Sanctions

The IRGC intercepted two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz under US escort, while the US and Israel are reportedly discussing a land blockade of Iran. In Gaza, the IDF killed a Mujahideen Brigades commander involved in the October 7 abductions. In the West Bank, Israeli civilians entered Nablus, sparking clashes. Saudi Arabia is preparing for a ground operation against the Houthis in Yemen.

President Trump ordered the US military to prepare strikes on Iran if Tehran attempts to assassinate him, while demanding a public pledge to halt attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. Hormuz traffic collapsed to 35% of pre-war baseline. The US sanctioned a financier for Mojtaba Khamenei and 13 IRGC-linked entities. The IDF killed a Hezbollah operative in southern Lebanon. EU foreign ministers are set to discuss a ban on products from West Bank settlements.

The IDF struck Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon as new Jerusalem-Beirut talks began in Washington, while President Trump claimed Iran agreed to nuclear inspections—a statement Tehran immediately denied. Netanyahu called for independence from US arms, and a UN inquiry accused Israel of genocide against Gaza children.

An armed infiltrator in Hezbollah uniform was shot dead by IDF troops after crossing the Lebanon border near Ramim Ridge and opening fire. Israel issued a sweeping evacuation warning for the city of Tyre, including the Christian quarter for the first time, and carried out strikes that killed at least eight. A US Army Apache helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz; both pilots were rescued. Six countries announced new sanctions targeting Israeli settler networks in the West Bank, and France banned Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

The IRGC launched a retaliatory attack on a US base in Kuwait following overnight American strikes near Bandar Abbas, Iran. An IDF soldier was killed and two reservists wounded in a Hezbollah explosive drone attack on a military zone near the Lebanese border. The IDF began striking Hezbollah infrastructure in Tyre after ordering evacuations. The UN added Israel to its blacklist of perpetrators of sexual violence in conflict zones, prompting Israel to reportedly cut ties with UN Secretary-General Guterres. The US reimposed sanctions on UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese.

Hezbollah launched multiple explosive-drone attacks on Israeli positions along the Lebanon border on Friday, with the IDF confirming several impacts inside Israeli territory and a serious security incident involving casualties. Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon killed at least 11 people, including paramedics, according to Lebanese health authorities. Meanwhile, a draft US-Iran ceasefire framework circulated by Saudi media would pause hostilities and open the Strait of Hormuz but explicitly excludes the nuclear file, as Iran rejects uranium export demands and asserts expanded maritime claims.

US House Republicans abruptly delayed a vote on a war powers resolution that would have limited President Trump’s authority to strike Iran, as the administration sanctioned nine Hezbollah-linked Lebanese officials. On the ground, the IDF killed two armed suspects approaching the Israel-Lebanon border, while an Israeli strike on a Civil Defense center in Hanaweih killed four paramedics. Diplomatic signals between Washington and Tehran continued, with both sides citing progress but stuck on uranium enrichment and Hormuz tolls.

An IDF reservist was killed and a brigade commander wounded in separate Hezbollah attacks in southern Lebanon. The US Senate advanced a war powers resolution to limit President Trump’s authority to strike Iran, while Vice President Vance warned the US is 'locked and loaded' if talks fail. Israel is reportedly preparing for a possible renewal of the Iran war, and Trump said Tehran has days to make a deal. Chinese President Xi told Russia’s Putin that Middle East hostilities are 'inadvisable.'

US President Donald Trump is seriously considering resuming major combat operations against Iran, frustrated by stalled negotiations and Tehran’s continued uranium enrichment. In Lebanon, the IDF completed a weeklong raid north of the Litani River, while Hezbollah launched multiple drone and glider attacks on Israeli forces. Kuwait announced it had stopped an armed IRGC team from infiltrating Bubiyan Island. The Knesset passed a law establishing a special tribunal with death penalty powers for October 7 detainees. Israel confirmed it sent Iron Dome batteries to the UAE.

The IRGC threatened to strike US bases in the region if Iranian tankers are attacked, a day after US strikes on two tankers. In Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 36 people in the past day, while Hezbollah launched multiple drone attacks on Israeli forces. Qatar is mediating between the US and Iran, and reports reveal Israel built a secret base in Iraq to support its Iran campaign.

President Trump threatened Iran to 'get smart soon' and is reportedly preparing for an extended naval blockade, while Hezbollah launched rockets at the Galilee and claimed drone strikes on IDF tanks in Qantara. The IDF killed a senior Hamas intelligence operative in Gaza, and the UAE's OPEC exit continued to reshape energy markets.

The UAE announced it will leave OPEC effective May 1, fracturing the oil cartel amid the Hormuz crisis, while the IDF demolished two vast Hezbollah attack tunnels in southern Lebanon built with direct Iranian guidance. Hezbollah launched coordinated drone strikes on IDF positions, and Lebanese Army soldiers were injured in an Israeli airstrike during a rescue operation.

An IDF soldier was severely wounded and another lightly injured in a Hezbollah explosive drone attack in southern Lebanon, amid a US rejection of Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without addressing its nuclear program.

The IDF launched airstrikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in the Beqaa Valley and southern Lebanon for the first time in three weeks, while Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem rejected negotiations and vowed to continue confrontation. Iran's foreign minister arrived in Moscow for talks as Tehran reportedly proposed a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war.

An IDF soldier was killed and six others wounded when a Hezbollah explosive-laden drone struck near troops evacuating casualties in Taybeh, southern Lebanon. The attack, which targeted a disabled Merkava tank, prompted Israeli artillery and airstrikes that killed 14 civilians according to Lebanese health authorities, while the IDF Home Front Command tightened gathering restrictions in northern Israel.

An IDF soldier was killed and six others wounded when a Hezbollah explosive-laden drone struck near a disabled tank in Taybeh, southern Lebanon, marking the first Israeli fatality since the ceasefire extension. The IRGC Navy seized two ships, including one Israeli-linked vessel, in the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran's diplomatic push with Pakistan, Oman, and Russia stalled.

President Trump publicly ordered the US Navy to shoot and kill any vessel mining the Strait of Hormuz, while Israeli Defense Minister Katz declared Israel is prepared to resume war against Iran and is awaiting a US 'green light' to strike Iranian energy infrastructure and the new supreme leader. Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ghalibaf resigned from the negotiating team amid reported IRGC interference, further complicating ceasefire diplomacy.

Hezbollah fired an anti-tank guided missile at IDF forces in southern Lebanon — confirmed by the IDF as a ceasefire violation — while Iran's parliament speaker Ghalibaf declared the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen as long as the US is 'blockading ports,' hardening Tehran's position beyond the fee-charging posture reported in the prior SITREP. Israel-Lebanon ceasefire talks are underway in Washington with the truce set to expire in approximately three days.

Since the prior SITREP, the US Navy has expanded its interdiction of Iranian oil tankers into Asian waters, citing a mine threat in the Strait of Hormuz that the Pentagon estimates could take up to six months to clear. Separately, IDF assessments confirm Iran retains hundreds of ballistic missile launchers and approximately 1,000 missiles largely intact despite US-Israeli strikes.

Since the prior SITREP, the IRGC has conducted the most significant kinetic maritime escalation of the current cycle: seizing two vessels and firing on at least one additional ship in the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran explicitly framing the action as retaliation for the US capture of the Touska. Simultaneously, Hezbollah launched a drone at IDF troops in southern Lebanon — intercepted by Israeli air defenses — marking a fresh ceasefire violation.

Since the prior SITREP, three new developments have emerged: UKMTO issued a second maritime incident report 8NM west of Iran (distinct from the prior northeast-of-Oman attack); the US Treasury blocked a ~$500M Iraq oil dollar shipment to curb Iran-linked groups; and Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya spokesman issued a 'hands on trigger' warning as the IRGC marked its 48th anniversary with vows of military surprises.

An IRGC vessel fired on a container ship approximately 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman, causing significant damage to the bridge — a kinetic maritime incident during the active US-Iran ceasefire and Hormuz blockade. UKMTO confirmed the attack; Israeli and regional media corroborate the IRGC attribution.

Trump announced an open-ended ceasefire extension hours before the Wednesday deadline, conditioned on Iran producing a 'unified proposal,' while explicitly maintaining the naval blockade of Hormuz. Simultaneously, Hezbollah launched rockets and drones at an IDF position in Kfar Giladi — the first confirmed kinetic exchange on the Lebanon front since the prior SITREP — and the US issued fresh sanctions on 14 Iran-linked arms entities.

Iran's state media denies any delegation has departed for Islamabad while a Pakistani diplomatic source claims a preliminary Iranian delegation has arrived, creating unresolved ambiguity over whether Tuesday talks are alive as the ceasefire expires Wednesday. The IEA has declared the Hormuz closure the worst energy crisis in history, a Mossad officer was killed outside Israel during the war, and Israeli forces are escalating demolitions in southern Lebanon under ceasefire cover.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf has publicly threatened to 'reveal new cards on the battlefield' and rejected negotiations under threat, materially hardening Tehran's posture since the prior SITREP's tentative signal of Islamabad attendance. Trump has confirmed the Hormuz blockade remains in force, Hormuz transits have collapsed to three vessels in 12 hours, and Pakistan-brokered talks are described as hanging by a thread.

Since the prior SITREP, a cluster of covert Iranian operations has come into focus: 40 Israelis were detained at Moscow's airport in an apparent Russia-Iran alignment signal, a foiled IRGC assassination network in Azerbaijan reportedly resulted in senior IRGC commanders being killed, and the UAE dismantled an Iran-linked cell while the US charged an Iranian national with arms trafficking to Sudan. On the diplomatic track, Iranian sources now indicate Tehran will attend Islamabad talks, a partial reversal from the prior 'no decision' posture.

The US Navy seized the Iranian cargo vessel MV Touska in the Sea of Oman/Strait of Hormuz area, prompting the IRGC to threaten retaliation and Iran's Foreign Ministry to accuse Washington of ceasefire violations. Simultaneously, Iran has not confirmed participation in the next round of US-Iran talks in Islamabad despite Vance's arrival in Pakistan, placing the diplomatic track in acute uncertainty.

The Lebanon ceasefire is nominal and deteriorating, Hormuz remains closed with active IRGC harassment, and diplomacy produces only procedural signals — no breakthrough in 24 hours.