PARIS, France, April 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The latest developments in the Middle East war: - Trump says war 'close to over' - US President Donald Trump said the war with Iran is "very close to being over" in an interview with FOX Business's "Mornings with Maria" to air on Wednesday. It came as Trump said that US-Iran peace talks could resume later this week, while Israel and Lebanon agreed to launch direct negotiations, signalling movement on two key fronts in efforts to ease the Middle East conflict. - China-Russia meeting - China's President Xi Jinping met with Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov in Beijing on Wednesday, Chinese state media reported. Beijing and Moscow are close economic and political partners, and their foreign ministers agreed in a call this month to work together to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East. - Iran must commit to 'no nuclear weapon' - US Vice President JD Vance said Trump told Iran that the United States would "make Iran thrive" if it committed to "not having a nuclear weapon". At the heart of any renewed US-Iran diplomacy is the dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme, with Trump launching the war under the pretext that the Islamic republic was developing an atomic bomb -- which it denies. "That's the kind of Trumpian grand bargain that the president has put on the table. Man, we're going to keep on negotiating and try to make it happen," Vance told an event in the US state of Georgia hosted by the conservative group Turning Point USA. - Israel, Lebanon agree to direct talks - Israel and Lebanon agreed to hold direct negotiations after "productive discussions" between the two sides in Washington, the State Department said Tuesday. The announcement came after Israeli and Lebanese envoys held more than two hours of talks mediated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "All sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue," a State Department spokesman said. - Zelensky laments US has no time for Ukraine - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that US peace negotiators "have no time for Ukraine" because of the war in Iran, and bemoaned disruptions in deliveries of US arms. Zelensky told German public broadcaster ZDF that Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have helped broker talks with Moscow on ending Russia's war on Ukraine, were "constantly in talks with Iran" at the moment. "If the United States does not put pressure on Putin... and only engages in a gentle dialogue with the Russians, then they will no longer be afraid," he said. - US not renewing Iran oil sanctions relief - The US Treasury Department said Tuesday it does not plan to renew a temporary easing of sanctions on Iranian oil that aimed to cushion war-related supply shocks. "The short-term authorization permitting the sale of Iranian oil already stranded at sea is set to expire in a few days and will not be renewed," the Treasury Department said in a statement. It added that it is "maintaining maximum pressure" on Tehran. - Hezbollah strikes - Hezbollah said it targeted 13 northern Israeli towns with rockets shortly after the start of Lebanese-Israeli talks in Washington. - US turns back ships - The US military said it stopped six ships from sailing out of Iranian ports during the first 24 hours of a naval blockade against the Islamic republic. Earlier, maritime tracking data indicated that at least two ships sailing from Iranian ports passed through the Strait of Hormuz despite the blockade. They were among at least four Iran-linked vessels that used the route after Washington's blockade came into effect at 1400 GMT on Monday, according to maritime data provider Kpler. - Trump hints at new talks - US President Donald Trump told the New York Post on Tuesday that a second round of Iran talks could happen in Pakistan "over the next two days," after a first round ended at the weekend without a deal. "You should stay there, really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we're more inclined to go there," Trump was quoted as saying in a phone interview with a Post reporter in Islamabad. Earlier, senior Pakistani sources told AFP that Pakistan was working to bring Iran and the United States together for a second round of talks, with one source saying negotiators were working to extend the countries' current two-week ceasefire "to allow for additional time". - Trump 'shocked' at Meloni's war stance - US President Donald Trump criticised Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a political ally, in an interview published on Tuesday for her unwillingness to help in the Iran war. "I'm shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong," he told Italian daily Corriere della Sera. - Red Cross sends aid - The international Red Cross and Red Crescent said a shipment of medical supplies and other aid crossed the border into Iran on Sunday, its first delivery since the start of the war. - IMF cuts region's forecast - The International Monetary Fund sharply reduced its 2026 growth forecast for the Middle East and North Africa to 1.1 percent as war chokes Gulf oil and gas exports. It had previously expected 3.9-percent regional growth this year. Iran, Iraq and Qatar will be particularly hard-hit, the IMF's World Economic Outlook warned. Growth should rebound next year, as long as energy production and transport are "normalised" over the next few months, the IMF predicted.