Iran does not seek ceasefire but war must end, FM says

In a report to the UN Human Rights Council, Mai Sato, the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, concluded that restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly and association leave many Iranians effectively unable to protest lawfully.

The report also called on Tehran to amend laws governing protests and national security offences, release individuals detained for exercising basic rights and investigate alleged violations linked to demonstrations.

“The protection of protesters lies at the intersection of several fundamental rights,” the report said, warning that people must be able to express grievances peacefully “without fear of reprisal… intimidation, harassment, injury, torture or killing.”

Sato said laws regulating the use of force also give security forces wide discretion to disperse gatherings. The report added that lethal force should be used only as a last resort under international standards but said in practice it has repeatedly been used during protests.

“In practice, lethal force has been a consistent feature of the state’s response to protests over decades,” the report said, referring to past demonstrations in which security forces used assault rifles or shotguns firing metal pellets.

Beyond the immediate response on the streets, the report said pressure often continues against protesters, their families and those expressing solidarity with them.

According to the report, detainees have reported forced confessions broadcast on state television, while lawyers defending protesters face harassment, arrest or professional sanctions.

“Artists, writers and journalists who use creative expression as a form of resistance… face criminal punishments,” the report added, saying that some people have been ordered to attend “behavioral management classes.”

Digital crackdown

The report also describes extensive restrictions on online activity, with major social media and messaging platforms blocked or filtered and new governance policies expanding the authority of security bodies over internet infrastructure.

These measures have “significantly narrowed the space for online expression, civic mobilization and independent journalism,” the report said.

It also called on the international community to support efforts to document violations and pursue accountability.

Drawing on testimony submitted to her mandate, Sato said demonstrations in Iran reflected grievances shared across many parts of society.

“The protests were, in this sense, genuinely nationwide,” the report said, describing participants as representing “a cross-section of Iranian society, united by a desire for a different future.”

Sato further urged Iran to cooperate with international human rights mechanisms and allow UN investigators access to the country.

The rapporteur said Iran’s legal framework makes it extremely difficult to organize demonstrations legally. Public gatherings require prior authorization, and applications can only be made by officially recognized political groups, while broadly defined national security offences can criminalize participation in unsanctioned protests.

As a result, the report said, “almost all forms of unsanctioned protest” risk being treated as criminal activity.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the aircraft was dismantled in what it described as a “precise strike” carried out overnight. The plane was used by Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as well as other senior officials and Iranian military personnel, the IDF said.

According to the Israeli military, the aircraft was used to facilitate military procurement and coordinate with what it described as Iran’s regional partners through both domestic and international flights.

“The dismantling of the aircraft disrupts the Iranian regime leadership’s coordination capabilities with axis countries, its military force build-up efforts and its ability to rehabilitate its capabilities,” the statement said, adding that the strike had degraded another strategic asset of the Iranian leadership.

The IDF said it would continue operations aimed at degrading what it called the military capabilities of Iran’s armed forces across the country.

Separately, information received by Iran International indicated that Mehrabad Airport was among several sensitive military and government-related sites targeted in a new wave of airstrikes on the Iranian capital overnight.

According to those reports, a large portion of the Revolutionary Guards’ transport fleet was destroyed during the operation, along with a ceremonial aircraft used by senior officials of the Islamic Republic.

Mehrabad Airport, located in western Tehran, is used primarily for domestic flights but also hosts military and government aviation facilities.

Citing four sources familiar with the effort, Axios reported that Trump hopes to announce the coalition later this week and is pressing several allies to join what the White House is calling a potential “Hormuz coalition.”

The initiative comes as oil and gas prices rise amid the prolonged disruption of shipping through the narrow strait, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply normally passes.

According to Axios, US officials are also weighing the possibility of seizing Iran’s key oil export terminal on Kharg Island if tanker traffic remains restricted in the Persian Gulf. Such a move would require American troops on the ground and could mark a major escalation in the conflict.

Kharg Island, located about 15 miles off Iran’s coast, handles roughly 90% of the country’s crude oil exports and has been the focus of recent US strikes on nearby military installations.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the United States and several other countries could send warships to the Persian Gulf to reopen commercial shipping routes and urged China, France, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom to participate.

“We are talking to other countries about policing the straits. It will be nice to have other countries policing with us. We will help. We are getting a good response,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

He added that the United States is in talks with seven countries about the effort and argued that nations dependent on Persian Gulf oil should contribute to securing the waterway.

“Most of this oil isn’t our oil – it goes to other countries. So if they want it and they want the price to come down, they need to help out,” a senior administration official told Axios.

Trump also warned that NATO allies could face consequences if they declined to assist the effort, telling the Financial Times that a lack of support could be “very bad for the future of NATO.”

Behind the scenes, Trump and senior officials spent the weekend speaking with leaders in Europe, Asia and the Persian Gulf to build political support for the initiative, Axios reported.

The primary focus for now is securing commitments from allies, with decisions about which countries would send warships, drones or other military assets to be worked out later.

Asian market

Trump is expected to discuss the issue with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during her visit to the White House on Thursday and is also pressing China to take part before a planned summit with President Xi Jinping later this month.

China’s foreign ministry said on Monday that they are in contact with all sides of the conflict about the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.

"We are in communication with all parties on the current situation and are committed to promoting the easing and cooling down of the situation," ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters.

The US-Israeli war with Iran has entered its third week amid escalating tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, where Tehran has largely restricted tanker traffic while allowing ships carrying Iranian crude to continue operating.

While the United States has already carried out strikes on Iranian military facilities linked to Kharg Island, the White House has said no decision has been made about seizing the oil terminal itself.

“The president has made no decisions on Kharg Island,” a senior White House official told Axios. “But that could change if the effort to clear the strait drags on.”

EU mulling Black Sea model

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she had discussed with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres whether a wartime arrangement similar to the Black Sea grain deal could help reopen oil and gas transport through the Strait of Hormuz.

Kallas said the closure of Hormuz was “really dangerous” not only for Asian energy supplies but also for fertilizer production, and added that EU ministers would discuss whether the bloc’s Aspides naval mission could play a role, though any change would require member-state backing.

Arriving at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Kallas said, "It is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and that's why we are also discussing what we can do in this regard from the European side."

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump hinted that there were talks but said that “I don’t think they are ready.”

"I think they will negotiate at some point," he added. "We are doing very well with respect to the whole situation in Iran."

Earlier on Sunday, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed suggestions Tehran was seeking talks. “

We never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiation,” he told CBS. “We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes.”

As the US-Israeli war with Iran entered its third week, tensions around the Strait of Hormuz continued to roil global energy markets.

Trump said his administration was in talks with seven countries about helping to secure the strait and called on them to protect shipping through the vital waterway that Tehran has largely blocked to tanker traffic.

“I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their territory,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling from Florida to Washington on Sunday.

He did not say which countries he meant. Australia has already said it will not send naval ships to help reopen the strait.

He also told the Financial Times that NATO allies faced a “very bad future” if they failed to do more to support US efforts against Iran.

Oil giants concerned

The chief executives of ExxonMobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips warned Trump administration officials that disruption to flows through the Strait of Hormuz is likely to worsen the global energy crisis, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The executives cautioned that prolonged instability around the strategic waterway could sustain volatility, tighten supplies and risk shortages of refined products.

In a separate social media post, Trump accused Iran of using artificial intelligence and sympathetic news outlets to spread false battlefield claims.

He rejected reports of damage to US aircraft and ships and said media organizations that carried such accounts could face legal consequences, suggesting some should be charged with treason.

Since the start of joint US–Israeli strikes on February 28, Iran has targeted at least 16 vessels and tankers, sharply curbing flows through one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints.

Data from the commodity intelligence firm Kpler, seen by Iran International, shows Iranian crude exports averaging more than 1.5 million barrels a day (bpd) so far this month through the strait.

Discharges at Chinese ports have also risen, increasing from about 1.17 million bpd in February to more than 1.25 million so far in March. Figures from the International Energy Agency and maritime intelligence provider Lloyd’s List similarly point to a surge in Iran’s shipments.

Last week, Iran also loaded a two-million-barrel cargo from Jask — its only export terminal outside the Strait of Hormuz — marking the first such shipment since October 2024.

Before the escalation, roughly 14.7 million barrels of crude and 4.8 million barrels of refined products moved daily through the strait — about one-fifth of global oil consumption.

Among Persian Gulf producers, only Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have pipeline routes bypassing Hormuz. Even those alternatives were already partly utilized.

According to Lloyd’s List, combined exports from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman via non-Persian Gulf ports averaged about 3.5 million barrels a day in recent months but have climbed to roughly 6 million — still far short of offsetting lost flows.

President Donald Trump said Friday the US Navy would “soon” begin escorting oil tankers through the waterway, though officials have not outlined a timeline or operational details.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, pushed back Sunday on suggestions Tehran was seeking talks, telling CBS’s Face the Nation: “We have never asked for a ceasefire … we are ready to defend ourselves for as long as it takes.”

Lloyd’s List estimates that even with naval escorts, no more than about 10 percent of lost volumes could realistically be restored — echoing the limited recovery seen after Houthi attacks in the Bab el-Mandeb.

The IEA said Thursday that disruptions have cut global supply by about 8 million barrels a day of crude and another 2 million barrels of condensates and natural gas liquids.

In response, its 32 member countries plan to release roughly 400 million barrels from strategic reserves over 120 days beginning next week, including about 172 million barrels from the United States and 80 million from Japan.

Even so, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday there were “no guarantees” oil prices would fall in the coming weeks.