Dubai, 24 April 

Tensions in the standoff between the US and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz intensified Friday after US President Donald Trump said he ordered the US military to “shoot and kill” Iranian small boats in the strait, while Iran pushed back on Trump's claim there was a leadership rift in the Islamic Republic.

“In Iran, there are no hard-liners or moderates'. We are all Iranians and revolutionaries,” Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian and Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote in almost identical social media statements.

Since the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the first strike of the war on 28 February, it has been unclear who in Iran wields ultimate authority over its collection of civilian figures and powerful generals who appear to be in charge.

Trump also said Thursday evening that Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House.

The standoff between the US and Iran has effectively choked off nearly all exports through the Strait of Hormuz, where 20 per cent of the world's traded oil passes in peacetime, with no end in sight.

Iran's foreign minister talks with Pakistani officials

Iran's top diplomat has called Pakistani officials over theceasefire in the war with the United States and Israel. A statement on Friday said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief.

Araghchi's statement said the men spoke about “regional developments and issues related to the ceasefire,” without elaborating.

Pakistan did not immediately acknowledge the call.

Pakistan has been trying to get American and Iranian officials back to the negotiating table in Islamabad, where they had hoped to have talks earlier this week that didn't materialise.

EU's top diplomat notes risk of weaker' US-Iran deal

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said peace negotiations between the United States and Iran are at risk of forging a “weaker” agreement than one struck a decade ago.

“If the talks are only about the nuclear (issue) and there are no nuclear experts around the table, then we will end up with an agreement that is weaker than the JCPoA was,” Kallas said Friday in Cyprus, referring to a 2015 deal struck during the Obama administration that Trump pulled the US out of in 2018.

Kallas said if negotiators do not table Iran's “missile programs, their support to proxies, and also hybrid and cyber activities in Europe”, there is a possibility “we will end up with a more dangerous Iran.”

Medical aid convoy departs Turkiye for Iran

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A medical aid convoy left Turkiye headed for Iran, an official told Turkiye's state-run Anadolu news agency on Friday.

The six trucks departed Van in eastern Turkiye to pass through the Gurbulak border crossing, Van Health Director Muhammed Tosun said.

“The materials include medicines and medical supplies,” Tosun said.

“We previously sent three trucks. With today's trucks, a total of nine trucks of aid materials will have been delivered to our Iranian colleagues to serve their citizens,” he said.