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On 18–19 Apr 2026, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard abruptly reversed a one-day reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and fired warning rounds at the Indian-flagged super-tanker Sanmar Herald and bulk carrier Jag Arnav, compelling both to abandon their eastbound transit.
Within 24 hours of briefly reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran’s IRGC reinstated a full closure on 18 April 2026 in response to President Trump’s refusal to lift the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.
On 18 Apr 2026 Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot at two merchant vessels and declared the Strait of Hormuz off-limits until Washington ends its port blockade, jeopardising the US-Iran ceasefire set to expire on 22 Apr.
Beginning at 10 a.m. ET on 13 Apr 2026, a U.S. task force of 10,000-plus personnel instituted a total maritime blockade of Iranian ports; within 48 hours every outbound or inbound ship was stopped and at least six (later ten) merchant vessels were ordered to return to Iran.
On 18 Apr 2026 President Trump said the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports will stay in force and the current two-week ceasefire will lapse after 22 Apr unless Tehran accepts a broader peace and nuclear deal, even as Iran temporarily reopened the Strait of Hormuz under the truce.
A 10-day ceasefire that began at 0000 LT on 16 Apr 2026 paused Israel-Hezbollah fighting, and within 24 hours President Trump publicly declared Israel "PROHIBITED" from any further bombing in Lebanon, blindsiding Prime Minister Netanyahu and injecting U.S. leverage directly into Israeli military decisions.
On 16 Apr 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will start a 10-day ceasefire at 5 p.m. EST the same day and come to Washington for the first direct peace talks in 34 years.
On 16 April 2026, the government won a 251–185 division to table the Constitution (131st) Amendment, Delimitation and UT Bills that would lift Lok Sabha strength to up to 850 seats and activate a one-third women’s reservation from the 2029 election after a 2011-census-based redrawing.
On 16 Apr 2026, after unprecedented U.S.–brokered meetings in Washington, Israel and Lebanon agreed to start direct negotiations and imposed a 10-day ceasefire beginning 5 p.m. EST.
At the 34th Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting on 15 Apr 2026, Germany inked a €4 billion deal for hundreds of Patriot missiles and joint UAV production while the U.K. pledged 120,000 drones—Kyiv’s biggest same-day boost in air-defence and drone capacity since the war began.
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