WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD — Iran’s top negotiator said recent talks with the US had made progress, but gaps remained over nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz, while President Donald J. Trump cited “very good conversations” with Tehran despite warning against “blackmail” over the key shipping channel.

Neither side offered any specifics about the state of negotiations on Saturday, days before a fragile ceasefire in the US-Israeli war against Iran is set to expire.

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.

IRAN’S REVERSAL ON VITAL STRAIT
“We have had progress but there is still a big distance between us,” Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, told state media, referring to talks last weekend. “There are some issues on which we insist… They also have red lines. But these issues could be just one or two.”

Mr. Trump said the US was having “very good conversations” but gave no other details.

Tehran reversed course on Saturday to reassert control over the Strait, again closing the energy chokepoint and adding fresh uncertainty to the war, which the US and Israel launched on Feb. 28.

Iran said it was responding to a continued US blockade of Iranian ports, calling it a violation of the ceasefire, while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Iran’s navy was ready to inflict “new bitter defeats” on its enemies. Mr. Trump called the move “blackmail” even as he praised the talks.

On Friday, Iran had announced the temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following a separate US-brokered 10-day ceasefire agreement on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon.

Mr. Trump defended the US blockade and threatened “to start dropping bombs again” unless the countries reached a long-term deal before the ceasefire expires on Wednesday.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said Tehran’s control over the Strait included demanding the payment of costs related to security, safety and environmental protection services, state media said.

VESSELS REPORT GUNFIRE
Concern remained after at least two vessels reported being attacked on Saturday while trying to transit the waterway. India summoned the Iranian ambassador in New Delhi and expressed deep concern that two Indian-flagged ships had come under fire in the Strait, the government said.

US Central Command said American forces were enforcing a maritime blockade of Iran but did not comment on the latest Iranian actions.

Tehran’s reversal raised the risk that oil and gas shipments through the Strait could remain disrupted just as Mr. Trump weighs whether to extend the ceasefire.

When American and Iranian negotiators met last weekend in Islamabad, the US proposed a 20-year suspension of all Iranian nuclear activity, while Iran suggested a halt of three to five years, according to people familiar with the proposals.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said no date had been set for the next round of negotiations, adding that a framework of understanding must be agreed first.

Mr. Trump had said on Friday there could be talks this weekend and that the two sides were “very close to making a deal.”

There were no signs on Saturday of preparations for new talks in the Pakistani capital, where the highest-level US-Iran negotiations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution ended without agreement last weekend.

Senior national security aides gathered at the White House on Saturday morning. Mr. Trump later went to the Trump National Golf Club with top envoy Steve Witkoff, one of his Iran negotiators.

Pressure for a way out of the war has mounted as Mr. Trump’s fellow Republicans defend narrow majorities in Congress in the November midterm elections with US gasoline prices high, inflation rising and his own approval ratings down.

Oil prices CLc1, LCOc1 fell about 10% and global stocks jumped on Friday on the prospect of marine traffic resuming through the Strait. But hundreds of vessels and about 20,000 seafarers remain stranded in the Gulf awaiting passage through the waterway, shipping sources said. — Reuters

SEOUL — North Korea fired ballistic missiles into the sea on Sunday, accelerating its missile launches amid Iran war tensions and talk of possible meetings with the US and South Korea.

Pyongyang’s intense missile activity — this was the fourth such launch this month and the seventh of the year — is meant to display its self-defense capabilities while gaining international leverage, some experts said.

“The missile launches may be a way of showing that — unlike Iran — we have self-defense capabilities,” said South Korean former presidential security adviser Kim Ki-jung.

“The North also appears to be exerting pressure preemptively and make a show of force before engaging in dialogue with the United States and South Korea,” he said.

IRAN WAR, TRUMP VISIT LOOM OVER LAUNCHES
The seven-week-old US-Israeli war against Iran, which has one aim the curbing of Tehran’s nuclear program, could reinforce Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions, experts and former South Korean officials say.

US President Donald J. Trump, preparing for a summit in China next month, and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung have repeatedly expressed interest in holding talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. There are no publicly known plans for any meetings.

Mr. Lee recently conveyed regret to the North for drone incursions from the South, receiving rare praise from Pyongyang.

Sunday’s missiles were fired from near the city of Sinpo on North Korea’s east coast toward the sea around 6:10 a.m. (2110 GMT on Saturday) and flew about 140 kilometers (km) (90 miles), South Korea’s military said in a statement.

Japan’s government posted on social media that the missiles were believed to have fallen near the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, and no incursion into Japan’s exclusive economic zone had been confirmed.

South Korea’s presidential Blue House convened an emergency security meeting, calling the launches a provocation that violated United Nations Security Council resolutions, according to media reports. It urged Pyongyang to “stop the provocative acts.”

It was not clear what kind of ballistic missiles were fired, but Sinpo has submarines and equipment for test-firing submarine-launched ballistic missiles. The North last fired a ballistic missile from a submarine in May 2022, and it flew as far as 600 km (370 miles).

North Korea has made “very serious” advances in its ability to turn out nuclear weapons, with the probable addition of a new uranium enrichment facility, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday.

In late March, North Korean leader Kim said Pyongyang’s status as a nuclear-armed state was irreversible and expanding a “self-defensive nuclear deterrent” was essential to national security. — Reuters

BEIJING — Dozens of Chinese-made humanoid robots showed off their fast-improving athleticism and autonomous navigation skills as they whizzed past human runners in a half-marathon race in Beijing on Sunday, highlighting the sector’s rapid technical advances.

The race’s inaugural edition last year was riddled with mishaps, and most robots were unable to finish. Last year’s champion robot recorded a time of 2 hours 40 minutes, more than double the time of the human winner of the conventional race.

This year’s contrast was stark. Not only had the number of participating teams increased from 20 to more than 100, but several robot frontrunners were noticeably faster than professional athletes, beating the human winners by more than 10 minutes.

Unlike last year, nearly half of the robot entrants navigated the tougher terrain autonomously instead of being directed by remote control during the 21-kilometer (13-mile) race. The robots and 12,000 men and women ran in parallel tracks to avoid collisions.

The winning robot, developed by Chinese smartphone brand Honor, finished the race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, several minutes faster than the half-marathon world record set by Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo in Lisbon last month.

Teams from Honor, a Huawei spin-off, took the three podium spots, all self-navigated and posting world-record-beating times. Du Xiaodi, an Honor engineer on the winning team, said its robot was in development for a year, fitted with legs 90 to 95 centimeters (35 to 37 inches) long to mimic elite human runners and liquid cooling technology used in its smartphones.

Mr. Du said the sector remained in a nascent phase, but he was confident humanoids would eventually reshape many industries, including manufacturing.

“Running faster may not seem meaningful at first, but it enables technology transfer, for example, into structural reliability and cooling, and eventually industrial applications,” Mr. Du said.

ROBOTICS IMPROVEMENTS
Spectators largely viewed the variety of humanoids of different sizes and gaits on display as evidence of China’s improvements in robotics.

“The humanoid robots’ running posture I saw was really quite impressive… considering that AI (artificial intelligence) has only been developing for a short time, I’m already very impressed that it can achieve this level of performance,” said Chu Tianqi, a 23-year-old engineering student at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications.

“The future will definitely be an AI era. If people don’t know how to use AI now, especially if some are still resistant to it, they will definitely become obsolete,” he said.

Another spectator, 11-year-old schoolboy Guo Yukun, said after watching the race, he was inspired to pursue a university degree in robotics in the future.

Mr. Guo said he takes regular classes in robotics theory and programming at his elite Beijing school and is part of his school’s team for the International Olympiad in Informatics, a global programming competition for high schoolers.

ECONOMICALLY VIABLE APPLICATIONS
While economically viable applications of humanoid robots mostly remain in a trial phase, the half-marathon’s showcasing of these machines’ physical prowess highlights their potential to reshape everything from dangerous jobs to battlefield combat.

However, Chinese robotics firms are still struggling to develop the AI software that would enable humanoids to match the efficiency of human factory workers.

Experts said the skills on display during the half-marathon, while entertaining, do not translate to the widespread commercialization of humanoid robots in industrial settings, where manual dexterity, real-world perception and capabilities beyond small-scale, repetitive tasks are crucial.

China is seeking to become a global powerhouse in this frontier industry, and it has enacted a wide range of policies from subsidies to infrastructure projects to cultivate local firms.

The country’s most-watched TV show, the annual CCTV Spring Festival Gala, in February showcased China’s push to dominate humanoid robots and the future of manufacturing.

That included a lengthy martial arts demonstration where over a dozen Unitree humanoids performed sophisticated fight sequences waving swords, poles and nunchucks in close proximity to human children performers. — Reuters