LIVE: Iran says uranium enrichment ‘necessary’ for US ceasefire talks

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has set up a special body to deal with the effects of the West Asia conflict on the economy and security of the country.

The National Coordination and Management Council (NCMC) was constituted hours ahead of the two-week ceasefire achieved between the US and Iran.

The NCMC is jointly headed by Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema and Lt General Zafar Iqbal, who are the co-chairmen of its executive committee, according to an official notification.

Among the members, the body has the representation of all the federal departments, provincial governments and the special areas.

It has the mandate for the management of internal security, including possible internal displacement and refugees, in case of any untoward situation. It has also been tasked for narrative management and controlling of disinformation.

The council is responsible for the management and operationalisation of financial, economic, and trade-related policy measures.

Semiofficial news agencies in Iran have published a chart suggesting the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard put sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz during the war.

The reports came from the ISNA news agency, as well as Tasnim, which is believed to be close to the Guard.

The chart showed a large circle marked “danger zone” in Farsi over the Traffic Separation Scheme, which was the route ships used to take through the strait. That was where the Guard allegedly put the mines.

It suggested that ships travel up north through waters closer to Iran's mainland near Larak Island, a route that some ships were observed taking during the war.

The dates on the chart ran from February 28 until Thursday, April 9. It's unclear if the Guard had cleared its alleged mining in the route.

Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled in early trade on Thursday after an impressive rally in the previous session amid fresh tensions in West Asia, igniting concerns over a potential ceasefire breach.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 243.57 points to 77,319.33 in opening trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 88.3 points to 23,909.05.

Later, the BSE benchmark quoted 728.93 points lower at 76,833.97, and the Nifty tumbled 189.55 points to 23,821.45.

From the 30-Sensex firms, Infosys, Adani Ports, InterGlobe Aviation, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance and ICICI Bank were among the major laggards.

NTPC, Bharat Electronics, Tata Steel and Power Grid were among the gainers.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 2.09 per cent to USD 96.73 per barrel.

In Asian markets, South Korea's benchmark Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were trading lower after a sharp rally in the previous trade.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority on Thursday said it received an India-flagged vessel carrying 15,400 tonnes of LPG that successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz amid the West Asia conflict.

“Today, JNPA proudly welcomed Green Asha—an India-flagged LPG vessel that has successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz, and has moored at JNPA’s liquid berth operated by BPCL-IOCL,” it said in a release.

This is a significant milestone as it is the first such vessel to reach JNPA since the onset of the war, it said, adding that the vessel brought in 15,400 tonnes of LPG.

“The vessel, its cargo, and every member of the crew are all safe and secure. This arrival highlights the ability of maritime operations to function amid complex geopolitical conditions while ensuring the steady supply of essential LPG to the nation,” it said.

India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met senior US officials and discussed ways to further deepen the defence and trade relations and exchanged views on the developments in the Indo-Pacific and West Asia.

On a three-day visit to Washington DC, Misri met undersecretaries Michael Duffey and Elbridge Colby in the Department of Defence, and undersecretaries Jeffrey Kessler and William Kimmitt in the Department of Commerce.

“Sustaining the momentum of India-US defence exchanges, Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri had another wide ranging conversation with Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby @USWPColby at the Pentagon, covering the ongoing developments in the Indo-Pacific region and West Asia,” the Indian Embassy in the US said in a post on X.

Misri also had a “fruitful interaction” with Duffey, the Under Secretary in the Department of Defence for Acquisition and Sustainment, at the Pentagon.

The two principals discussed ways to further deepen the defence industrial, technology and supply chain linkages between India and the US, in line with the ambitious goals laid out in the Framework for the bilateral Major Defence Partnership signed last year, the embassy said.

Misri also met undersecretaries Jeffrey Kessler and William Kimmitt in the Department of Commerce. Kessler is the Under Secretary for Bureau of Industry and Security, while Kimmitt is the Under Secretary for International Trade Administration.

Misri is visiting the US to review bilateral trade and defence relations and discuss global developments, including the crisis in West Asia.

More than 1,000 humanitarian workers have been killed across the globe in the past three years, nearly triple the death count in the previous three years, the UN said on Wednesday.

“This is not an accidental escalation – it is the collapse of protection,” UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the UN Security Council.

Of the more than 1,010 humanitarian workers killed from 2023 to 2025, he said, over 560 were in Gaza and the West Bank, 130 in Sudan, 60 in South Sudan, 25 in Ukraine and 25 in Congo. That compares with 377 killed from 2020 to 2022.

The surge in deaths occurred during the war between Israel and Hamas, which began in October 2023. A ceasefire has been in effect since October 2025, although shootings and airstrikes have persisted.

Last year alone, Fletcher said, at least 326 aid workers were recorded as killed in 21 countries. In 2024, a record 383 were killed in global hotspots while distributing food, water, shelter and medicine.

“They died in clearly marked convoys and on missions coordinated directly with authorities," the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs said.

The Security Council was meeting on a resolution it adopted in May 2024 that strongly condemned attacks on humanitarian workers and UN personnel and demanded that all combatants protect them in accordance with international law.

Israeli strikes on Wednesday killed an Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza, according to the network and health officials there, as well as two Lebanese journalists in that country, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists and one of their networks.

Mohammed Wishah was targeted in a drone strike in west Gaza City. The Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said on X that Wishah was a member of Hamas, reposting a 2024 tweet that described him as a “prominent commander” in its military wing, among other positions.

In Lebanon, where Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah killed more than 180 people Wednesday, Ghada Dayekh, a presenter with Sawt Al-Farah, and Suzan Khalil, a reporter and presenter on Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV and Al-Nour Radio, also died.

The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Food Programme have said that the war in West Asia has triggered one of the largest disruptions to global energy markets and will inevitably lead to rising food prices and food insecurity.

In a joint statement, the heads of the three organisations said the burden of rising food prices will fall most heavily on the world’s most vulnerable populations.

“The Middle East war is upending lives and livelihoods in the region and beyond. It has already triggered one of the largest disruptions to global energy markets in modern history.

“Sharp increases in oil, gas, and fertiliser prices, together with transport bottlenecks, will inevitably lead to rising food prices and food insecurity,” said the joint statement issued after a meeting of the heads of the three institutions on Wednesday.

They said the three organisations will continue to monitor the developments closely and coordinate the use of all available tools to support those impacted by the crisis.

“The burden will fall most heavily on the world’s most vulnerable populations, particularly in low‑income, import‑dependent economies. Spikes in fuel prices and potential sharp increases in food prices are especially concerning where fiscal space is constrained and debt burdens are already high, reducing governments’ ability to protect vulnerable households,” the statement said.

US President Donald Trump repeated his complaint about NATO after a closed-door meeting with the alliance's Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Wednesday for discussions that had been expected to be aimed at soothing Trump's anger with the military alliance over the Iran war.

Ahead of the private meeting, Trump had suggested the US may consider leaving the trans-Atlantic alliance after NATO member countries ignored his call to help as Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping waterway, and sent gas prices soaring.

Afterward, he issued an all-caps comment on social media suggesting he remained aggrieved.

“NATO WASN'T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON'T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,” Trump said in his post.

The White House did not immediately offer any further updates.

The Congress in 2023 passed a law that prevents any US president from pulling out of NATO without its approval.

Trump has been a long-time critic of NATO and in his first term had suggested he had the authority on his own to leave the alliance, which was founded in 1949 to counter the Cold War threat posed to European security by the Soviet Union.

On Wednesday, Trump also seemed to be angry about NATO's stance on Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO member Denmark. Trump had pressed for US control over Greenland earlier this year before backing off after talks with Rutte.

“REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!” Trump posted Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump initially said Iran proposed a “workable” 10-point plan that could help end the war the US and Israel launched on February 28. But when a version in Farsi emerged that indicated Iran would be allowed to continue enriching uranium – which is key to building a nuclear weapon – Trump called it fraudulent without elaborating.

US Vice-President JD Vance later said the deal was being misrepresented within Iran, though he did not offer details.

The White House also said Vance would lead the American negotiating team in talks in Pakistan aimed at finding a permanent end to the war. Pakistan said the talks could begin in Islamabad as soon as Friday.

Meanwhile, Israeli Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir said Israel will continue to “utilise every operational opportunity” to strike Hezbollah.

The Israeli military said it struck more than 100 targets within 10 minutes on Wednesday across Lebanon, the largest wave of strikes since March 1.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the Israeli attacks as “barbaric”.

Hezbollah has not confirmed if it will abide by the ceasefire, though the group has said it was open to giving mediators a chance to secure an agreement.