On April 7, 2026, both Russia and China vetoed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The resolution, proposed by Bahrain and supported by other Gulf states, sought to ensure the safety of international navigation through the strategic waterway, which had been effectively closed during a regional war involving Iran, Israel, and the United States.
Pakistan played the primary mediating role in brokering the two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran, which was officially announced on April 7–8, 2026.
Following weeks of intense back-channel diplomacy, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir successfully facilitated the agreement, often referred to as the "Islamabad Accord" process.
Pakistan acted as the primary mediator in brokering
the two-week ceasefire agreement announced on 7 April 2026 between the United
States and Iran.
The diplomatic breakthrough, often referred to as
the "Islamabad Accord" process, was led by Pakistani Prime Minister
Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Majid Khademi was an Iranian major general in the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who served as head of the IRGC
Intelligence Protection Organization from 2022 and of the IRGC Intelligence
Organization from 2025 until his assassination in an Israeli airstrike during
the 2026 Iran war.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program, marking the first time humans have returned to the vicinity of the Moon in over 50 years.
It was successfully launched on April 1, 2026, from Kennedy Space Center.
The crew completed their closest approach to the Moon on April 6, 2026, and is scheduled to return to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, 2026.
The Artemis II mission is primarily associated with
NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration), which serves as the
mission's operator and lead agency.
