Image source, EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted since the start of the war, and some media reports have suggested that Iran's plans for the vital waterway include the right to demand transit fees of around $2m (£1.5m) per ship.

On April 12, US President Donald Trump posted online that he had instructed the US Navy to "seek and interdict every vessel in international waters that has paid a toll to Iran".

"No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas," he said at the time.

A few days earlier, Trump had suggested the US and Iran could levy fees on the strait as a "joint venture".

US forces are now conducting their own blockade of vessels travelling to and from Iranian ports, though BBC Verify has used ship tracking data and other sources to establish that a number of Iranian-linked vessels have crossed the US blockade line since it was imposed.

The deputy speaker of Iran's parliament said today that the first revenues collected from tolls have been deposited into the country's central bank.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

The deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament, Hamidreza Haji Babaei, says the first revenues collected from tolls imposed on ships using the Strait of Hormuz have been deposited into the Central Bank account.

According to a report from the Tasnim News Agency, he has not given further details about how the revenue was collected, or who paid it, and the BBC cannot independently verify his claim.

Before the current ceasefire Tehran had said it had limited the passage to what it called “friendly” countries, and there were talks of collecting tolls from vessels passing through the strait.

But there had been no clarification during that time about how much - or if - Iran was charging a fee for passage.

For example, back in late March, Iran’s embassy in India denied claims that Tehran was charging vessels $2m to pass through.

Today another senior Iranian MP, Alireza Salimi, said to Tasnim: “I have heard from reliable sources that Iran has collected fees from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.”

“The amount and fees collected from each of these ships vary depending on the type and amount of cargo and the level of risk they carry, and Iran determines how and to what extent these fees are collected. We determine the rules,” he says.

US President Donald Trump has previously threatened ships that pay tolls to Iran to use the Strait of Hormuz - we'll have more on that in our next post.

Image source, Reuters

8 April: After the US and Iran reached a two-week ceasefire deal, there’s debate over whether Lebanon is included.

Iran and Pakistan, which is acting as mediator, say it is, but the US and Israel disagree.

Israel continues to exchange fire with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

14 April: Lebanon and Israel hold their first diplomatic talks since 1993, aiming to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

16 April: A 10-day ceasefire is agreed between Israel and Lebanon. President Trump urges Hezbollah to abide by it.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says troops will remain stationed 10km (6.2 miles) into southern Lebanon, despite the ceasefire.

23 April: A second round of talks is scheduled to take place in Washington between Lebanon and Israel.

Image source, Getty Images

8 April: Pakistan, acting as mediator, announces a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran.

US President Donald Trump says the deal is agreed on the condition that the Strait of Hormuz reopens. Pakistan says Lebanon is included. Iran agrees, but the US and Israel dispute this.

9 April: Iran insists there must be a ceasefire in Lebanon, warning that ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz without permission "would be targeted and destroyed".

11 April: Senior US and Iranian officials, including Vice-President JD Vance and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, meet in Pakistan. After 21 hours of talks, both sides remain far apart.

12 April: Trump announces a blockade of Iranian ports.

17 April: After a temporary ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon, Iran briefly opens the Strait of Hormuz. However, it closes the shipping route again after a short time, saying it will remain shut until the US lifts its blockade.

19 April: Trump says his representatives will return to Pakistan for talks. However, this does not happen, as Iran says it has not yet decided whether to take part.

21 April: Trump agrees to extend the ceasefire for an unspecified time so negotiations can continue.

Who is in charge in Iran?published at 09:24 BST

09:24 BST

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Image source, Reuters

Here’s a look at the current shape of the Iranian establishment and where the power in the country lies.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is known to have the final say in all major matters. But he hasn’t been seen in public or in recent videos or photos since his appointment in early March.

A senior Iranian government official said that negotiators work under Khamenei’s "direction". He hasn’t explicitly mentioned the negotiations, though recent messages attributed to him have criticised the US.

The negotiating team, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Ministry officials, such as Abbas Araghchi, appear to have assumed greater prominence in recent weeks.

Ghalibaf has deep ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The influence of the IRGC extends far beyond a conventional military role, especially during wartime. While the IRGC has lost several senior military officials, it still acts as a parallel government to the one led by Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Hehas been issuing statements, but there’s a question over how much power he actually holds.

The boss of Swedish tanker firm Stena Bulk says there is "no prospect" of the company’s vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz at the moment.

"Before we would take actions like that, we definitely need guarantees” of security passing through the shipping lane "from both Iran and the US", CEO Erik Hanell tells the Today programme on BBC Radio 4.

Hanell says that only a peace deal could create the necessary conditions for commercial ships to start moving again.

"We were hoping a couple of weeks ago, as recently as last week, that something would happen which meant we could pass through in a week or so," he says, but adds that the situation is “locked” now.

Image source, Getty Images

In the US, Fox News says President Trump told presenter Martha MacCallum that there is "no time pressure" on his extension to the ceasefire with Iran.

According to MacCallum, Trump told her in a phone call on Wednesday that he is "not in a rush" to end the conflict and that he wanted a "good deal".

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also said on Wednesday that negotiations "are ongoing", and Trump had "made his red lines very clear" to the Iranians - demanding that they turn over enriched uranium in their possession to the US.

Leavitt added that Washington was "waiting to hear back from the Iranian regime", which she says "cannot send a unified message yet, which is why the president decided to extend the ceasefire".

Nick Marsh
Asia business reporter, Singapore

The Strait of Hormuz is still blocked, oil is over $100 per barrel, and economists are warning of an impending global recession.

Yet stock markets are soaring. In the US, the S&P 500 closed at a record high, with Asian markets also reaching all-time highs during the day.

How is this possible?

Some companies do well out of war. Energy and arms stocks have risen, of course, but in general big firms aren't really reporting significant hits to their profits so far. Higher business costs are being passed down the chain to the consumer.

Also, investment in tech and artificial intelligence is showing no signs of slowing down and Big Tech companies now make up more than a third of the entire S&P 500.

A lot of modern-day trading is also automated. Instead of making conscious decisions based on the news cycle, people are increasingly investing through funds that track the value of the stock market.

These computer-driven trades will always invest in the biggest companies and pile more money into the market when there's an upward trend.

If you have money in the stock market - things are looking good. But if, like the vast majority of the world, you don't - then the real-life economic consequences of this war will be painful.

Oil prices gained on Thursday after reports of three vessels being attacked in the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces.

Brent, the global benchmark for crude, is hovering around $103 (£76.35) a barrel, while US-traded oil climbed above $94.

Prices have climbed since US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire extension on Tuesday to give Iran more time to make a deal.

Iran's foreign minister says US and Israeli "aggression" are the "root of insecurity" in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.

A series of posts on X from the Iranian government say Abbas Araghchi met South Korea's special envoy in Tehran, with the Iranian foreign minister urging countries to “take a clear and firm stance in condemning these attacks".

It reports Araghchi as saying that Iran has taken measures under international law to defend its security and interests, adding that responsibility for consequences "lies with aggressors".

It comes as Iran said it "seized" two ships in the strait, with a third cargo ship also attacked.

Image source, AP

Lebanon's prime minister has accused Israel of war crimes after officials said Israeli air strikes killed journalist Amal Khalil and wounded another journalist in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.

It comes as Israel and Lebanon prepare to hold a second round of talks today in Washington.

Lebanese officials say Khalil and Zeinab Faraj were deliberately targeted as they sought shelter in a home after an initial air strike hit the vehicle in front of them, killing two men.

The officials also accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of intentionally targeting a marked ambulance as it tried to reach the journalists in the village of Tayri.

Khalil, 43, worked for Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar. She and Faraj, a freelance photographer, were travelling together. The two men who died have not been named by officials.

The IDF denied that it was preventing rescue teams from reaching the area and said it did not target journalists.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the war in Iran is beginning to "weaken Europe" during a call with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

A post on social media by Erdogan's office said the two leaders spoke over the phone on Wednesday, discussing the relations between the two countries and the ongoing wars in Iran and Ukraine.

"President Erdoğan noted that the war in our region began to weaken Europe as well, and that if this trend were not addressed with a peace-oriented approach, the damage caused by the period of conflict would be far greater," the post says.

US Central Command said late on Wednesday it has "directed 31 vessels to turn around or return to port" since its blockade of Iranian ports began.

It said most of the ships were oil tankers and had "complied with US directions".

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called the blockade one of the "main obstacles" to "genuine negotiations" with the US.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says Donald Trump is "satisfied" with the blockade, which she described as "effective and successful".

Iran has attacked three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two, days after vowing retaliation for the US intercepting an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf as part of its naval blockade.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said the ship, Touska, was seized by the US Navy after failing to respond to warnings to stop.

Iran said this was a violation of the ceasefire and it would retaliate soon for the "act of armed piracy".

On Wednesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said it was "monitoring" movements through the Strait of Hormuz and has pledged "firm" action against the "violators".

After seizing the ships, MSC Francesca and Epaminondas, the IRGC Navy said they were "operating without authorisation" and committed "repeated violations", accusing them of trying to leave the Strait of Hormuz "in secret" and tampering with navigation systems.

The BBC cannot independently verify this claim.

Israel and Lebanon are set to hold a second round of talks in Washington DC on Thursday, with discussions under way to extend the current 10-day ceasefire.

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun says the ambassador-level talks are "based on a complete halt to Israeli aggressions, achieving the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territories, the return of prisoners, the deployment of the army to the international borders, and the start of reconstruction of what was destroyed during this war".

The first round of talks led to a temporary 10-day truce that started at 17:00 EDT (21:00 GMT) on 16 April.

White House insists the US is in controlpublished at 05:01 BST

05:01 BST

David Willis
North America correspondent

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been briefing reporters about President Donald Trump's view of the ceasefire and peace negotiations.

Trump has said he's extending the ceasefire because Iran's leadership – decimated by the war – is fractured, and needs time to come up with a proposal to end the conflict.

He has also said a US blockade of ships entering or leaving Iranian ports is to remain in place – a move intended to squeeze Iran economically and which has incensed Tehran, which regards it as tantamount to an act of war.

Leavitt insisted the plan was working. "We are completely strangling their economy through this blockade. They are losing $500m a day. The Kharg Island is completely full. They can't move oil in and out. They can't even pay their own people as a result of this economic leverage that President Trump has inflicted over them," she said.

No end date has been given for the extended ceasefire, but with Iran emphatic that it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz the two sides appear to have reached a stalemate.

The White House says Trump is satisfied with the situation, and continues to insist the US is in control.

Preparations for peace talks continue in Pakistan but there is yet to be confirmation of delegations from either the US or Iran attending.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran remains open to discussions, but added the US "breach of commitments, blockade and threats are main obstacles to genuine negotiations".

Vice-President JD Vance, who is expected to lead the US delegation, remains in the US.

Meanwhile, after US President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire that was due to finish on Wednesday, he says there is "no time frame" for ending the war with Iran.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the extension was open-ended, and there was no new deadline.

Tensions continue around the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran's chief negotiator saying it is "not possible" for it to be opened due to "the blatant violations of the ceasefire" by the US and Israel.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest here.