Middle East War Day 45: US Blocks Iranian Ports, Tehran Rebounds, Latest Developments at a Glance

Middle East War Key News Central News Agency (Paris, 13th, comprehensive foreign news) On the 45th day of the US-Israel joint attack on Iran, as the US blockade on Iranian ports took effect, US President Trump stated that Iranian authorities had called to seek an agreement. Iran, however, slammed the US for setting up a blockade around its ports, calling it a serious infringement of Iranian sovereignty. The following are the latest developments in the Middle East war compiled by AFP. After US-Iran negotiations failed to reach an agreement last weekend, Trump announced that all Iranian ports would be blockaded starting at 14:00 GMT on the 13th (10:00 PM Taiwan time on the 13th), but allowed non-Iran-bound vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump later posted that 34 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz, the highest single-day record since the war began. However, this data could not be immediately confirmed. In addition, after US-Iran negotiations in Pakistan failed, Trump stated that Iranian representatives had called hoping to reach a peace agreement. He told the media outside the Oval Office: "I can tell you, they have called us. They are very, very eager to reach a deal." However, he did not specify which official made the call. On the Israeli side, the Israeli military stated that in the past 24 hours, it had struck about 150 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, including military facilities, anti-tank missile launch sites, and terrorist command centers. Israel will hold peace talks with Lebanese officials in Washington on the 14th. The Iranian military stated that the US Navy's blockade plan is illegal and tantamount to "piracy," warning that if Iranian ports are threatened, all ports in the Gulf region will be unsafe. Since the war began in late February, Iran has controlled the Strait of Hormuz, requiring non-hostile country ships to pay transit fees to Tehran. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), stated that the energy market and economy in April might be more difficult than in March. Birol pointed out that regional cargo delivered in March was loaded before the crisis erupted, but no cargo was loaded throughout April. He said in an interview after attending an IMF meeting that the longer the disruption, the more serious the problem. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated that the ceasefire between the US and Iran is still "holding," and efforts to resolve the conflict between the two sides are still in full swing. Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, stated that under international law, no country has the right to prevent ships from exercising their right of innocent passage and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem called on Lebanon to cancel the meeting with Israel in Washington, reiterating the organization's refusal to negotiate directly with Israel. Hezbollah, supported by Iran, has been fighting Israel since March 2. Pope Leo XIV, the Roman Catholic Pope, recently called for an end to the Middle East conflict. In response, Trump criticized the Pope's foreign policy as terrible, and later further stated that he did not need to apologize for his remarks, saying: "Some of what Leo XIV said was wrong. He was very opposed to my approach on the Iran issue, and you cannot let Iran have nuclear weapons." Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has always been close to Trump, made a rare statement refuting, "I think President Trump's remarks about the Pope are unacceptable. The Pope is the leader of the Catholic Church, and it is natural for him to call for peace and condemn all forms of war." (Compiler: Tsai Chia-min) 1150414