Iran war live: Lebanon truce extended; Trump says time not on Tehran’s side

Tehran is definitely rejecting the rhetoric from the United States’ president that there is a division inside Iran and among Iranian officials and the government.

The theme over the past few hours, that we have seen here, is unity, a unified message coming from across different branches and different senior officials, senior figures and diplomats, and also from the military side.

They are all sending the same message, the same stance, the same position on their conditions to join or not join the next negotiation table in Islamabad.

One of the strong messages came from Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s president, saying that there are no hardliners or moderates between Iranians; they are all Iranians. And that there is only one path for Iranians, and highlighting the alignment between the leadership and the Iranian people.

In Iran there are no "hardliners" or "moderates" We are all Iranians and revolutionaries. With ironclad unity of nation and state and obedience to the Supreme Leader, we will make the aggressor regret. One God, one nation, one leader, one path; victory for Iran, dearer than life

— Masoud Pezeshkian (@drpezeshkian) April 23, 2026

Speaking during a White House meeting with ambassadors from Lebanon and Israel, Trump said that the two countries had agreed to extend a ceasefire by three weeks.

He also said that he expects Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun to visit the US “over the next couple of weeks”.

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Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, has said that two oil tankers seized by US forces were pursued due to warrants issued by her office.

As we reported earlier, the US Defense Department said that US forces had boarded “the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T Majestic X transporting oil from Iran, in the Indian Ocean”.

Pirro, who was appointed to her role by Trump, said that the two ships M/T Majestic and M/T Tifani were both carrying “approximately 1.9 million barrels of Iranian oil” when they were seized.

“We will continue to relentlessly investigate, track, and pursue these cases, using every lawful authority to hold sanctioned actors and those who support terrorism accountable, and to deny them of any ability to profit from illicit maritime activity,” Pirro said in a statement shared on social media.

Pirro added that her office has previously “executed some of the nation’s most complex seizure warrants”, naming the US seizures of three oil tankers carrying Venezuelan oil – Skipper, Bella 1 and Veronica.

Nothing publicly suggests new talks are scheduled between the US and Iran, though Trump and the White House say the Iranians are in contact.

The question for Trump is how long the ceasefire extension lasts. He has responded that he is not in a rush to get a deal.

But the Iranians don’t have all the time in the world.

Operation Economic Fury, which includes the naval blockade, is a tool Trump believes is effective in getting Iran to the negotiating table.

The United States has confirmed a third aircraft carrier has sailed into the region, meaning even more pressure can be put on ships coming in and out of Iranian ports.

The military also remains locked and loaded, with even more weapons in the region now than when the ceasefire happened.

Trump would like a deal, but he is not going to sit around waiting forever for talks to start.

Over the last 24 hours, we have seen small arms fired between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah fired an antitank weapon at Israeli forces via a salvo of rockets. Israel says there were no casualties, but has acknowledged one reservist was injured in a separate drone attack.

Israel has been carrying out air strikes and says it killed three Hezbollah members who were trying to shoot down one of its drones. We have seen extensive fighting throughout the day, escalating from clashes that began a few days ago.

The Lebanese military says that within hours of the ceasefire taking place, Israel was already shelling areas inside southern Lebanon.

Israeli forces have remained in southern Lebanon throughout, destroying villages to create a buffer zone behind what they call the “Yellow Line”.

Israeli media have reported that Hezbollah’s increased use of drones using fibre-optic cables is complicating things for Israeli forces as these cannot be electronically jammed.

What we have seen is how fragile the situation is and how easy it is for a ceasefire to begin to unravel.

• US President Donald Trump said that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to extend a temporary ceasefire by three weeks.
• Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel is “prepared to resume the war against Iran” and would bomb it back to “the Stone Age” if given the green light by Washington.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran’s state institutions continue “to act with unity, purpose and discipline” despite Israeli attacks.
• International outcry continues over the Israeli killing of Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil.
• The Iran war, including fertiliser shortages caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, could push 30 million people into poverty, UN development chief Alexander De Croo said.

Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of the United States and Israel’s war on Iran, and Israel’s war on Lebanon.

Stay with us for the latest news and analyses from across the Middle East and beyond.

You can find our updates from Thursday, April 23, here.