Iran-US war latest: Lebanon and Israel ceasefire extended as Trump says he threw away Tehran’s peace proposal

China’s ambassador to the UN criticised a proposed US-Bahrain resolution for the Strait of Hormuz blockade, stating that it would not be helpful.

The resolution calls for Iran to stop attacks and mining in the strait.

“What we need is to urge both sides to engage in serious and good-faith negotiations that can resolve the issue. So passing a resolution ​at this stage, we don’t think is going to be helpful,” China’s UN envoy Fu Cong said, according to the Pass Blue news portal, which reports on UN news.

“We don’t think the content is ​right, and the timing is not right,” Mr Cong said.

A similar US-backed draft resolution was vetoed by Russia and China last month, who argued it was biased against ​Iran.

Ayman al-Zain watched on a recent afternoon as a bulldozer cleared the rubble of what used to be his sports clothing store, which was one of dozens of buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes against the Hezbollah militant group.

With a nominal truce in place that has reduced but not halted the fighting, Al-Zain tried to assess whether to rebuild the shop in Beirut’s southern suburbs that he once hoped to pass down to his kids. But it’s unlikely he will be able to do so anytime soon, and not only because of the fear of more airstrikes.

“Everything is expensive,” he told The Associated Press. “If I want to open a new store and get mannequins, hangers and some accessories, the prices are very different than before.”

The UAE is set to boost the construction of a new oil pipeline which will allow it to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

The project would mean Abu Dhabi’s oil exports are no longer at the mercy of Iranian blockade, with Tehran claiming it retains full control over the strait.

The project will allow it to double its export capacity through Fujairah, the government’s Abu Dhabi media office said on Friday.

A support vessel owned by Malaysian firm Vantris Energy, formerly known as Sapura Energy, passed through the Strait of Hormuz, shipping data showed on Friday.

It becomes the fourth ship linked to the country to transit the waterway since the outbreak of the US-Iran war.

The Sapura 1200 was among seven ships that the Malaysian government had sought permission from Iran to clear the strait, which has been mostly closed off since the conflict broke out in late February disrupting global energy supplies, two sources told Reuters news agency.

The ship made its way through the strait, hewing close to the Iranian coastline, before heading for Oman, entering the Muscat port, LSEG data showed.

Malaysia’s prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said in March Iran would allow Malaysian vessels to pass through the strait after holding talks with Iranian officials.

Republican representative Jim Jordan had a blunt message for Americans regarding current gas hikes, saying it’s because of “the world we live in.”

In a CNN interview with Kaitlin Collins, the Ohioan congressman argued that the rising cost of gas as a result of war with Iran is an acceptable price to pay for fighting Tehran.

The US has killed several high-ranking Iranian officials during the conflict, although they are yet to achieve regime change as figures have been readily replaced, with Mojtaba Khamenei succeeding his father as supreme leader.

Jordan was asked to explain his ongoing support for Trump and the United States war against Iran, which has resulted in gas hitting a high of $4.53 per gallon.

President Donald Trump has once again insisted that Iran’s military power has been severely depleted as a result of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

“They have no navy, they have no air force, it’s all destroyed,” he said on Friday.

“Their air force is destroyed, but yet they’re not going to be game. Iran’s foreign minister said the Strait [of Hormuz] is not open to commercial shipping only if they cooperate with the Iranians.

“They’re not going to be game. You know who’s talking a big game?The fake news media. If you read the New York Times, you would think that we’re losing militarily.

“Think of it, they have 159 ships, everyone is now in the bottom of the sea, every one of them is gone.”

US intelligence reports suggest that Iran’s military capacity remains robust.

President Donald Trump has doubled down on comments about not being concerned about the financial plight of Americans as a result of the Iran war.

Asked about the continuing pocketbook pressures faced by everyday consumers as a result of the war he started more than two months ago, Trump told reporters on Tuesday: “I don’t think about American financial situation — I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”

When questioned about the comments on Friday, the US leader said: “It’s a perfect statement. I’ll make it again. Everybody agrees.”

At least six people were killed, including three paramedics, and 22 were wounded in an Israeli strike on a civil defense center in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese state news agency said on Friday.

It comes as a ceasefire was reportedly extended for another 45 days.

Subsea cables are fibre-optic or electrical cables ‌laid on the sea floor to transmit data and power.

They carry around 99 per cent of the world’s internet traffic, according to the ITU, the United Nations specialized agency for digital technologies.

They also carry telecommunications and electricity between countries, and are essential for cloud services and online communications.

“Damaged cables mean the internet slowing down or outages, e-commerce disruptions, delayed financial transactions … and economic fallout from all of these disruptions,” said geopolitical and energy analyst Masha ​Kotkin.

Gulf countries, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have been investing billions of dollars in artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure to diversify their economies away from oil.

Both nations ​have established national AI companies serving customers across the region – all reliant on undersea cables to move data at lightning speed.