United States negotiators are scheduled to leave for Pakistan on Saturday, April 25, 2026, as part of moves to end the war that has killed thousands and roiled global markets.
Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
US envoys head to Islamabad
US envoys headed to the Pakistani capital on Saturday in a bid to kickstart a new round of peace negotiations with Iran amid a fragile ceasefire, though the prospect of direct talks remained uncertain.
The White House said emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would engage in an “in-person conversation” with Iranian representatives, but Iranian state media said that direct negotiations were not in the cards.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has already arrived in Islamabad. But an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson posted on X that Iranian officials did not plan to meet with US representatives and that Tehran’s concerns would be conveyed to mediator Pakistan.
Spain ‘reliable’ NATO member
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stressed Spain was a “reliable member” of NATO, after a report the United States was considering trying to suspend it over its refusal to support military operations against Iran.
Reuters cited an anonymous US official as telling it that the Pentagon had outlined the suspension option in an email looking at ways to punish NATO allies that steered clear of the US-Israeli war against Iran.
MTN credits subscribers with airtime over January network disruptions
Kuwait frees journalist
An American-Kuwaiti journalist has been released after being held for weeks in Kuwait during a crackdown on sharing footage of the US-Iran war, a US State Department official said.
Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, who has contributed to The New York Times, PBS, and Al Jazeera English, was arrested on March 3 for allegedly spreading false information, harming national security and misusing his mobile phone.
US freezes $344m in cryptocurrency
The United States has frozen $344 million in cryptocurrency assets over ties to Iran, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says, as Washington seeks to raise pressure on Tehran amid energy supply disruptions due to the war.
Six killed in Lebanon
Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed six people on Friday, the Lebanese health ministry said, despite an ongoing ceasefire in the more than six-week war between Israel and Hezbollah.
“The Israeli enemy’s airstrikes on southern Lebanon today, April 24, resulted in the martyrdom of six citizens and the injury of two others,” the ministry said in a statement.
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