Portal:Current events/2026 April 7

April 7, 2026 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Middle Eastern crisis
- 2026 Iran war
  - 2025–2026 Iran–United States negotiations
    - Islamabad Accord
      - United States president Donald Trump announces on his Truth Social that, based on conversations with Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and field marshal Asim Munir, he has agreed to "suspend the bombing and attacks on Iran for a period of two weeks", subject to Iran agreeing to the "complete, immediate and safe opening" of the Strait of Hormuz, and to allow time for an agreement to be reached. (AFP via ABS-CBN News) (Axios)
      - Iranian ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri-Moghaddam says that the Pakistan-mediated framework aimed at a ceasefire to end the war has reached a "critical, sensitive stage". (WION) (ARY News)
      - Trump tells Fox News that the U.S. is in "heated negotiations" with Iran after being briefed about the proposal. (CBS News)
      - It is reported that U.S. vice president JD Vance would serve as the U.S. interlocutor in ceasefire talks. (CBS News)
    - Trump warns that "a whole civilization will die tonight" and will "never be brought back" if Iran does not agree to a deal by noon (GMT). (AP) (Reuters)
    - The New York Times reports that Iran has ended direct contact with the U.S. in response to Trump's latest threat to "end its civilization". However, Tehran Times denies the reports by stating on X that "diplomatic and indirect channels of talks with [the] U.S. are not closed". (AA) (Bloomberg) (Iran International)
    - Vance says that the war in Iran will conclude "very shortly", claiming that the U.S. military has achieved all objectives. (Middle East Monitor)
  - 2026 Iranian strikes on Arab countries
    - 2026 Iranian strikes on Saudi Arabia
      - Saudi Arabia–United States relations
        The U.S. embassy in Riyadh advises its citizens to reconsider participating in this year's Hajj. The U.S. has raised its travel advisory for Saudi Arabia to Level 3 and warns of security risks such as rocket and drone attacks. (TRT World)
    - 2026 Iranian strikes on Qatar
      - Four people are injured by falling debris in Muraikh, Qatar, after the Qatari military intercepts Iranian missiles. (Al Jazeera)
      - Iranian drones strike a SABIC petrochemical complex in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, causing a fire. (AFP via The Times of Israel)
    - 2026 Iranian strikes on the United Arab Emirates
      - An Iranian ballistic missile strikes a Thuraya building in the Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, injuring two Pakistani nationals. (Al Jazeera)
    - Iran threatens to launch massive retaliatory strikes against the energy infrastructure of Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the event of a U.S. attack on its power plants. (MarketScreener) (MoneyControl)
    - Saudi Arabia closes the King Fahd Causeway to Bahrain for several hours after the Iranian Fars News Agency has published a list of strategic bridges in the Gulf region as potential targets for retaliation. (Al Jazeera)
  - 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
    - China and Russia veto a United Nations Security Council resolution calling on UN member states to "coordinate efforts, defensive in nature" to ensure the safety of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, saying that it was biased against Iran. (Reuters via Al Jazeera)
  - Iraq in the 2026 Iran war, 2026 United States–Israeli strikes on Iraq
    - Kata'ib Hezbollah announces the release of American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped by gunmen in Baghdad on March 31. The group's condition for Kittleson's freedom is her departure from Iraq. (The Jerusalem Post)
  - At least 35 people are killed in airstrikes across Iran. (Al Jazeera)
  - Reports indicate nighttime attacks in the greater Tehran area, in Ahvaz, Chahbahar, Jask, Shiraz, and Yazd, as well as near Shahid Kalantari Port, Tis Port, and the Imam Ali base. (Iran International)
  - Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel has struck bridges and railways in Iran allegedly used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. (The Jerusalem Post) (Reuters via The Standard)
  - U.S. and Israeli warplanes strike Iranian military targets on Kharg Island that results in several massive explosions. (Metro) (NBC News)
  - At least five people are killed after a rocket fired from Kuwait landed in Basra, southern Iraq. (Shafaq)
- 2026 Lebanon war
  - Three people are killed and several are injured by an Israeli airstrike in Maarakah, Tyre District, Lebanon. (Daily Sabah)
  - One person is killed by an Israeli drone strike in Deir ez-Zahrani, Nabatieh District, Lebanon. (Daily Sabah)
  - One person is killed by an Israeli strike in Zebdin, Nabatieh District, Lebanon. (Daily Sabah)
  - The Israeli military says that 36 soldiers were injured over the past two days, bringing the total casualties to 411. (Al Jazeera)
  - Israel deploys the 98th Division to southern Lebanon, raising the force there to five divisions. (AA)
2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan war
- The Afghan foreign ministry says that talks between the Taliban–led government of Afghanistan and Pakistan in Ürümqi, China, to end the conflict have been "useful". (ABC News)
2026 attack on Israeli consulate in Istanbul
- One gunman is killed, while two other perpetrators and two policemen are injured in a shootout outside of the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. The two injured perpetrators have been captured and detained by police. (Al Jazeera)
Nigerian bandit conflict
- Armed attackers kill at least 50 people in a village in Shiroro, Niger State, Nigeria, including local hunters, militia members, and civilians. (AFP via Macau Business)

Arts and culture

Destruction of cultural heritage sites during the 2026 Iran war
- The semi-official Mehr News Agency reports that a suspected Israeli–U.S. missile struck the Rafi'-Nia synagogue in central Tehran. (Dawn)
This year's Wireless Festival in London, England, is cancelled and all tickets are refunded after its headliner, American rapper Kanye West, is banned from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office on the grounds that "his presence would not be conducive to the public good" amid controversy over his past antisemitic comments on Jews and Adolf Hitler, and his association with neo-Nazis. (BBC News) (CNN)

Business and economy

The Japanese House of Councillors enacts the country's largest state budget in history worth ¥122.3 trillion (€664 billion). (Euronews)

Disasters and accidents

Mediterranean Sea migrant smuggling
- The International Organization for Migration reports that at least 990 deaths have been recorded in 2026 across the Mediterranean Sea, making it one of the deadliest starts to a year since 2014, with over 180 people feared dead or missing in the latest shipwrecks since 28 March. (AFP via The Daily Star)
The death toll from a large fire at a petrochemical plant in Tatarstan, Russia, five days ago, rises to 12, including a firefighter. Dozens of others were injured. (Reuters)
Three people are killed and another is reported missing after a scaffolding collapse at a steel plant in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. (The Japan Times)
A TGV train collides with a military lorry on a level crossing at Nœux-les-Mines, France. The train driver is killed and 27 people are wounded. (Liverpool Echo)
The death toll from natural disasters, including heavy rain, storms and floods, rises to 188 in Afghanistan and Pakistan. (AFP via The Daily Star) (Business Recorder)

International relations

Cuba–United States relations
- 2026 Cuban crisis
  - Cuban president and First Secretary of the Communist Party Miguel Díaz-Canel warns the United States that his forces will wage a guerrilla warfare campaign if the U.S. military invades and occupies the country. (CBS News)
Cross-strait relations
- At the invitation of paramount leader Xi Jinping, Kuomintang chairperson Cheng Li-wun begins the first visit to China by a Taiwanese opposition leader since 2016. (AP)
Iraq–Kuwait relations
- Protestors storm the Kuwaiti consulate in Basra, Iraq, after a rocket attack launched from Kuwait killed three people in Basra. (Türkiye Today)

Law and crime

Aftermath of the Afghanistan War
- War crimes in Afghanistan
  - Australian Army veteran and Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith is arrested by police at Sydney Airport for alleged war crimes committed between 2009 and 2012 during his deployment to Afghanistan. (Reuters)
Corruption in South Sudan
- South Sudan president Salva Kiir Mayardit sacks National Legislative Assembly speaker Jemma Nunu Kumba and her deputy Parmena Awerial Aluong after his ruling party backed a no-confidence vote accusing them of corruption and mismanagement. (Pan African Visions) (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Protests against the 2026 Iran war
- Protests against the 2026 Iran war in the United States
  - A protest is held outside the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., after the ceasefire announcement, calling for President Trump's removal from office and accusing him of war crimes. (India TV)
- Iran calls on the population to form human chains around critical infrastructure such as power stations and bridges ahead of a U.S. deadline that threatens their destruction. (The Hill)
- Human chain protests are held across bridge and power plant structures in Iran to protest against Trump's threats against civilian infrastructure. (The Telegraph)
- Citizens in Ilam, Iran, form a human chain protest against Trump's threats against key infrastructure in the country. (Away The Voice)
2026 Vietnamese presidential election
- The National Assembly of Vietnam re-elects General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Tô Lâm as president for the 2026–2031 tenure, and Lê Minh Hưng as prime minister. (Xinhua) (Viet Nam News)