Democracy Dies with Dictatorship
NY Times
Apr 23, 2026
Iran War Live Updates: Reported Ship Seizures Add to Anxiety in Oil Markets
Oil was hovering above $100 a barrel and there were no public signs of a breakthrough in peace efforts. The White House said President Trump does not view Iran’s reported seizures as a cease-fire violation.
Dan Watson and Aurelien Breeden
Here’s the latest
Oil was trading above $100 a barrel again on Thursday after Iranian forces claimed to have seized two cargo ships near the Strait of Hormuz, injecting fresh fear into energy markets with no public indications of a breakthrough in efforts to restart U.S.-Iran peace talks.
President Trump told Fox News on Wednesday that there was “no time pressure” on holding a new round of talks or on the cease-fire, and “no timeline” for ending the war. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told Fox separately that Mr. Trump did not view Iran’s reported ship seizures as a violation of the cease-fire.
The reported seizures happened after the U.S. Navy prevented dozens of ships from leaving or accessing Iranian ports as part of a blockade ordered by Mr. Trump.
Iran has in effect blocked shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — normally a vital conduit for global oil and gas supplies. Energy prices have risen sharply since the United States and Israel began the war on Iran in late February.
A summit aimed at reopening the strait was scheduled to reconvene in London on Thursday, with military planners from over 30 countries. Shipping companies are mostly keeping vessels away from the strait because of the risk of attacks.
On Wednesday, Iranian state media reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps had targeted two cargo vessels — the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas, a Greek-owned ship — because they were not following Iran’s rules for passing through the strait. Iranian news outlets reported that the Guards had fired on a third cargo ship.
Here’s what else we are covering:
Israel-Lebanon cease-fire: A second round of ambassador-level talks between the two countries was scheduled for Thursday in Washington. A 10-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militia, is set to expire on Sunday.
Journalists in Lebanon: Israeli strikes killed one journalist and wounded another in the country’s south on Wednesday, the Lebanese authorities said.
War powers vote: For a fifth time since the war began, Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a resolution to enforce Congress’s war powers.
April 23, 2026, 7:19 a.m. ET51 minutes ago
Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, said in an interview with CNBC that the world is facing the “biggest energy security threat in history,” citing the loss of around 13 million barrels per day of oil supply amid disruptions linked to the Iran conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. He warned the crisis could impact global growth, drive inflation, and lead to shortages, including a potential jet fuel crunch in Europe within weeks.
April 23, 2026, 7:07 a.m. ET1 hour ago
Greece’s foreign minister, George Gerapetritis, told reporters on Thursday the Epaminondas was now anchored with no Iranians on board after members of the Guards obstructed its exit from the strait on Wednesday and boarded the vessel.
April 23, 2026, 6:27 a.m. ET2 hours ago
Iranian forces have boarded one of the container ships they attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, the ship’s management company said on Thursday. The Epaminondas is one of two container ships Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps said it had seized. Technomar Shipping, a Greek company that manages the Liberian-flagged ship, said the crew was safe and accounted for and that it was “in close communication with the relevant authorities in the region.”
April 23, 2026, 6:22 a.m. ET2 hours ago
Iran’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, defended his country’s restrictive measures on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic oil and gas transit route, saying they were intended to “safeguard its security and national interests against threats and aggression,” according to a statement from Iran’s Foreign Ministry posted on social media late Wednesday.
Araghchi, the statement said, made the remarks during a meeting in Tehran with a special envoy to South Korea’s foreign minister. The statement also said Araghchi placed the blame for any future consequences of the apparent closure of the strait on the United States and Israel, which he called the aggressors.