Image source, US Department of War

The Pentagon says US forces boarded a sanctioned tanker overnight "without incident" in the Indo-Pacific region in efforts to "disrupt illicit networks" supporting Iran.

In a post on X, the US Department of War says it "conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the stateless sanctioned M/T Tifani without incident".

The department shared this update with pictures and videos of the operation.

The department says it continues to "pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran - anywhere they operate".

"International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels," it adds.

US President Donald Trump has accused Iran of violating the ceasefire agreement "numerous times".

The accusation was made in a post on Truth Social a short time ago, and he doesn't give any more information about what he's referring to.

Away from Iran for a moment, Kuwait's army says it "is dealing with remnants of shrapnel and explosives" until this later evening.

"Any explosion sounds that may be heard during this period result from the process of disposing of the shrapnel and explosives," the army says in its statement.

Since the US-Israel war in Iran began, Kuwait has been one of the countries in the Gulf region that has reported being targeted by Iranian drones and missiles. Iran has previously said it was targeting US assets in these countries.

Kuwait last reported Iranian attacks in its territory on 10 April - two days after the ceasefire began, it is due to end tomorrow.

Fataneh Farajollahi
BBC Persian

Image source, Getty Images

There are signs of a partial return to everyday life in Iran, but posts shared by some Iranians on social media continue to paint a layered picture of daily life.

These accounts describe efforts to maintain a sense of normality alongside reports of psychological fatigue, economic pressure, and ongoing debate over unequal access to the internet, as outlined in our previous post.

While these accounts reflect only a portion of individual experiences - and are not necessarily representative of society as a whole - they suggest that concerns raised in recent weeks persist.

Among the posts, there is a noticeable divide over how people should respond to the current situation. Some users have criticised others for sharing everyday activities such as shopping or going to cafés, arguing that such posts overlook the impact of the war.

Some are defending their right to continue with daily life. One user wrote that even after “crying several times since last night,” they might still “wear nice clothes and go out with friends”, adding that this should not be judged.

Another, referring to posting about a football match, said: “Our minds also need moments to focus on other things… so don’t criticise people for it.”

A further post reads: “It’s not strange… our minds need to engage with other things at times, so we don’t fall apart. This is likely how our lives will be for a long time.”

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Iran is still under a near-total internet blackout, which started on the first day of the war in February.

While Iranian officials have cited reasons such as “protecting cyberspace” for restricting online access, even with the ceasefire, limitations on the internet have not been lifted.

Domestic messaging apps and websites are available, but the BBC understands that there have been disruptions and crashes.

Two main groups now have access to the internet. Some officials, pro-establishment users, journalists and academics, as well as some business owners.

Some Iranian officials have rejected this so-called “tiered” access to the internet, but they have not specified when restrictions might be lifted.

The other group are ordinary people who are paying a lot to stay connected, mainly via connections routed through satellite internet provider Starlink.

Using or possessing Starlink in Iran can lead to up to two years in prison, and Iranian authorities have confiscated hundreds of Starlink devices since the war started.

The BBC understands that the second group, when buying expensive internet connections, have sometimes been scammed on messaging app Telegram.

There is also the fear among ordinary Iranians that the BBC talks to is that internet access might never go back to the situation before the war, even though it was restricted then as well. But many circumvented the restrictions to access Western websites and social media apps.

It is still not clear when ordinary Iranians will be able to access the internet, but what is clear is that not everyone in Iran can afford to access at the moment.

Jiyar Gol
Reporting from Islamabad

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Many inside Iran, including defenders of the Islamic Republic, are urging people to tighten their belts and prepare for even greater economic hardship.

The question is can the Iranian government pay its employees if the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues? Can Tehran afford to abandon negotiations?

Before the conflict, sanctions, inflation, and currency depreciation had driven many households into an economy of survival, with families spending only on essential needs.

Now, shuttered businesses and bounced cheques, along with damaged petrochemical, steel and aluminium industries have intensified recessionary pressures.

With food prices doubling over the last year and exports declining, the rial, Iran’s currency, faces further erosion, driving even higher inflation.

Iranian officials estimating economic damage reaching $270bn (£200bn) reflect the scale of the shock.

The impact has been especially severe for women running small online businesses. Internet blockades and disruptions have cut off many women who sold handicrafts through social media and online marketplaces, wiping out vital income streams for families overnight.

Their losses reflect a broader reality: war and internet restrictions are not only damaging infrastructure but affecting livelihoods across Iran’s most vulnerable communities.

Image source, Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs via X

China's ambassador to Pakistan has expressed Beijing’s "full support" for Islamabad’s efforts to facilitate peace talks between the US and Iran.

Pakistan's foreign ministry says that Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar - who also serves as foreign minister - met with Jiang Zaidong to discuss developments in the region.

During the meeting, Zaidong expressed "appreciation of Pakistan’s continued efforts to facilitate engagement” between the US and Iran “for sustained peace and stability in the region and beyond", the foreign ministry says.

Image source, Getty Images

Iran's regime is consistent in its stance, its mixed messages are a reflection of Iranians reacting to President Trump's "inconsistent positions", International Crisis Group's Iran project director told BBC Radio 4's Today programme earlier.

Ali Vaez said Iran had "maintained a high degree of coherence" in terms of policymaking and its position on negotiations with Washington.

"People are reading too much into some of the mixed messages coming out of Tehran, and that to me is more a reflection of the Iranians reacting to President Trump's inconsistent positions," Vaez argued.

He added: "For instance, when the Iranians announced that they had removed the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, this was before President Trump said that he's going to maintain the US blockade.

"Therefore, the Iranian military came out and said they would re-impose their blockade. That wasn't a sign of infighting, it was just a tick tock of events."

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Iran’s state broadcaster says in a post on its Telegram channel that “so far, no delegation from Iran has travelled to Islamabad, neither a primary nor a secondary, neither initial nor follow-up.”

The post rejects what it calls “rumours” about the departure or arrival of the delegation and the estimated date of its arrival by “international outlets and regional sources.”

It also repeats the stance of Iranian officials, including the parliament speaker and Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has previously said Tehran does not accept negotiations “under the shadow of threats.”

Image source, Getty Images

As Pakistan prepares to host a second round of peace talks - despite uncertainty over whether they will go ahead - security is being ramped up in Islamabad, and posters reading "Islamabad Talks" are lining the streets of the capital.

The country is in a unique position as it is trusted by the US, Iran and the Gulf countries.

But close ties with America didn’t stop Pakistan officially condemning the first US-Israeli attacks on Iran. And when Iran bombed the oil fields of Saudi Arabia, a military ally, Pakistan also issued a strongly worded statement against Tehran.

If negotiations collapse, Pakistan could get dragged into fighting with its neighbour Iran. Pakistan signed a mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia last year, one of the Gulf countries that has been victim to Iranian drone strikes before the current ceasefire, which is due to expire tomorrow.

The stakes for the world are high, but they are especially significant for Pakistan in many ways.

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The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated Fars news agency has posted a quote on Telegram from a commander at Iran's top military headquarters.

Writing in Persian, Major General Abdullahi says that the IRGC has driven Israel and the US "to despair and exhaustion, forcing them to desperately request a ceasefire", according to Fars.

He says the armed forces would not allow the "lying and delusional US president" to "create false narratives of the situation on the ground", especially on the subject of the Strait of Hormuz.

It remains unclear whether an Iranian delegation will head to Islamabad for a second round of peace talks with the US.

As our South Asia correspondent writes, there is political tension behind the scenes in Iran, with hardliners putting pressure on negotiators to choose conflict over diplomacy.

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

As Donald Trump posted on social media site Truth Social, he insisted he has the upper hand in negotiations with Iran. In one post he said, "The DEAL that we are making with Iran will be FAR BETTER than the JCPOA", he wrote, referring to the deal President Obama struck in 2015.

That is the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which curbed Iran's nuclear activities in return for the lifting of sanctions that had been imposed by the UN, US and EU.

It was the crowning glory of President Obama's foreign policy, which is probably why President Trump wanted to rip it up so quickly - by pulling the US out and effectively destroying it.

Trump announced he would pull the US out of the deal in 2018, calling it "decaying and rotten", and reimposed economic sanctions. In response, Iran said it would prepare to start uranium enrichment.

That deal took eighteen months of the P5 plus one, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, sitting down for endless talks with very smart Iranian negotiators.

These are highly educated, multi-lingual people, who are right on top of their brief and this is not something you can make a quick deal over.

Peter Hoskins
Business reporter, in Singapore

Oil prices dipped in Asian trading on Tuesday as investors watch for details of potential US-Iran peace talks.

Brent crude - a closely watched measure of oil prices - is 1.6% lower at $93.97 (£69.49), while West Texas Intermediate is down by 1.5% at $86.15 (£63.71).

The status of a possible second round of peace talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan remains unclear, with no confirmation yet from either side that they are going ahead.

Azadeh Moshiri
South Asia correspondent, reporting from Islamabad

Image source, Reuters

This morning in Islamabad, preparations are still in place for possible talks. Driving through the capital, there are still security checkpoints and "Islamabad Talks" posters lining streets. But there’s also a lot of uncertainty.

The White House has said a US delegation led by JD Vance would travel to Pakistan, but the timing has been unclear.

It was thought he would have already arrived by now and yet it's understood he spent the night in Washington on Monday.

The reason for this lack of clarity could be because of Iran's reluctance to publicly commit to attend.

Instead, there's still anger and fury in their statements.

The latest from Iran's speaker of parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the man expected to lead Iran's delegation, is that Iran won't accept negotiations "under the shadow of threats". He also accused Donald Trump of "opening a siege and violating the ceasefire".

He's referring to events in the Strait of Hormuz, with the US seizing an Iranian flagged cargo ship, and countering Iran's effective blockade with one of its own on Iranian ports.

But there's also something else going on inside Iran. Hardliners are putting pressure on figures like Ghalibaf to choose conflict over diplomacy.

That internal power struggle in a country that has seen layers of senior leaders killed over the course of this war is what is playing out behind the scenes.

Much of what we're hearing publicly could be political bluster, and Iran could certainly be preparing to travel regardless of what officials are saying.

But all this means that just a day before the ceasefire is set to expire, we still don't know for certain whether these peace talks will actually happen.

Image source, Reuters

China’s President Xi Jinping says "normal traffic" through the Strait of Hormuz "should be maintained".

He made the comments during a phone call with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday.

Trump and Xi president are expected to meet in China in May, after the trip was initially delayed due to the US-Israel war with Iran.

Azadeh Moshiri
South Asia correspondent, reporting from Islamabad

Returning shipping levels in the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels, and wresting control from Iran and its attacks, are key priorities for the United States.

Former British Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe has described the current US strategy as “the blockade within the blockade", telling me the White House is trying to inflict “sufficient pain” on Iran to force it to negotiate.

“Is it squeezing oil production out of Iran to the point where that pain would bring them to the negotiating table? It is hard to see what that pain level would look like and I don’t think we’re seeing it yet.”

The problem Sharpe is pointing to is that Iran has shown it is willing to absorb a high level of damage to ensure the regime’s survival.

No single individual, government, economy, or piece of vital infrastructure is more important than the Islamic Republic’s ideology, and this confrontation with the US is one it has been preparing for since its inception.

On top of that, Iranian officials insist their “sovereignty” over the Strait of Hormuz should be recognised.

They have learned that their ability to disrupt global energy markets is a powerful strategic deterrent, and even a profitable avenue should they impose long-term tolls for safe passage.

It is hard to see any Iranian negotiators willing to give that card up.

Image source, Getty Images

A short while ago, US President Donald Trump has made a post to Truth Social, addressing the recovery of enriched uranium from Iran.

"Operation Midnight Hammer was a complete and total obliteration of the Nuclear Dust sites in Iran. Therefore, digging it out will be a long and difficult process," the president wrote.

Operation Midnight Hammer is the codename for an operation carried out by the US last June, and saw 125 US military aircraft target three Iranian nuclear facilities: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.

He went on: "Fake News CNN, and other corrupt Media Networks and Platforms, fail to give our great aviators the credit they deserve - Always trying to demean and belittle - LOSERS!!!"

Image source, Reuters

US media are reporting that Vice President JD Vance will leave the US on Tuesday for talks in Pakistan.

Axios, citing three US sources, reported that Vance would leave by Tuesday morning.

Sources told CNN that a second round of talks between the US and Iranian delegations is currently planned for Wednesday in Islamabad.

As we reported earlier, there is still no confirmation from Iran as to whether it will attend negotiations, but a source told the BBC on Monday that a US delegation headed by Vance will travel to Pakistan "soon"

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

While there is much uncertainty about the next round of talks between Iran and the US in Islamabad, we can take a look at what Iranian officials have been saying.

Most of them have talked about their scepticism of the US, but this is nothing new.

While Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Pakistani counterpart yesterday that US actions, statements and "excessive demands" signal Washington’s "lack of seriousness for diplomacy," it wasn’t him who said today that Iran has "no plans for the next round" - that was the foreign ministry’s spokesperson.

After Trump announced the next round of talks, we’re yet to hear from Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who was leading the delegation during the talks in Islamabad, on whether the talks are going ahead or not.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said today that diplomacy "should be used to reduce tensions," but there's a question over how much power he actually comparatively holds.

There are voices inside the establishment who oppose the talks, including hardline clerics. But it is yet to be seen if these voices can stop the talks altogether or not.

Lyse Doucet
Chief international correspondent, in Iran

There's still radio silence from Iranian officials as to whether they will go to Islamabad for a second round of high-level, high-stakes negotiations.

But with every hour that passes, there is a growing sense that the talks will take place. Iranians had to make their point, even before US marines intercepted an Iranian-flagged cargo ship.

When we speak to officials here they say they have their reservations about this negotiating process, even though President Trump continues to talk about great progress, a deal within days even.

There is still concern here that the way the negotiations are taking place tend to be demands made of the Iranians that they are not ready to meet.

But they do want this process to continue, so at the end of the day there may well be talks in Islamabad this week - we just have to wait for that confirmation from both sides.

• The BBC's chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet is reporting from Tehran on condition that none of her material is used on the BBC's Persian Service. These restrictions apply to all international media organisations operating in Iran