Live: Iran accuses US of ‘terrorism’ over ship seizure

Economic growth in China is expected to slow this year despite a 5 percent expansion in 2025, as rising oil prices weigh on the outlook, according to a senior economist at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Hamza Malik said growth could fall to between 4.6 percent and 4.3 percent, while India’s economy is also expected to ease from over 7 percent to about 6 percent. 

“Asia-Pacific remains the engine of global economic growth,” Malik was quoted by Associated Press as having said at a news conference at United Nations headquarters in New York.

He said higher prices for oil, gasoline and fertilisers linked to the war are affecting the region’s economic trajectory.

Amnesty International said Israel, Russia and the United States are leading a decline in global human rights, with the group’s secretary general Agnes Callamard describing their leaders as “voracious predators” in a new report on the state of human rights worldwide.

“A global environment where primitive ferocity could flourish has been long in the making,” Callamard wrote.

In 2025, there were “sharp U-turns” away from the international order built after World War II, he added. 

More than 780 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip since a ceasefire was agreed in October, according to the territory’s health ministry.

Officials said five people were killed on Monday in separate incidents across the enclave.

The ministry said three people were killed in the shelling of a police checkpoint in Khan Younis, one in a drone strike in the Bureij refugee camp, and another in a strike near Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood.

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats will force a fifth vote on a war powers resolution aimed at halting US President Donald Trump’s war with Iran.

“Senate Republicans cannot sit on the sidelines while our service members are risking their lives on the frontlines,” Schumer said.

“We will continue putting them on the record until the war ends or until enough of them find the courage to vote with us to end this war,” he added.

The United States Congress holds the constitutional authority to declare war, but previous efforts by Democrats to pass such resolutions have been blocked by Republicans, who hold narrow majorities in both chambers.

A Pakistani official said Islamabad conveyed messages to US President Donald Trump warning him against using strong public language, according to The Washington Post.

The move comes as Pakistan continues to mediate between the United States and Iran ahead of potential talks.

Reuters reported that a Pakistani official said, “We have received a positive signal from Iran, things are changing, and we are seeking the participation of its delegation tomorrow or the day after.”

He added, “We are actively communicating with Tehran and Washington as the ceasefire deadline approaches.”

US Vice President JD Vance is expected to travel to Islamabad for talks with Iran aimed at ending the war, according to a report by Axios citing unnamed sources.

The visit comes as a fragile ceasefire nears its expiry and efforts intensify to secure a diplomatic breakthrough.

The timing of the trip remains uncertain, with some sources saying Vance could depart as early as Monday night or Tuesday morning, while Iran has yet to confirm whether it will participate in the talks.

An Iranian citizen, Reza Dindar, has been extradited to Seattle to face charges that he shipped military sonar equipment from the United States to Iran in violation of sanctions, the Associated Press reported.

The US Justice Department said the 44-year-old was indicted in 2014 on charges including conspiracy, smuggling and money laundering.

Dindar was arrested in Panama last July at the request of US authorities and transferred to Seattle last week.

It remains unclear where he had been in the intervening years or why he was not arrested sooner. His lawyer, Farhad Alavi, declined to comment.

US President Donald Trump said Iran is “going to negotiate” ahead of anticipated talks in Pakistan, while warning of consequences if it does not.

Speaking in a phone interview reported by CNN, Trump said, “Well, they’re going to negotiate, and if they don’t, they’re going to see problems like they’ve never seen before.”

“Hopefully they’ll make a fair deal, and they’ll build their country back up,” he said, adding that Iran “will not have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump also defended US military action, saying, “We had no choice in Iran … we had to do it,” and added, “We’ve done a great job, and we’ll get it closed out, and everybody’s going to be happy.”

Hungary's incoming prime minister Peter Magyar said Monday the country will execute International Criminal Court warrants against anyone, after inviting Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu — who is wanted under such a warrant — to Budapest later this year.

In 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for crimes against humanity and war crimes, including starvation as a method of warfare, in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Hungary’s outgoing nationalist leader, Viktor Orbán, announced last year that his country was withdrawing from the ICC after meeting with Netanyahu in Budapest. The withdrawal was due to take effect by 2 June this year.

Last week, Magyar made clear he wants Hungary to reverse that decision.

Hungary's incoming prime minister Peter Magyar said Monday the country will execute International Criminal Court warrants against anyone, after inviting Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu — who is wanted under such a warrant — to Budapest later this year. pic.twitter.com/9HQ16oIXiX

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) April 20, 2026

Commander of Iraqi militia group Saraya Awliya al-Dam, said fighters are at “full readiness to resume our military operations” and could escalate in the coming days.

In a statement on Telegram, Abu Mahdi al-Jaafari, said the group has carried out “over 200 actions against the occupying presence in Iraq and the region” and warned operations would resume “at a higher frequency and with a greater impact”.

The current ceasefire between the United States and Iran is set to expire on 22 April. 

The US Central Command (Centcom) shared images of its forces intercepting and seizing an Iranian-linked vessel, identified as the Touska, in the Arabian Sea as part of its naval blockade.

The US military said it fired on and disabled the ship before boarding it, adding that the Iranian-flagged vessel’s container cargo was searched after US Marines boarded and seized the ship.

The legality of both Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the US blockade has been questioned by international law experts.

Iran has said it will not consider another round of negotiations with the United States until the blockade is lifted.

U.S. forces patrol the Arabian Sea near M/V Touska, April 20, as the Iranian-flagged vessel's container cargo is searched after U.S. Marines boarded and seized the ship when it attempted to violate the U.S. naval blockade. pic.twitter.com/Czs127lK6p

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 20, 2026

An Iranian-flagged cargo ship, Shoja 2, has transited the Strait of Hormuz despite a US-announced blockade, according to Tasnim News Agency.

The vessel departed from Shahid Rajaee Port and was reportedly heading towards the Port of Kandla, with tracking data from MarineTraffic showing it navigating through the strait.

Tasnim also reported that shipping traffic through the strait has dropped sharply, with only three vessels passing in the last 12 hours.

“During this period, only one tanker, the Nero (under British sanctions), has left the Persian Gulf through this strait, and two ships have entered,” the agency said in a post on Telegram. 

An Israeli drone strike targeting a police post northwest of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip killed two people, the Palestinian Information Centre reported.

The report said the attack struck the site early in the day and one Palestinian was also seriously wounded in the strike. 

Iran's top negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad ​Baqer Qalibaf said on Monday that Tehran does not accept negotiations with the US under threats.

He said in a post on X that US President Donald Trump was seeking to turn the negotiating table into a "table of surrender."

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar that the US's "continued violations of the ceasefire" are a major obstacle to the continuation of the diplomatic process, an Iranian foreign ministry statement said on Monday.

Araghchi told Dar in a phone call that Iran, while taking all aspects of the matter into account, will decide on how to proceed further.