Iran slams US blockade as Vance says ball now in Tehran’s court over talks

Iran slammed a US blockade around its ports as a "grave violation" of its sovereignty, as Washington and Tehran's belligerent rhetoric rattled a fragile truce.

"The imposition of a maritime blockade constitutes a grave violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Iran's ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani wrote to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in a letter seen by AFP.

The "unlawful" blockade also "constitutes a serious violation of the fundamental principles of the international law of the sea," Iravani added on Monday.

US President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of ships entering or leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas in the Gulf Sunday, following the failure of peace talks over the weekend, warning that any Iranian attack boats that challenged the blockade would be destroyed.

The blockade came into force at 1400 GMT Monday, despite the United States and Iran agreeing to a two-week ceasefire days earlier, with mediator Pakistan and Gulf state Qatar continuing calls for it to be respected as diplomatic efforts continue.

Guterres on Monday called on "all parties" to respect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran and subsequently the United States blocked passage through the critical waterway.

The strait, through which a fifth of global oil and gas flows, has become a key flashpoint as the US and Iran attempt to gain leverage over each other during ceasefire negotiations.

Iravani said the "unlawful" blockade "poses a grave threat to international peace and security and obviously exacerbates the risk of escalation in an already highly volatile region."

In a second letter, the UN envoy called on Middle Eastern countries hosting US military bases to "cease their internationally wrongful acts."

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan should pay "compensation for all material and moral damage sustained," he said.

Meanwhile, US Vice-President JD Vance said that Washington has made its red lines clear in talks with Iran on ending the Mideast war and it is now up to Tehran to take action.

Vance led a delegation that met with Iranian officials in Pakistan over the weekend, but the talks ended without securing a deal to end the more than five-week US-Israeli assault against the Islamic republic.

"I really think the ball is in the Iranian court, because we put a lot on the table. We actually made very clear what our red lines were," Vance said in an interview with Fox News.

"There are two things in particular where the president of the United States really said we have no flexibility," Vance said. He listed them as US control of Iran's enriched uranium, and a verification mechanism to ensure it does not develop a nuclear weapon in the future.

"It's one thing for the Iranians to say that they're not going to have a nuclear weapon. It's another thing for us to put in place the mechanism to ensure that's not going to happen," Vance said.

He also said that in return for a two-week ceasefire agreed to by the two sides last week, Washington expects Iran to fully reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway, which has been effectively closed by Tehran's forces.

- Hezbollah urges Lebanon against Israel talks -
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Monday urged Lebanon to cancel a planned meeting with Israel in Washington, reiterating his group's rejection of direct negotiations with Israel.

"We call for a historic and heroic stance by cancelling this negotiating meeting," Qassem, whose Iran-backed group has been at war with Israel since March 2, said in a televised address.

The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States are scheduled to meet on Tuesday.

Invading Israeli forces in southern Lebanon have killed a man using a first-person view (FPV) drone in the besieged town of Bint Jbeil. He appears to be wounded before the attack, which would violate the Geneva Convention. Israel says it ‘eliminated’ a Hezbollah fighter. pic.twitter.com/iOHjfNDuHc

— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) April 14, 2026

- Tough outlook for energy markets -
April could shape up to be a tougher month than March for energy markets and the economy, the head of the International Energy Agency said Monday.

Fatih Birol said March saw delivery of cargo loaded before the crisis in the Middle East, but "during the month of April, nothing has been loaded."

"The longer the disruption is, the more severe the problem becomes," he told reporters after a meeting at the International Monetary Fund in Washington.

- Trump says ships pass Strait of Hormuz -
US President Donald Trump said that 34 ships had passed through the Strait of Hormuz, but the figure could not be immediately corroborated.

"34 Ships went through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, which is by far the highest number since this foolish closure began," Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday.

- No Trump apology -
Trump said he had "nothing to apologise for" after criticising Pope Leo XIV's calls for an end to the conflict in the Middle East.

"Pope Leo said things that are wrong. He was very much against what I'm doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran," said Trump, adding that the US-born pope was "very weak on crime and other things."

Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned Trump's criticism of Leo as "unacceptable".

- Trump: Iran wants a deal -
Trump said Iranian representatives had called to make a peace deal after talks in Pakistan ended at the weekend without agreement. "I can tell you that we've been called by the other side. They'd like to make a deal. Very badly, very badly," he told reporters outside the Oval Office, without identifying which officials had called.

- Israel hits 150 Hezbollah targets -
Israel's military said Monday that it had struck around 150 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon over the past 24 hours, as the country prepares for peace talks with Lebanese officials in Washington.

"In the past 24 hours, approximately 150 Hezbollah terrorist organisation targets were struck in numerous areas across southern Lebanon," the military said, adding that the targets included "military structures, anti-tank missile launch points, and terror command centers".

Thousands of people have rallied in Tehran in support of Iran’s government after a US blockade came into effect targeting ships leaving Iranian ports.

Protesters dismissed President Donald Trump’s threats as empty and said Iran’s armed forces would respond to any escalation. pic.twitter.com/ofir6YqFlf

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) April 13, 2026

- US to destroy Iran 'attack ships' -
Trump said US forces would destroy any Iranian "fast attack ships" that approach the American naval blockade of Iranian ports that came into effect on Monday.

"Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED," he said on his Truth Social network, adding that the rest of Iran's navy had been "completely obliterated."

The US military would be "using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea," the president said, referring to airstrikes on alleged narcotics boats off the coast of Venezuela.