Three vessels hit by gunfire in Strait of Hormuz, crews safe

At least three container ships were hit by gunfire in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, maritime security sources and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

Iran has imposed restrictions on ships using the strait, first in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli bombardment of the country, and then in response to a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

A Liberia-flagged container ship sustained damage to its bridge after being hit by gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades northeast of Oman.

The UKMTO said the master of the vessel reported being approached by an IRGC gunboat. The vessel, it said, was subsequently fired upon. All crew members were safe and there was no fire or environmental impact due to the incident.

Maritime security sources said that three people were onboard that gunboat. The master of the Greek-operated container ship also reported that no radio contact was made prior to the incident and that the vessel had been initially informed that it had permission to transit the Strait of Hormuz. The UKMTO later said that a second container vessel had been fired upon about eight nautical miles west of Iran. The Panama-flagged vessel was not damaged and its crew members are safe.

Maritime security sources said that a third container ship was fired upon about eight nautical miles west of Iran while transiting outbound of the Strait of Hormuz. The Liberia-flagged vessel, which was not damaged had stopped in the water. Its crew are safe, the sources said.

Before the war began on February 28, the waterway typically handled roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supply.

Iranian adviser says Trump ceasefire means 'nothing'

A senior Iranian adviser says US President Donald Trump's ceasefire extension means "nothing" and is "certainly a ploy to buy time for a surprise strike".

Mahdi Mohammadi is an adviser to the Iranian parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

In a post in Persian on X, Mohammadi says the continuation of Trump's "siege" is "no different from bombardment" and must be "met with a military response". He adds: "The time for Iran to take the initiative has come."

The US Navy has been blockading the Strait of Hormuz and its forces boarded an Iranian-flagged cargo ship on Sunday, after Iran had effectively closed the busy shipping channel for weeks.

Israeli military says it's unaware of strike in Lebanon

The Israeli military said it was unaware of a strike in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley on Wednesday after Lebanon's state news agency reported an Israeli drone had killed one person and wounded two others in the area.

The state-run National News Agency said the incident had taken place on the outskirts of al-Jbour in Lebanon's western Bekaa Valley.  

Hopes of peace talks in Pakistan are fading

US President Donald Trump said he would indefinitely extend the ceasefire with Iran to allow for further peace talks, although it was not clear on Wednesday if Iran or Israel, the US ally in the two-month war, would agree.

Trump said in a statement on social media the U. had agreed to a request by Pakistani mediators "to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal ... and discussions are concluded, one way or the other."

Pakistan's leaders have hosted peace talks in Islamabad to end a war that has killed thousands of people and shaken the global economy.

But even as he announced what appeared to be a unilateral ceasefire extension, Trump also said he would continue the US Navy's blockade of Iran's trade by sea, considered an act of war by Iran.

There was no response early on Wednesday to Trump's announcement from senior Iranian officials, although some initial reactions from Tehran suggested Trump's comments were being treated skeptically.

Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, said Iran had not asked for a ceasefire extension and repeated threats to break the US blockade by force. An adviser to Iran's lead negotiator, the speaker of parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said Trump's announcement carried little weight and may be a ploy. Trump's wartime rhetoric has veered between extremes. In an expletive-filled threat against Iran only two weeks ago he promised that a "whole civilization will die tonight", while at other times he has appeared keen to end the violence and market uncertainty.

With his announcement, Trump again pulled back at the last moment from his threats to bomb Iran's power plants and bridges. United Nations Secretary General António Guterres and others have condemned those threats, noting international humanitarian law forbids attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.

British military says Iran's Revolutionary Guard has fired on ship in Hormuz

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard opened fire Wednesday on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz, damaging the ship and further raising the stakes as planned ceasefire talks in Pakistan failed to materialise.

The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said the attack happened around 7:55 am in the strait and targeted a container ship.

The UKMTO said a Guard gunboat did not hail the ship before firing.

It said no one was hurt and there was no environmental impact from the attack.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge the assault.

It comes after the US seized an Iranian container ship after shooting it this past weekend and boarded an oil tanker associated with Iran's oil trade in the Indian Ocean.

One dead in Israeli drone attack in Lebanon’s western Bekaa

An Israeli drone attack targeting the outskirts of al-Jabbour area in western Bekaa has killed one person.

The air attack left two people injured, according to the Reuters report.

Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel, Mizan reports

Iran executed a man convicted of spying for Israel’s intelligence service and passing sensitive information, the judiciary's news outlet Mizan reported on Wednesday.

Mizan identified the man as Mehdi Farid, saying he had held a position in a civil defence unit within a sensitive organisation and had used his access to gather and transmit information to Israel's Mossad.

His death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court and carried out after legal procedures were completed, Mizan said.  

Vance will not be travelling to Pakistan on Tuesday: White House

The White House said in a statement that in light of the president's announcement that he was extending the ceasefire and awaiting a proposal from Iran, Vice President JD Vance and the US negotiating delegation would not be travelling to Pakistan on Tuesday.