Newshour

Iran's navy says the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the US blockade on Iranian ports is lifted. It says the continuing US blockade is a "breach of the ceasefire" and warns that ships approaching the vital shipping channel "will be targeted". We hear from our Chief International Correspondent in Tehran.

Also on the programme: the ongoing row over the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson, a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as UK ambassador to Washington; and tributes are being paid to one of France's most celebrated film stars, Nathalie Baye, who's died at the age of 77.

(Photo: A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman’s Musandam province on April 12, 2026. Credit: Reuters)

Iran's central military command has said it has closed the Strait of Hormuz again, accusing the United States of continuing its naval blockade of ships sailing to and from Iran's port.
We hear the latest from our correspondent in the Middle East and we speak from a captain on one of the ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz.
Also in the programme: the perils of using AI chatbots to diagnose illnesses; and China's love affair with snooker.
(Photo: A drone view of a tanker arriving in Iraq's territorial waters after sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. Credit: Mohammed Aty / Reuters)

President Trump and Iranian officials have said the Strait of Hormuz is open to all commercial vessels, although shipping firms say they're remaining cautious. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the vital waterway would be navigable while the Lebanon ceasefire was in place, warning ships to use designated safe lanes. But Tehran warned it may retract this if Mr Trump continued with his threat to maintain a US blockade on Iranian ports until a comprehensive peace deal is reached. The price of oil has dropped on the announcement.
Also in the programme: finance chiefs warn that a new AI tool could jeopardise global banking; and Japan creates a new word for days over 40 degrees celsius.
(Photo: A drone view shows the Malta-flagged tanker Agios Fanourios I, an oil tanker that sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, arriving in Iraq’s territorial waters off Basra, Iraq, April 17, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Mohammed Aty)

Iran's foreign minister says the Strait of Hormuz is "completely open" to commercial ships as long as the ceasefire remains in place.
But the US president Donald Trump said the US blockade of the strait will continue until a deal is made.
The announcement comes as European leaders came together to promote a unified message that the strait must be opened without tolls and without restrictions.
Also in the programme: We'll look at the ceasefire brokered between Lebanon and Israel and how people on both sides have reacted; the UK prime minister comes under renewed pressure over his former US ambassador; and why the Strait of Gibraltar is a treasure-trove of shipwrecks.
(Photo shows a protest rally in Tehran, Iran on 17 April 2026. Credit: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA)

President Trump has announced that there will be a ceasefire in Lebanon where Israel has been engaged in a war with Hezbollah. The US leader said both countries had agreed that a ten day pause in fighting would begin at midnight local time. Mr Trump also said he'd be inviting the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and the Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun to the White House for talks.
Also in the programme: As a dispute with the Vatican over the Middle East war continues, President Trump has dismissed comments by Pope Leo who'd said the world was being ravaged by tyrants; and another missing page in the life story of William Shakespeare has been found - the London home he bought three years before he died.
(Photo: US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House before departing on Marine One, in Washington, DC on 16 April 2026. Credit: Graeme Sloan/Pool/EPA/Shutterstock)