While strikes around the region have mostly ceased since the truce began, there has been no letup in the pressure around the crucial trade route, with the two sides exercising their economic leverage in a bid to force the other to back down.

The Foreign Ministry said all medical facilities "must be respected and protected" under international humanitarian law and called on Israel to cease actions that endanger civilian infrastructure.

There was no response early on Wednesday to Trump's announcement from senior Iranian officials, although some initial reactions from Tehran suggested Trump's comments were being treated skeptically.

New talks between Lebanon's and Israel's US ambassadors will take place Thursday in Washington after the first direct talks between the two countries in decades was held on April 14.

The United States and Iran on Monday each warned they were ready for war as the clock ticked on a ceasefire, with uncertainty on talks that President Donald Trump had announced would resume in Pakistan.

Among the vessels that made it through on Saturday, five of them last loaded cargoes from Iran ranging from oil products to metals. Three of them are liquefied petroleum gas carriers with one each heading to China and India.

Concerns grew on Monday that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran might not hold after the US said it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade and Iran vowed to retaliate.

Indonesia has extended its deepest condolences to France over the death of its peacekeeper in southern Lebanon, reiterating its call for enhanced protection of the United Nations peacekeeping missions in the war-torn Middle East country.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, said in a televised address that there has been "progress" in talks with Washington "but there are many gaps and some fundamental points remain."

The attack follows an agreement between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday for a 10-day ceasefire to negotiate an end to six weeks of fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed group.

The war, now in its eighth week, has killed thousands, spread to Israeli attacks in Lebanon and sent oil prices surging because of the de facto closure of the strait, which before the war carried one-fifth of the world's oil shipments.

Kosovo intends to send 22 members of the security forces, while Bosnia said more than 60 Bosnian soldiers are expected to join the peacekeeping force.

Subsequent statements and clarifications from both sides left uncertainty over how quickly shipping might return to normal, and some vessels could be observed making unsuccessful attempts cross the strait on Friday before turning back.

Hegseth also said the US will blockade Iranian ports for "as long as it takes."

Shortly after the truce went into effect at midnight local time (2100 GMT), the army told residents of the south—many of whom had to flee their homes following sweeping Israeli evacuation warnings—not to return, citing "several Israeli acts of aggression".

The Foreign Ministry announced that it is carrying out a third evacuation wave from Iran, aiming to repatriate 45 Indonesians this week as a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East continues to hold. 

The Foreign Ministry said there were no reports that Jakarta’s deliberations on the United States’ overflight proposal have affected the talks for two Indonesian tankers stuck in the Strait of Hormuz.

A Pakistani delegation arrived in Tehran bearing a new message from Washington after US President Donald Trump indicated negotiations could resume this week following last weekend's failed talks in Islamabad.

The Chinese-owned tanker was among at least eight ships crossing the waterway on Tuesday, the first day of the US blockade.

Canada, the UK, Australia, Japan and six other countries condemned the killings of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon on Tuesday while calling "for an urgent end to hostilities" in the country where Israeli attacks have killed over 2,000 people since March.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades on Tuesday and both sides said they held positive discussions although it was not immediately clear if they agreed to a framework for peace.

The parallel diplomatic openings came even as violence persisted, underscoring both the fragility of the process and Washington's push to stabilize a region shaken by the over-six-week war.

"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said that an Israeli tank rammed peacekeeping vehicles on Sunday in the country's south where Israel and Hezbollah have been at war since last month.

President Donald Trump said the United States Navy would start blockading the Strait of Hormuz, raising the stakes after marathon talks with Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war, jeopardizing a fragile two-week ceasefire.

"The Iranian delegation negotiated continuously and intensively for 21 hours in order to protect the national interests of the Iranian people; despite various initiatives from the Iranian delegation, the unreasonable demands of the American side prevented the progress of the negotiations. Thus the negotiations ended," IRIB said on Telegram.

Vance boarded Air Force Two at 7:08 am (0208 GMT) and waved to Pakistani officials from the top of the stairs.

The talks in Islamabad were the first direct US-Iranian meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level discussions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

For the US-Iran talks, Islamabad, a city of more than 2 million people, was locked down with thousands of paramilitary personnel and army troops on the streets.

Out of ten countries who pledged funds, only three had contributed funding, namely the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and the United States itself, according to sources.