US sending 10,000 more troops to Middle East despite Iran ceasefire
The US is sending additional troops to the Middle East this month, according to The Washington Post. Published On 15 Apr 202615 Apr 2026 The United States is sending more than 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East before the end of April as Washington tries to increase pressure on Iran, US officials have told The Washington Post. The newspaper, quoting current and former US officials speaking on condition of anonymity, reported on Tuesday that the US was sending about 6,000 troops on board the USS George HW Bush carrier and the ships escorting it to the region. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Approximately 4,200 other troops from the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and its embarked Marine Corps task force, the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, are expected to arrive near the end of the month, the report said. It was previously announced that roughly 50,000 troops had been involved in operations in the war on Iran since its beginning on February 28. With the looming arrival of the USS George HW Bush, which is reportedly sailing around Africa, the number of carriers in the region will reach three. The USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Gerald Ford are in the Middle East and participated in the fighting against Iran. The report, which Al Jazeera was unable to verify, comes as the US pressed ahead on Wednesday with a naval blockade it said had cut off maritime trade with Iran. Naval blockade US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on social media overnight that its previously announced blockade had been “fully implemented” and that American forces “have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea”. The picture based on maritime tracking data on Tuesday was less clear-cut, indicating that several ships sailing from Iranian ports had crossed the Strait of Hormuz despite the blockade. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump told The New York Post on Tuesday that a new round of talks with Iran could take place in Pakistan “over the next two days,” after a marathon first negotiating session ended without a breakthrough. Advertisement Last week, the US and Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war after high-stakes talks in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, but the two-week ceasefire declared a week ago held. The truce is set to expire on April 22. According to the officials speaking to The Washington Post, the deployment of new troops will enable the US administration to continue holding talks with Iran, while at the same time preparing for “the possibility of additional strikes or ground operations”. Adblock test (Why?)
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal vows to win Champions League after Atletico defeat
Spain’s teenage star writes to fans the day after Barcelona’s Champions League exit to promise future glory. Published On 15 Apr 202615 Apr 2026 Lamine Yamal has renewed his promise to win the UEFA Champions League (UCL) with Barcelona. A day after the team’s elimination by Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals, the 18-year-old Yamal said on Wednesday that he will not give up and will fulfil his promise to capture the trophy with the Catalan club. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “We are Barca, and we will be back where we belong,” Yamal said on a post on Instagram. “My parents taught me that a man’s word always has to be fulfilled … we’ll bring it to Barcelona.” Barcelona defeated Atletico 2-1 on Tuesday, but it had lost the first leg 2-0 at home last week. The Catalan club was trying to return to the semifinals for the second season in a row. It won the last of its five Champions League trophies in 2015 with Lionel Messi at the top of his game. “We gave it our all but it wasn’t good enough,” Yamal posted. “This is just part of the road. To get to the top you have to climb, and we know it won’t be easy, nor will they make it easy for us. But giving up is not an option. “We have plenty of reasons to be excited, and we’re going after it with everything. Every mistake is a lesson, and don’t doubt that we will learn from each one of them.” Yamal, who scored one of Barcelona’s goals on Tuesday, had similar words after the team’s loss to Inter Milan in the 2025 semifinals, saying he “won’t stop” until he can “fulfil my promise” to win the Champions League with the club. Yamal early on Wednesday was still using on his Instagram profile the photo of LeBron James holding the NBA trophy in 2016 when the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors. Advertisement He had said before the game against Atletico that James was an inspiration for Barcelona’s comeback attempt. His team needed another goal on Tuesday to take the game to extra time. Barcelona’s forward Lamine Yamal reacts during the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal defeat [Oscar Del Pozo/AFP] In La Liga, Barcelona have a nine-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid after 31 rounds, and its next match is against Celta Vigo next week. Barcelona loudly complained of the refereeing in both legs against Atletico, and forward Raphinha will likely face punishment after saying on Tuesday that his team was “robbed”. Barca President-elect Joan Laporta said Wednesday that the refereeing was “shameful” and “inadmissible” and said the club planned to present a formal complaint with UEFA. “The refereeing, both on the field and in the VAR booth, was a disgrace,” he told Spanish media. “What they did to us is intolerable. In the first leg, they didn’t award us a clear penalty and sent off one of our players for a yellow card offence. The refereeing decisions hurt us a lot.” Barcelona had already made a complaint to UEFA about a possible penalty in its favour in the first leg. It had Pau Cubarsí sent off in the first half of the opening game, and Eric García was shown a red card in the second half on Tuesday. Barcelona coach Hansi Flick, meanwhile, said his youthful squad will learn from their latest setback. “We have a young team, and they will improve,” the German said after the game. “Every day we have to learn more, we have to be better and this is what we have to do.” Adblock test (Why?)
Iran warns US naval blockade threatens ceasefire
Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities say a continued United States naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz could end the current pause in fighting as mediators try to secure a diplomatic solution. “If the aggressor and terrorist US seeks to continue its illegal action of imposing a naval blockade in the region and to create insecurity for Iran’s commercial vessels and oil tankers, this action by the US will constitute a prelude to a violation of the ceasefire,” said Major General Ali Abdollahi, the commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “The powerful armed forces of Iran will not allow any exports or imports to continue in the area of the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Red Sea,” Abdollahi, whose organisation has been running the war and influencing political decision-making, was quoted as saying by state media on Wednesday. The comments come after the US military said its naval blockade has “completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea” and will continue amid the two-week ceasefire declared a week ago. US President Donald Trump told Fox News that the war is “close to over” and hinted at a second round of face-to-face talks with Iran in Pakistan in the coming days, but US media have also reported that thousands more American soldiers have been sent to the Middle East on warships. Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead the US delegation if a second round of talks does materialise, but no date has been finalised. Advertisement Pakistan’s military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, arrived in Iran on Wednesday as part of a Pakistani delegation after “numerous messages” were exchanged with the US through mediators since the Iranian delegation returned from Islamabad on Sunday. The goal of any potential future talks will be to “fully cease the war and realise the rights of Iran” in addition to lifting the sanctions imposed on the country, Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters. He also emphasised that Iran has not and will not seek a nuclear weapon but insists on its right to pursue nuclear energy for civilian purposes under United Nations safeguards. He said the level and type of enrichment can be negotiated. Baghaei also renewed Iran’s criticism of Rafael Grossi, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, for statements and reports about Iran’s nuclear programme that the country believes paved the way for Israel’s 12-day war in June and the current war that the US and Israel started on February 28. On Wednesday, Iran’s parliament speaker and former IRGC and police commander Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation at the weekend talks in Pakistan, held a rare phone call with United Arab Emirates Vice President Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. They discussed “regional developments and ways to de-escalate tensions in the region”, according to the UAE’s WAM news agency. The UAE and other Gulf Arab states came under heavy Iranian attack before the ceasefire with Iran saying it was targeting the US military presence in those countries. ‘Never give concessions’ Iranian authorities have maintained a defiant approach and have said their supporters, who have taken to the streets at night in a show of strength over the past six weeks, will not be happy if major concessions are given on uranium enrichment and the Strait of Hormuz. Messages from Iran’s hardline-controlled state television and many members of parliament have been adamantly against negotiations with Washington, pushing the narrative that they believe Iran has the upper hand after surviving 40 days of war with military superpowers. Speaking to supporters gathered on Tuesday night on the streets of Saveh, southwest of Tehran, parliament’s deputy speaker, Ali Nikzad, said Iran considers control over the Strait of Hormuz a sovereign and legal matter. “We will never give concessions to our enemy,” he said. Esmaeil Kowsari, a member of parliament’s national security commission and former senior IRGC commander, said it would be “impossible” for the government to accept “even one clause” of the 15 points delineated by the Trump administration to achieve peace. Advertisement “We will participate in negotiations to show to the world that they must enter the field and stop this instability. We know the Americans are not trustworthy and will not remain committed to agreements,” he told the state-run IRNA news agency. For his part, President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Tehran will continue dialogue within the framework of international law and has blamed Washington for “excessive demands” that have derailed any agreement, including on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Mohammad Khatami, a former reformist president who has been sidelined for years, released a statement late on Tuesday to signal that the IRGC must now transform achievements in the field of battle to a “lasting peace” that would allow Iran to develop. “We have entered a new and more sensitive phase in which we must, free from overexcitement and extremism, consolidate our current military and political achievements; and, through a precise and realistic understanding of society and of the necessities of the post-war period and the new global economic and political developments, remove the shadow of threat, aggression, and war from Iran,” he wrote. More arrests, confiscations announced Iranian authorities have continued to announce the enforcement of death sentences as well as a large number of arrests and asset confiscations. The judiciary has said some of the executions were linked to nationwide protests in January, during which thousands of people were killed during an internet blackout. Others were tied to national security crimes and a host of other charges. Iranian authorities executed at least 1,639 people in 2025 and were on track to execute even more people this year during the war with the US and Israel, Norway-based Iran Human Rights and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty said on Monday. That figure marks a 68 percent increase compared with the year before and
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