Kumar Bahukhandi
US President Donald Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One before arriving at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on April 17, 2026 after a two-day trip to Nevada and Arizona. – Photo Credit: APF
“Maybe I won’t extend it, but the blockade is going to remain,” U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One on his way back to Washington from Phoenix, Arizona
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday April 17, 2026 issued a waiver allowing countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products at sea for about a month, seeking to control global energy prices that have shot higher during the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
The U.S. Treasury Department allowed purchases of the oil loaded on vessels as of Friday through May 16, an extension of an original 30-day waiver that expired on April 11, according to a document posted to the department’s website.
Meanwhile, Iran threatens to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz again if the United States continues its blockade of Iranian ports, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Saturday April 18, 2026. “With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open,” Ghalibaf wrote on X, adding that passage through the waterway would depend on authorisation from Iran.
Live Updates
April 18, 2026 09:15
Won’t impose ‘traditional fees’ on passage of ships through Hormuz, says Iran: Reports
Iran has said that it will not impose “traditional fees” on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, but is considering a new framework tied to security coordination, according to Al Jazeera.Speaking to Al Jazeera, Mubasher, the spokesman for Iran’s National Security Committee, Ebrahim Rezaei, said Tehran is drafting legislation that would introduce fees related to “securing the strait”, rather than conventional transit charges. Rezaei stated that vessels would only be allowed to pass through the critical waterway in coordination with Iranian authorities, signalling tighter oversight of maritime traffic. He added that “hostile military vessels”, particularly those from the United States and Israel, would be barred from passage entirely, while “friendly” ships could transit subject to prior coordination with Iranian forces.– Reuters
April 18, 2026 08:33
Trump, without elaborating, cites ‘some pretty good news’ on Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday there had been some “pretty good news” regarding Iran but he declined to elaborate.
“We had some pretty good news 20 minutes ago, but it seems to be going very well in the Middle East with Iran,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
“You’ll hear about. I just think it’s something that should happen. It’s something that only makes sense to happen. And I think it will. We’ll see what happens, but I think it will,” Trump said when asked what the good news was.– Reuters
April 18, 2026 08:18
Trump says China’s Xi is ‘very happy’ about Strait of Hormuz reopening
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping was “very happy” about the status of the Strait of Hormuz, and that he looked forward to their meeting in China.
“President Xi is very happy that the Strait of Hormuz is open and/or rapidly opening,” Mr. Trump said on Truth Social. “Our meeting in China will be a special one and, potentially, Historic. I look forward to being with President Xi — Much will be accomplished!,” he added.– Reuters
April 18, 2026 07:07
Iran threatens to close Hormuz anew, if U.S. blockade continues
Tehran on Saturday April 18, 2026 threatened to shut the Strait of Hormuz once more if the United States continues its blockade of Iranian ports, hours after the key waterway was reopened in the wake of a ceasefire deal in Lebanon.
The resumption of transit had lifted stock markets on Friday and prompted optimism from Washington, with U.S. President Donald Trump telling AFP a peace deal was “very close” and saying Iran had agreed to hand over its enriched uranium — a key sticking point in negotiations.
“We’re going to get it by going in with Iran, with lots of excavators,” Trump told a gathering of the conservative Turning Point USA movement in Phoenix, Arizona.– AFP
April 18, 2026 07:06
U.S. extends waiver allowing countries to buy Russian oil
U.S. extends waiver allowing countries to buy Russian oil
U.S. waives sanctions on Russian oil purchases, complicating efforts to limit Russia’s war funding amid global energy price concerns.
