This blog is now closed. See our latest full report here: JD Vance to lead US delegation in Pakistan if Iran agrees to talks

The US has just released some more footage of the encounter with the Iranian flagged vessel, the M/V Touska.

In a post on X, US Central Command said US Marines had departed the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli by helicopter and rappelled onto the Iranian-flagged vessel.

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Separate to the Pakistani army chief’s trip to Iran (see post at 07:53), the Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and foreign minister Ishaq Dar also concluded a trip to the Middle East after visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey for talks.

“We have just concluded the last leg of our engagements following productive and fruitful visits … where we held meaningful bilateral discussions aimed at strengthening cooperation across key areas,” Dar said on X.

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In case you’re just joining us, here are the latest developments in the Middle East to bring you up to speed. It’s 9am in Beirut and Jerusalem, 9.30am in Tehran and 2am in Washington DC.

A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has come into effect, pausing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has killed more than 2,100 Lebanese people and displaced more than 2.1 million. The agreement was announced earlier by Donald Trump, who said he had spoken with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, and invited both leaders “for meaningful talks” at the White House. Both leaders welcomed the agreement.

Israel and Hezbollah both maintained their right to defend themselves if the truce is broken – here’s our full report.

Netanyahu called the ceasefire a “historic” opportunity for peace but refused to withdraw his troops from southern Lebanon during the pause in fighting. “We are remaining in Lebanon in an expanded security zone,” he said, due to the “danger of an invasion” and to prevent fire into Israel. “That is where we are, and we are not leaving.”

UN chief António Guterres welcomed the ceasefire, which took effect at midnight on Thursday (2100 GMT) in Lebanon, and urged “all actors” to fully respect it. He hoped the halt in fighting would “pave the way for negotiations”.

The Lebanese army warned people displaced from southern Lebanon about returning home because of intermittent shelling that was reported after the ceasefire came into effect.

The Israeli military warned residents of southern Lebanon not to return south of the Litani River despite the truce.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson welcomed the ceasefire and stressed it was already part of the original Iran-US agreement brokered by Pakistan.

Israel and Hezbollah continued to exchange fire in the hours before the truce took effect.

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Iran has stopped all petrochemical exports to prioritise domestic supply and prevent shortages of raw materials, Reuters reported.

The state-owned National Petrochemical Company ordered firms to suspend exports until further notice.

This blog is now closed. Our latest full report is here: US and Iran in indirect talks to extend two-week ceasefire

Donald Trump said the “special relationship” between the US and UK was in a poor state but that it will not have impact on King Charle’s upcoming state visit to America.

In an interview with Sky News, the US president once again criticised Keir Starmer over his policies, particularly on energy and immigration, and reiterated his disappointment that the UK and other Nato allies had not joined his war against Iran when the US “needed them”.