live White House Says 'No Firm Deadline' For Ending War With Iran As US Naval Blockade Continues

The NetBlocks Internet connectivity monitor says Iran’s digital blackout has entered its 53rd day, with users disconnected from global networks for 1,248 hours.

The watchdog said authorities are expanding tiered access for selected users and businesses, while the human and economic costs continue to mount.

Separately, Iranian Communications Minister Sattar Hashemi warned that an unstable Internet threatens the livelihoods of about 10 million Iranians, mainly from lower- and middle-income groups who depend on reliable connectivity for their work.

He said prolonged disruption “could have deep social and economic consequences," underscoring the growing domestic pressure over the nationwide shutdown.

Iran says it has hanged a man after convicting him of alleged espionage and extensive cooperation with the Israeli spy agency Mossad.

The country's judiciary said on April 22 that Mehdi Farid's death sentence was upheld after legal review under the capital charge of “corruption on earth.”

Officials did not disclose when he was arrested or tried.

The judiciary's Mizan website claimed Farid had provided "sensitive information to Mossad."

It added that Farid was accused of "connecting the servers of a sensitive organization to infected files on the orders of a Mossad officer."

Human rights organizations had previously identified Farid as a former employee of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

It was also announced that, in related cases, 19 other sentences have so far been issued in Qom Province for defendants accused of “cooperation with the enemy,” including prison terms and fines.

Since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran on February 28, the Islamic republic has intensified the implementation of execution sentences.

In recent days, multiple reports have also emerged of daily executions carried out by Iran’s judiciary.

With reporting by AFP

US President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran is “collapsing financially,” losing $500 million a day and urgently seeking to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

In his Truth Social post early on April 22, he also alleged that the country was experiencing deepening economic distress and its security forces had not been paid.

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a British maritime security monitoring center that issues alerts to commercial shipping in the Middle East, said on April 22 that it received a report of an incident 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman.

The captain of a container ship said their vessel was approached by an Iranian Revolutionary Guards gunboat which gave no radio warning before opening fire, causing heavy damage to the bridge.

UKMTO said no fire or pollution was reported and all crew were safe.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would maintain its naval blockade of Iranian ports, predicting storage at Kharg Island would soon fill and oil wells would be forced to shut.

Bessent said the Treasury would continue “maximum pressure” sanctions targeting Tehran’s trade, finance and revenue networks.

We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.

Britain on April 22-23 will host military planners from more than 30 countries for talks starting on a potential multinational mission led by the UK and France to protect sea traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

The British Defense Ministry said the talks would involve "detailed planning" on reopening the strait when conditions allow.

"The task...to translate diplomatic consensus into a joint plan to safeguard freedom of navigation in the Strait and support a lasting ceasefire," Defense Minister John Healey said in a statement, adding he was confident "real progress can be made."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron co-chaired international talks on the waterway in Paris last week, with more than 40 countries participating. The US did not attend.

Britain and France stressed that force would only be used in defensive situations and that the mission would start only after a peace agreement is concluded.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ⁠on April 22 thanked US President Donald Trump for accepting ⁠his country's request to extend the cease-fire in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran ⁠to allow ‌diplomatic efforts to continue.

"I sincerely hope that both sides will continue to observe the cease-fire ‌and be able to conclude a comprehensive ‘Peace Deal’ during the second round of talks scheduled at Islamabad for a permanent end to ‌the conflict," Sharif said in post ⁠on X.

Pakistani-mediated peace talks that were tentatively scheduled for this week in Islamabad are now clouded in uncertainty after Tehran said it had not decided whether its team would participate.

A trip to Islamabad by US Vice President JD Vance, who heads the American team, would not take place on April 21 as planned in view of developments, a White House official told RFE/RL.

A spokesman for Iran's powerful parliament speaker late on April 21 claimed that US President ⁠Donald ⁠Trump's announcement of a cease-fire ‌extension is a "ploy to ⁠buy time" for a surprise strike.

The spokesperson to Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who is also Iran's lead negotiator, said in a social media post that the US move to continue its blockade of Iranian ports was "no ‌different from bombardment and must be met with a military response."

The remarks come hours before the expiration of a two-week cease-fire agreed to by Washington and Tehran. It was due to expire on April 22, although the exact time of the end of the truce was unclear.

US President Donald Trump on April 21 said he has indefinitely extended a cease-fire with Iran amid uncertainty about Tehran's negotiating position and at the request of Pakistani officials acting as mediators in the peace talks.

“Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump added that he will “extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”

Tehran did not immediately comment on whether it would also extend the cease-fire on its side.

Trump earlier said he did not want to extend the temporary cease-fire with Iran, which was due to expire on April 22, as Washington waits to see if talks with Tehran will proceed.

He added in his post that the US will continue its blockade of Iranian ports that has so far led to at two ships being seized by the US Navy.

Tehran has said it will not resume negotiations as long as the blockade is in effect, while the US has said it will not end the action until a peace deal is signed.

Iran has not decided whether to attend a second round of peace talks that were set to begin this week with the US in Islamabad, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on April 21. The US team, led by Vice President JD Vance, has delayed its departure for the Pakistani capital in reaction.

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