Talks between Iran and the USA 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.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump criticized Iran’s handling of nuclear negotiations, saying it has didn’t move toward a deal.
“Iran can’t get their act together. They don’t know easy methods to sign a nonnuclear deal. They higher get smart soon!” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Pakistan said its weekly oil import bill has surged by about 167 per cent as a result of 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 an identical message, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the U.S.-Israel war, combined with retaliation from Iran resembling choking the Strait of Hormuz, is costing the European Union almost 500 million euros ($600 million) a day, raising prices on the pumps and fears of a jet fuel shortage inside weeks.
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Merz says relationship with Trump is ‘pretty much as good as ever’
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his relationship with President Donald Trump stays “pretty much as good as ever,” but that he had “had doubts from the very starting about what was began there with the war in Iran.”
“We’re suffering considerably in Germany and in Europe from the results of, for instance, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” Merz said on Wednesday. This hurts energy supplies and the economy. “And in that regard, I urge that this conflict be resolved.”
Trump had earlier attacked Merz on his Truth Social platform: “The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about!” Trump wrote.
Trump was responding to Merz’s comments on Monday, when the German Chancellor said the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized Washington’s lack of strategy within the war.
Trump says Iran ‘higher get smart soon’
U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Iran’s handling of nuclear negotiations, saying it has didn’t move toward a deal.
“Iran can’t get their act together. They don’t know easy methods to sign a nonnuclear deal. They higher get smart soon!” he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump’s post featured an AI-generated image of himself holding a weapon amid explosions with the caption “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY.”
Tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program rose before the war broke out, with Trump repeatedly vowing to make sure the country can’t construct a nuclear weapon. Iran long has insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, though it enriched uranium to almost weapons-grade levels.
Iran has carried out at the very least 21 executions since start of war
The U.N.’s human rights chief said Iran has executed at the very least 21 people because the start of the war with the USA and Israel on Feb. 28.
Volker Türk says at the very least nine people were executed in reference to huge protests across Iran in January, while one other 10 were executed for alleged membership in opposition groups, and two others on espionage charges.
Greater than 4,000 people have been arrested on national security-related charges in Iran because the end of February, his office says.
Lebanese army soldier killed in Israeli strike
A Lebanese army soldier was killed Wednesday along together 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 within the village of al-Souaneh, the military said in a press release.
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The Lebanese army has stood on the sidelines in the course of 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 steadily gotten caught within the crossfire.
A complete of 20 Lebanese army soldiers have been killed by Israeli strikes since March 2, most of them while en path to or from their duty stations, the military said. Altogether, greater than 2,500 people have been killed in Lebanon in the course of the war and through a shaky ceasefire implemented earlier this month that has reduced but not halted the fighting.
Iran’s highly enriched uranium likely at Isfahan, IAEA says
The vast majority of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is probably going still at its Isfahan nuclear complex, which was bombarded by airstrikes last yr and faced less intense attacks in this yr’s U.S.-Israeli war, the top 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 consequences of the most recent U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Iran and that “we proceed to get information.”
IAEA inspections ended at Isfahan when Israel last June launched a 12-day war that saw the USA bomb three Iranian nuclear sites.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog believes a big 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 bill rises to $800M from $300M before Iran war
Pakistan’s weekly oil import bill has surged by about 167 per cent as a result of 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 federal government is taking steps to conserve energy and reduce oil consumption, and that diplomatic efforts to advertise peace are still ongoing.
EU losing $600M a day as a result of war’s impact on energy prices
European Union countries must funnel their energy aid chiefly to vulnerable households and industries or risk wasting billions of euros because 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 resembling choking the Strait of Hormuz, is costing the EU almost 500 million euros ($600 million) a day, raising prices on the pumps and fears of a jet fuel shortage inside weeks.
Von der Leyen said the world’s biggest trading bloc must draw on the teachings 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.
Greater than 350 billion euros “were spent on untargeted measures and this had a huge effect on member states funds,” she told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France. “So allow us to not make the identical mistake again, and let’s focus our support where it matters most.”
Iran’s rial currency hits record low
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 in the course of the war, which began Feb. 28, partially because there was little trading or imports coming into the country.
The rial began to slip two days ago, hitting the record low Wednesday.
Experts warn the autumn of the rial is prone to further fuel inflation in a rustic 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 extend pressure on Iran’s already-battered economy, cutting right into a key source of presidency revenue and hard currency by stopping or intercepting oil shipments.
Pakistan continuing efforts to ease US-Iran tensions, PM says
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Wednesday his government is continuous efforts to assist ease tensions between the USA and Iran.
Speaking during a Cabinet meeting in Islamabad, he said a “marathon session” was held within the capital during an initial round of direct talks between the 2 sides on April 11, resulting in progress on a ceasefire that is still in place.
He said Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Pakistan over the weekend in the course of the ceasefire, where one other prolonged round of talks took place between Iran and Pakistan. Araghchi later traveled to Oman, returned briefly, after which departed for Russia, Sharif said.
Sharif said before leaving for Moscow, Araghchi spoke to him by phone and “assured me that after consulting together with his leadership, he would respond as soon as possible.” He didn’t specify what Araghchi would reply to, but Pakistan has said it’s in search of to host a second round of talks between the USA and Iran.
Hegseth to face Congress for the primary time since Iran war began
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will face questioning from members of Congress for the primary time because the Iran war began.
The hearing Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee will give attention to the Trump administration’s $1.5 trillion military budget for 2027.
Democratic lawmakers are prone to grill Hegseth on the Iran war’s costs and large drawdown of critical munitions. While a ceasefire is now in place, the U.S. and Israel launched the war Feb. 28 without congressional oversight.