Iran to allow 20 more ships through Hormuz: Trump

President Donald Trump said Sunday night that Iran had agreed to allow 20 more oil cargo ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route, as oil prices continued to soar.

Iranian forces have blockaded the waterway — through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil transits — sending the price of oil climbing by 56% since the war began.

But Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, said that Iran would permit the ships’ passage starting Monday as a “sign of respect” to the United States. He also cast Tehran’s decision as a sign that negotiations to end the war were underway.

It was not clear where the 20 cargo ships were headed or who they belonged to. Last week, Iran allowed about 10 ships to transit the strait, a development that Trump also described as a sign of progress.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said he had ordered his forces to increase the territory they control in southern Lebanon, as several hundred Special Operations forces arrived in the Middle East.

The U.S.-Israeli bombardment of Iran continued Sunday, with strikes on a TV station in Tehran and a port in the country’s south, where at least five people were killed. Iran fired volleys of ballistic missiles at Israel without causing casualties, although a fire was reported at an industrial park in southern Israel that included a hazardous waste facility.

Diplomats from across the region convened for talks in Pakistan, whose mediators had passed along to Iran a 15-point U.S. plan to end the conflict. But Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, accused Trump on Sunday of engaging in a front of diplomacy while “secretly planning a ground invasion.”

The newly arrived commandos, who include Army Rangers and Navy SEALs, have not been assigned specific missions, two U.S. military officials said Sunday. But as specialized ground troops, they could be deployed to help safeguard the Strait of Hormuz.

Here’s what else we’re covering:

Lebanon: Lebanese fears that a protracted Israeli occupation may be looming increased Sunday, after the Israeli military said that troops were “expanding the security zone” over the border in southern Lebanon, from which the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia has launched attacks in solidarity with Tehran. Lebanon’s president has denounced Israel’s campaign in southern Lebanon, particularly the destruction of bridges there, as a violation of Lebanese sovereignty, and warned they were seen as a prelude to a ground invasion of the country. More than 1,200 people have been killed in Lebanon since the conflict reignited this month.

Pakistan talks: Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkiye convened in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, for further discussions aimed at ending the war. But the warring parties did not take part in the talks.

Lebanese journalists killed: Crowds of mourners gathered in Beirut on Sunday for the funeral of three Lebanese journalists killed in an Israeli airstrike: Ali Choeib, a well-known television presenter for the Hezbollah-owned Al Manar channel; Fatima Ftouni, who worked for Al-Mayadeen, another channel close to Hezbollah; and her brother, Mohammad Ftouni, also a journalist. The Israeli military said Choeib was a member of Hezbollah’s armed wing. It declined to comment on the killing of the other two journalists.

US options: Trump has been weighing several options to escalate the conflict, each of which could have far-reaching consequences, analysts say. He could carry out his ultimatum to bombard Iranian power plants unless Iran opens the Strait of Hormuz by April 6, which experts say could constitute a war crime. Another option would be a risky ground assault to seize Iran’s enriched uranium, which U.S. officials say could one day be used in a nuclear weapon.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.