reportedly informed its European allies of weapons delivery delays as the aggression that it waged jointly with the Israeli regime against Iran depletes the country's stockpile.

USA Today: US aircraft carriers in the Middle East are facing food shortages

Citing the families of service personnel, the publication reports that food supplies on board the ships are running low: there are no fresh vegetables or fruit, portions have been reduced, and the menu consists mainly of processed foods.

Crews are forced to ration their food, whilst no port calls to replenish supplies are planned until the mission is complete.

Engineering marvel: US-Israel bombed 6 bridges - Iranian engineers rebuilt them in 96 hours

Iran not only survived the heaviest bombardment of its civilian infrastructure in modern history during the 40-day war of aggression imposed by the US-Israeli alliance but also achieved the rare engineering feat of restoring six major railway bridges and dozens of critical transport links in under 96 hours.

One key span near Qom reopened in less than 40 minutes, effectively neutralizing the enemy's key strategy of paralyzing the nation through economic strangulation.

UAE to close its flagship Burj Al Arab hotel for 1.5 years after Iranian strikes

The United Arab Emirates is to close its flagship Burj Al Arab hotel for one and a half years amid a sharp drop in tourist visits to the Persian Gulf country, caused by Iran's retaliatory attacks against US bases in the region, a report says.

'All changed with the genocide': Palestinian women and girls face brutal abuse in Israeli jails | Middle East Eye

Once you picture schoolgirls, university students, mothers, aunts and grandmothers lying on their stomachs in prison pyjamas - their hands tied behind their backs, and soldiers looming over them, beating them if they move even slightly - you cannot forget the image.

When you hear a female prisoner say she has "nothing but her heart", you immediately grasp how prison can dismantle lives.

Palestinian Prisoners' Day is marked every year on 17 April to spotlight ongoing human rights violations - and today, conditions are worse than ever. Since the launch of the Gaza genocide, starvation, isolation, humiliation, strip searches, torture and overwhelming fear have become constant realities for Palestinian women in Israeli prisons.

Israel: Every Accusation is a Confession - Video #308

Israel is a racist, narcissistic and psychopathic state, based on Jewish victimhood and supremacy, led by the Satanic cult of Sabbatean-Frankism. With Israel, learn why every accusation is a confession, due to the psychological phenomenon of projection.