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Middle East crisis: Trump hits back at German chancellor after Merz said Iran was ‘humiliating’ US – as it happened

US president claims Friedrich Merz ‘doesn’t know what he’s talking about’ after German leader criticised US strategy in Iran

Saudi Arabia is to host a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Jeddah later today, in what will be first in-person meeting of Gulf leaders since their states became dragged into the war.

A Gulf official told the Reuters news agency that the meeting aimed to craft a response to the thousands of Iranian missile and drone attacks Gulf states have faced since the US and Israel launched the war on Iran on 28 February.

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© Photograph: Razieh Poudat/ISNA/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Razieh Poudat/ISNA/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Razieh Poudat/ISNA/AFP/Getty Images

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Middle East crisis: Iran’s foreign ministry condemns US seizure of Iranian-linked tankers as ‘piracy and armed robbery’ – as it happened

Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei says actions of the United States ‘strike at the heart of international law’ as blockade continues in strait of Hormuz

Iran is proposing that shipping companies should pay charges for specific services when they cross the strait of Hormuz, in a move that would enable it to raise money from shipping traffic without presenting the payment as a toll.

Iran’s framing is designed to maximise political and legal support for the plan it is developing with Oman. Iran has made a solution to its demands an essential precondition to winding down the conflict, including an end to its effective blockade of the Strait and the counter-blockade of Iranian ports being mounted by the US Navy.

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© Photograph: Reuters

© Photograph: Reuters

© Photograph: Reuters

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FBI affidavit quotes White House press dinner shooting suspect expressing rage at ‘a pedophile, rapist and traitor’ – as it happened

This live blog is now closed.

Here’s more about the timing of King Charles’s visit today with Donald Trump at the White House.

According to Trump’s official schedule, the president will greet King Charles and Queen Camilla at the White House at 4.15pm ET. Shortly after, they’ll have tea and then tour a beehive at the White House.

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© Photograph: Leigh Vogel/UPI/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Leigh Vogel/UPI/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Leigh Vogel/UPI/Shutterstock

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Strait of Hormuz military talks to be led by UK and France – as it happened

This blog is now closed. See our latest full report here: Trump announces extension of Iran ceasefire until ‘discussion concluded’

Iran’s armed forces are ready to deliver an “immediate and decisive response” to any renewed hostile action by its adversaries, Ali Abdollahi, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, was quoted by the Tasnim news agency as having said.

He said Tehran had the upper hand militarily, including in the management of the strait of Hormuz, and would not allow Donald Trump to “create false narratives over the situation on the ground.”

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© Photograph: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

© Photograph: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

© Photograph: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

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Israeli strikes in Gaza kill five, local officials say – as it happened

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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© Photograph: Reuters

© Photograph: Reuters

© Photograph: Reuters

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