President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military and government sites.
Trump set a deadline for Iran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face broad strikes on its critical infrastructure. Hours before the deadline expired, Trump said he had agreed to suspend planned bombing for two weeks if Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi then said that "safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran's Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he supported the ceasefire with Iran, but that Lebanon -- where intense Israeli strikes continued -- was not covered by the agreement, despite Iranian protests.
Iranians mark 40 days since Khamenei assassination
Thursday marked 40 days since the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the start of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran on Feb. 28.
Thousands of regime supporters across Tehran and elsewhere in Iran gathered, carrying Iranian flags and some carrying portraits of Khamenei.
His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, the country's new supreme leader, has not been seen in public since the start of the war.
A banner with an image of late Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a ceremony marking 40 days since he was killed in Israeli and U.S. strikes, in Tehran, Iran, on April 9, 2026.
Majid Asgaripour/via Reuters
-ABC News' Joe Simonetti
Apr 09, 2026, 6:17 AM EDT
Iranian media publishes Strait of Hormuz routes to avoid 'sea mines'
Iranian media issued a chart outlining "alternative" traffic routes in the Strait of Hormuz to protect vessels from what it said were "possible collisions with sea mines."
The chart was widely published on Wednesday along with a statement detailing the alternative routes by Iran's semi-official news agencies, including those close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps such as Fars and Tasnim.
Boats sit off the coast in the Strait of Hormuz, as pictured from Musandam Governorate, Oman, on April 8, 2026.
Stringer/Reuters
According to the statement, all vessels intending to transit the Strait of Hormuz "must coordinate with the IRGC Navy" and use alternative routes in order "to observe maritime safety principles and avoid potential collisions with sea mines."
The statement and chart were initially attributed to the Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization. However, in later reports, news agencies close to the IRGC -- including Fars and Tasnim -- attributed them to the IRGC Navy.
The alternative routes pass close to Iran's coastline in the northern part of the Strait of Hormuz, passing either side of Larak island.
-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian and Victoria Beaule
Apr 09, 2026, 6:09 AM EDT
Iran minister condemns Israel's Lebanon strikes, says US must choose war or peace
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh on Thursday condemned Israel's expanding attacks on Lebanon, telling BBC News that Tehran had communicated its anger over Wednesday's intense strikes to the White House.
"You cannot have your cake and eat it at the same time," Khatibzadeh said, adding that the message was sent to Washington following Israel's wave of attacks on Lebanon that began shortly after the announcement of the ceasefire between the U.S., Israel and Iran.
Lebanese civil defense workers inspect the rubble at the site of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike a day earlier in Beirut, Lebanon, on April 9, 2026.
Hussein Malla/AP
"You cannot ask for a ceasefire and then accept terms and conditions, accept all the areas that a ceasefire is applied to and name Lebanon, exactly Lebanon, and then your ally just starts a massacre," Khatibzadeh said, referring to Israel.
The U.S., he added, must choose whether it wants "war or peace." Khatibzadeh continued, "They cannot have it both at the same time. They are mutually exclusive, it is quite clear."
Asked if Iran will pull out of peace talks in Pakistan if Israel continues to strike Lebanon, Khatibzadeh replied, "We are very much focusing on the wellbeing of the Middle East."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Vice President JD Vance have said Lebanon was not included in the two-week ceasefire agreement announced on Tuesday.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, though, said in his announcement of the truce that Lebanon was covered.
Apr 09, 2026, 5:14 AM EDT
Lebanon mourns hundreds killed by Israeli strikes
Flags were lowered to half-mast at the Presidential Palace in Beirut and across the country, as Lebanon marked a day of national mourning following Wednesday's Israeli bombardment in Beirut and other parts of the country.
A meeting of President Joseph Aoun's cabinet began with a minute's silence to mark the killings, the president's office said in a post to X.
A Lebanese civil defense worker (R) stands with a resident at the site of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike a day earlier in central Beirut, Lebanon, on, April 9, 2026.
Hassan Ammar/AP
Lebanon's Ministry of Health said at least 203 people were killed in the attacks, with more than 1,000 people injured. Many funerals are expected to take place in Lebanon on Thursday.
In statements posted to Telegram on Thursday, Hezbollah claimed to have fired rockets toward northern Israel, targeted an Israeli military vessel with an anti-ship missile and launched several attacks on Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon.
