Hezbollah says attacked north Israel in response to Israeli truce violations

U.S. President Donald Trump criticizes Europe for not providing sufficient support to Washington’s efforts to contain Iran.

The Financial Times reports Paolo Zampolli proposed replacing Iran at the World Cup as part of U.S. outreach efforts.

Italian sports officials state Italy is not interested in replacing Iran at the World Cup; Iran plans to play in the United States; FIFA says group-stage games near Los Angeles and Seattle will proceed in June.

Islamabad and Rawalpindi remain closed to heavy traffic as authorities await possible peace talks between the US and Iran; the area has 10,000 security personnel deployed.

An informal EU gathering includes a working lunch with leaders from Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and the GCC secretary general in Nicosia.

EU foreign chief Kaja Kallas warns that talks with Iran should include nuclear experts to avoid a weaker agreement and to address regional issues such as missiles and proxies.

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides says the European Commission will prepare a blueprint on how the EU would respond under Article 42.7 if a member state is attacked.

French President Emmanuel Macron states it is in everyone’s interest for stability to return to West Asia as he arrives for EU discussions in Nicosia.

The IEA notes that while new liquefaction projects may offset losses over time, the impact will keep markets tight through 2026 and 2027.

The International Energy Agency projects a cumulative loss of around 120 billion cubic metres of LNG supply between 2026 and 2030, with shortages likely to persist through 2026 and 2027.

Scores of tankers and other vessels remain stuck in the Gulf as the United States struggles to keep control of the Strait of Hormuz.

One Hapag-Lloyd ship crosses the Strait of Hormuz; four ships remain in the Gulf after another ship’s charter expired; the remaining four are staffed by about 100 crew and well-supplied.

News coverage notes ongoing reports about the condition and leadership transitions within Iran’s top leadership following the attack that killed a predecessor.

An internal Pentagon email describes options to punish NATO allies for not supporting U.S. operations in the Iran war, including suspending Spain from NATO and reviewing Britain’s Falklands claim; it cites ABO (bases, overflight rights) as a baseline.

The New York Times reports Mojtaba Khamenei has been gravely wounded in the U.S.-Israeli airstrike that killed his father and predecessor, and that he has delegated decision-making to Revolutionary Guards generals; he has not appeared in public.

A drone strike hits a British base on the island of Cyprus at the start of the West Asia war in March.

Israel’s military announced it had struck a missile launcher in Lebanon that had fired into Israel on April 23, 2026, in an attack that Israeli air defences intercepted. Hezbollah claimed the attack. The announcement followed remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump that the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire had been extended by three weeks.

Hezbollah launched a missile into Israel on April 23, 2026. Israeli air defences intercepted the attack. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack.

Iran hanged Sultan Ali Shirzadi Fakhr, convicted of MEK membership and 'collaboration with Mossad,' on charges described as waging war against God; rights groups criticized the execution as part of political repression.

Gold prices declined by ₹900 to ₹1.56 lakh per 10 grams in New Delhi, while silver fell to ₹2,50,000 per kilogram, with both moves attributed to weak global trends.

GfK’s consumer confidence index fell to -25 in April 2026 from -21 in March, the lowest reading since Britain’s late-2023 recession, according to a Reuters-published poll.

Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, described the global humanitarian impact of the Iran war, noting higher energy prices raising costs for fuel, hospital generators, and other essential operations for displaced people.

The New York Times reported that Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader, was seriously wounded in the U.S.-Israeli airstrike that killed his father, Ali Khamenei, but remained mentally sharp and engaged, with decision-making delegated to Revolutionary Guards generals; Khamenei has not appeared in public since succeeding his father.

An Israeli airstrike on the Shoukine road in the Nabatieh district killed three people, while a strike on the village of Yater wounded two people, including a child, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Iranian state media reported that air defence systems were activated in Tehran to counter hostile targets, marking the first such activation since the ceasefire began.

An Israeli security source told AFP that Israel was not carrying out airstrikes in Iran, following reports in Iranian state media of blasts over Tehran.

Trump planned a new round of peace talks with Lebanese and Israeli envoys in Washington, with Beirut seeking a one-month extension of a shaky ceasefire. The talks, previously planned at the State Department and the first round last week, were shifted to the White House and were to be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

A third U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in West Asia as the president’s comments about Iran’s vulnerability coincided with a shift in focus toward the Hormuz strait and regional security dynamics.

Trump said he would not strike Iran with a nuclear weapon, arguing that conventional measures have already 'decimated them' and that a nuclear weapon should never be used by anyone.

President Donald Trump stated that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House, describing the meeting between Israel’s and Lebanon’s ambassadors to the United States as going 'very well.'

The U.S. military announced that the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier arrived in West Asia, bringing the number of American warships in the region to three. The ship was sailing in the Indian Ocean in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, with CENTCOM posting a photo on X showing a deck packed with aircraft.

U.S. stocks ended lower as investors digested earnings and the evolving Iran situation; the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% to 49,311.39 and the S&P 500 dropped 0.2% to 7,126 as oil prices rose.

The two governments, which do not have diplomatic relations, are set to hold a second round of talks under U.S. auspices on Thursday, April 23, 2026, to end more than six weeks of war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Ahead of talks on Thursday, Israel called on the Lebanese government to work together with it against Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Beirut intends to request an extension of the 10-day ceasefire during upcoming talks with Israel in Washington.

Lebanese state media reported that Israeli strikes killed three people in Lebanon.

The article was published on April 22, 2026 at 06:46 am IST, reporting Hezbollah's statement that it launched the attack on April 21, 2026, in northern Israel in retaliation for ceasefire violations.

Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters launched rockets and attack drones at a site in northern Israel that it described as the source of artillery shelling toward a south Lebanese town, in retaliation for what it called Israeli violations of a 10-day ceasefire—the first such claim since the truce began.