LIVE: Iran seizes two ships in Strait of Hormuz: Report

Shehbaz Sharif has thanked the US president for extending the ceasefire with Iran, saying it would allow ongoing diplomatic efforts to proceed.

In a post on X, Sharif said he was expressing gratitude “on my personal behalf and on behalf of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir” for Trump's “gracious acceptance” of Pakistan's request to extend the ceasefire.

Sharif said he hoped both sides would continue observing the ceasefire and reach a comprehensive peace deal during a second round of talks scheduled in Islamabad.

The Iranian mission to the U.N. sent a letter Tuesday asking for the world body and the Security Council to issue a “firm and unequivocal” condemnation of the US decision Sunday to attack and seize an Iranian-flagged cargo ship.

“This constitutes a grave breach of international law, a clear violation of the ceasefire, and an act of aggression marked by the hallmarks of piracy,” the mission posted on X. “Such reckless conduct directly endangers international navigation and undermines maritime safety and security.” Washington had said the ship tried to evade the US naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump has said he's extending the ceasefire with Iran at Pakistan's request as he waits for a “unified proposal” from the Islamic Republic, but that the US military will continue its blockade of Iranian ports.

Trump added that “he's directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”

The US president made the move even as the White House has put on hold Vice President JD Vance's expected trip to Islamabad for a second round of talks as Tehran, at least for time being, is balking at further talks.

Gen. Majid Mousavi, the aerospace chief for the Revolutionary Guard, said in comments on Iranian media that it would be a mistake to carry out “aggression” against Iran. He also said the region's oil facilities would be harmed if neighboring countries allow the US to carry out attacks.

“If southern neighbors allow the enemy to use their facilities to attack Iran, they should say goodbye to oil production in the Middle East region,” he said.

The US has bases and troops in several countries across the region.

Israel and the Lebanon-based, Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah traded some fire on Tuesday, even as more talks are expected in Washington this week after a 10-day ceasefire went into effect last Friday.

Hezbollah said it had fired rockets and drones at Israeli forces maintaining a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, accusing Israel of breaching the truce with “attacks on civilians and the destruction of their homes and villages.” In response, Israel said it had struck the launcher, calling Hezbollah's strikes a blatant violation of the ceasefire.

Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel, particularly its northern border communities, shortly after the Iran war started. Israeli forces have engaged in fierce battles with the militants in southern Lebanon as they pushed to create what officials have called a “security zone.” 

As news came that the US delegation was pausing its travel to Islamabad, Iran's top diplomat posted on X saying that American forces boarding an Iranian oil tanker earlier Tuesday was an act of war.

“Striking a commercial vessel and taking its crew hostage is an even greater violation,” Abbas Araghchi said in a post. “Iran knows how to neutralize restrictions, how to defend its interests, and how to resist bullying.”

Iranian state TV quoted the Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency denying Trump's claims that the women are facing execution. It said some have already been released, while others face charges that — if upheld by the courts — would ultimately result in prison sentences rather than execution.

It didn't name which women were allegedly released.

Human rights centres have reported that at least two of the women were facing charges that carry a death sentence.

Earlier, Trump called on Iran to release these six women and two teenagers ahead of potential truce talks. They were mostly detained during January protests.

Bita Hemmati was sentenced to death in Tehran after taking part in the protests, according to the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran.

Mahboubeh Shabani was arrested in the city of Mashhad during the protests. She's charged with “enmity of God,” which carries the death sentence, according to human rights monitor Hengaw.

Diana Taher Abadi and Ghazal Ghalandari are both 16, and were arrested separately in Karaj, west of Tehran, and Yasuj in southwestern Iran during the protests, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Venus Hossein Nejad, from the Bahai faith, was arrested in January from her workplace in southeast Iran. She was forced to confess on state TV and was accused with others of organizing protests and being members of a “satanic network and under the influence of Israel,” the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights said.

Golnar Naraqi, a 37-year-old emergency physician, was arrested in Tehran during the protests, according to a state-affiliated newspaper.

Two women were identified by Iranian social media as Ensieh Nejati and Panah Movahhedi Salamat. There was no immediate confirmed reports about their whereabouts.

Trump reposted their photos on social media. “I am sure that they will respect the fact that you did so. Please do them no harm!” Trump posted. “Would be a great start to our negotiations!!!”

As part of Trump's push to boost defence spending to USD1.5 trillion in the 2027 budget, the Pentagon wants to triple spending on drones and related technology to more than USD74 billion and invest over USD30 billion into more critical munitions.

That includes missile interceptors, whose stockpiles have become critically low during the Iran war.

Military officials said the spending blueprint was developed ahead of the conflict in West Asia. They also did not discuss how much they will request in additional funds for the war.

Drones and other unmanned vehicles have emerged as a key weapon in the wars in Ukraine and Iran, and top Pentagon officials say the US must significantly increase its funding of both drones and counter-drone systems.

“Today we also reach the political agreement to widen our sanctions regime, to also target those responsible for breaches to freedom of navigation,” said the 27-nation European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, after a Tuesday gathering in Luxembourg.

“Freedom of navigation is non-negotiable. Daily U-turns where the Strait of Hormuz is open or closed, are reckless. Transit through the strait must remain free of charge,” she said, referring to Iran's charging for safe passage on the Strait of Hormuz.

Kallas said the EU's maritime security mission would be “the quickest way” to ensure safe transit in the Persian Gulf after peace is settled.

Even if the US-Iran ceasefire holds and the current war ends, the leader of Yemen's Houthi rebel group said “there is no doubt that further rounds of fighting are coming, as it is merely a truce within a continuous conflict with the enemy.”

In a televised speech Tuesday, Abdul Malik al-Houthi warned that escalation in the region is “possibly high” as the “fragile” ceasefire is nearing an end.

A Houthi missile attack on Israel last month raised concern that Iran's ally in Yemen may again try to block Red Sea shipping routes, as it did during the war in Gaza.