Hormuz closure has enormous impact on Indo-Pacific, Japan says

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke by phone on Monday to discuss the regional situation and ongoing diplomatic efforts, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.

“Foreign Minister Araghchi appreciated Pakistan for the constructive role and sincere mediation efforts between the parties,” the ministry said in a statement.

The maritime security threat level in the Strait of Hormuz remains critical due to ongoing regional military operations, UK Maritime Trade Operations said on Monday.

UKMTO, speaking on behalf of the Joint Maritime Information Center, advised mariners to coordinate with Omani authorities via VHF channel 16.

It said vessels should consider routing through Oman’s territorial waters south of the traffic separation scheme, where the United States has established an enhanced security area.

"Mariners should expect increased naval presence, enhanced force protection postures, potential VHF hailing, and congestion near anchorage areas," it added.

Iran’s central bank has no current plans to dissolve or merge any banks, the country’s state media reported on Monday.

Banks with balance-sheet imbalances were taking steps to improve capital adequacy and correct their financial positions, according to the report.

The central bank’s policy toward such banks will continue as in the previous year, and they will remain restricted from overdrawing from the central bank, the report said.

The Iranian vessel M/V Touska, seized by US forces after attempting to breach a naval blockade, has been transferred to Pakistan for repatriation to Iran along with its crew, a CENTCOM spokesman told ABC News.

The ship was intercepted in April after US forces said it failed to comply with repeated warnings while attempting to pass through restricted waters.

The transfer comes as Donald Trump has announced a new initiative aimed at guiding commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran had condemned the seizure as unlawful and described it as “piracy,” amid already heightened tensions over maritime control in the region.

The report identified the men as Mehdi Rasouli and Mohammadreza Miri, who were described as “Mossad elements” involved in what authorities called a “coup” in January 2026, and Ebrahim Dolatabadi, described as a key figure in unrest in the Tabarsi area.

State media said Rasouli and Miri had a “direct role” in the killing of a member of Iran’s security forces during the events, while Dolatabadi was accused of leading groups involved in clashes that resulted in further deaths.

Rights groups say Iran has executed at least 25 political prisoners since the beginning of US-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28.

Tehran executed another political prisoner in Urmia prison on Sunday, the judiciary reported, identifying him as Mehrab Abdollahzadeh.

Born in 1997 in Urmia, he had been arrested on October 22, 2022 during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests.

Two other men were executed on Saturday after the Supreme Court upheld their death sentences for spying for Israel and cooperating with the Mossad intelligence service.

The judiciary’s media center said Yaghoub Karimpour and Nasser Bekrzadeh were hanged in Urmia Central Prison following legal proceedings.