Here's the latest
• Fragile truce: Iran-backed Hezbollah says it targeted Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and an Israeli border town. The attacks come as Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon threaten to derail the US-Iran ceasefire.
• Negotiation bid: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel wants direct talks with Lebanon on disarming Hezbollah, and insists Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire deal. Lebanon’s prime minister will travel to Washington, DC, in the coming days, according to a Lebanese government source.
• High-stakes talks: Negotiations between Iran and the US are set to take place Saturday in Pakistan. Before departing for Islamabad, US Vice President JD Vance told reporters he expects the talks to be positive, saying President Donald Trump gave the negotiating team “clear guidelines.”
• Murky waters: Few vessels are traveling through the Strait of Hormuz as analysts say it’s still too risky to make the journey. Trump has warned Iran against charging tolls, while Abu Dhabi’s oil chief says the critical waterway is “not open.”
Hezbollah leader vows to fight Israel “until the last breath”
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem vowed to continue fighting Israel “until the last breath,” according to a statement read out on the group’s Al Manar TV on Friday.
“We did not agree to return to the previous situation, and we call on those in power to end the free compromises,” he said, accusing Israel of launching new attacks despite a previous November 2024 ceasefire with the group.
“We do not fear the enemy’s threats or weapons, for we are the owners of the land,” Qassem said.
The remarks come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday there would be no ceasefire in Lebanon, even while signaling openness to direct negotiations with Beirut.
Tehran says it will not accept continued attacks in Lebanon. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has demanded an end to “massacres in Lebanon,” and other Iranian officials have warned that the strikes constitute a violation of the truce.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military said it killed Ali Yusuf Harshi, a nephew and personal secretary to Qassem, in an airstrike near Beirut, part of what it described as its largest coordinated wave of strikes on Hezbollah targets since the war began.
Vance leaves for Pakistan, warning Iran against trying to play the US in negotiations
Vice President JD Vance boarded Air Force Two moments ago, en route to Islamabad, Pakistan, where he will lead high stakes talks with the Iranians.
Vance said that Trump has given the negotiating team, which also includes special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, “clear guidelines” on the negotiations, without detailing further.
“We’re going to try to have a positive negotiation. The president gave us some pretty clear guidelines, and we’re going to see,” Vance said.
Israeli rights group slams far-right minister's comments about land grab
A prominent Israeli human rights organization has criticized calls by the country’s far-right finance minister who suggested Israel should expand its borders deeper into Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian territories.
B’Tselem said in a statement Friday that Bezalel Smotrich’s declaration “clarifies exactly the vision guiding Israel’s actions.”
It said the international community “continues to grant Israel immunity that allows it to spread destruction and death across the Middle East.”
Speaking at a ceremony marking the inauguration of a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, Smotrich said:
“There will be a diplomatic leg in Gaza that will expand our borders, with God’s help. There will be a concluding diplomatic leg in Lebanon that will expand our borders up to the Litani (river), to defensible borders. And there will be a concluding diplomatic leg in Syria, with the crown of Mount Hermon and at least a buffer zone.”
Smotrich also spoke about the country having a “concluding diplomatic leg in Judea and Samaria that completely kills the idea of a Palestinian state,” using the biblical name for the West Bank.
Smotrich is a member of Israel’s Security Cabinet, which sets policy on security matters and authorizes major military actions. The Israeli government has not officially approved any plans to expand the borders and such a move would likely spark a huge international backlash against the country.
Israel is set to hold elections this year, and opinion polls by multiple Israeli outlets indicate Smotrich’s party is at risk of getting voted out of parliament.
Meanwhile, Hamas, which has once again tightened its grip over half of Gaza, said Smotrich’s comments “undermined the ceasefire agreement signed last October.”
Khamenei tells Gulf Arab states to "stand on the right side"
Iran is signaling to its Gulf Arab neighbors that the era of US dominance has come to an end, a regional expert told CNN, after Iran’s supreme leader published a message on X aimed at Gulf states that have long had close ties with Washington.
“I say to Iran’s southern neighbors: you are witnessing a miracle,” Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s account on X posted on Thursday, seemingly referring to the regime’s survival in the US-Iran war against it. “So observe closely, understand matters correctly, stand on the right side, and be distrustful of the false promises of the devils,” he said, referring to the US and Israel.
Hasan Alhasan, senior fellow for Middle East policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Bahrain, said that following the ceasefire, Iran may see itself in a powerful position despite the attacks it withstood in recent weeks.
“Having weathered the US–Israeli onslaught, cornered Washington into accepting a ceasefire, and tightened its grip over the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran appears convinced it can now assert a more commanding role in the region,” Alhasan told CNN.
Khamanei said that Iran is “waiting for an appropriate response” from its neighbors, so that it can show “brotherhood and goodwill.”
“This will not be realized unless you renounce the Arrogant Powers, who miss no opportunity to humiliate and exploit you,” he wrote.
Alhasan said that Gulf states, which have been at the receiving end of barrages of missiles and drones from Iran throughout the war, are likely to receive Khamanei’s gesture with skepticism.
“The Arab Gulf states expressed defiance against Iranian aggression at the height of the war,” Alhasan said. “With or without the US, they are unlikely to accept Iranian tutelage once the war is over.”
One of the world’s main energy lifelines was struck this week
A crucial pipeline in Saudi Arabia that supplies oil to global markets was struck on Wednesday, according to media reports, raising fresh concerns over the stability of world energy supplies, already squeezed by the Iran war.
Tehran’s decision to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz, the main sea route used by tankers carrying millions of barrels of oil from the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world, has given Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline a central role in the global flow of energy supplies.
The pipeline runs from Saudi oil fields in the east of the country to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. It can transport a significant portion of the kingdom’s oil to international markets every day.
Last month, Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, announced that it would reroute millions of barrels of crude, normally loaded in the Persian Gulf and shipped through the strait, via this pipeline.
At full capacity, the East-West Pipeline can carry up to 7 million barrels of crude oil per day, according to Saudi Aramco. This offsets, to some extent, the roughly 15 million barrels per day that typically pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Attacks on a key pumping station reduced the pipeline’s throughput by 700,000 barrels per day, an official at the Saudi energy ministry told state news agency SPA. Additional strikes on other facilities knocked out hundreds of thousands more barrels of daily production capacity. The SPA report dated Thursday did not say when the attacks took place.
UNICEF warns of strikes' “devastating” toll on children in Lebanon
A wave of Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon on Wednesday killed at least 33 children and injured more than 150, according to United Nations aid organization UNICEF.
The strikes, which left at least 300 dead in total, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, underscore what the agency calls a “devastating and inhumane toll” on civilians as Lebanon hopes to be included in the ceasefire with Iran. The Israeli military said more than 100 Hezbollah command centers and military sites were struck simultaneously across the country in Wednesday’s strikes.
UNICEF says some 600 children have been killed or injured in Lebanon since early March, with reports of children being pulled from rubble and others still missing. More than 1 million people have been displaced, including almost 400,000 children. Many people have been forced to flee multiple times.
The UN agency warned that the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas is placing children at extreme risk and called on all parties to uphold international law. UNICEF teams on the ground are scaling up emergency care, but warn needs are rapidly outpacing capacity.
For context: Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Shiite Islamist movement with one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East, has engaged in decades of conflict with Israel from its base in neighboring Lebanon. After Israel killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an airstrike in late February, Hezbollah began firing at Israel.
The Israeli military retaliated by launching intense waves of airstrikes on what it said were Hezbollah positions and sent troops deeper into Lebanese territory, seeking to establish a buffer zone in the south of the country.
Trump's ceasefire deal sparks new fury from those who initially defended his war
Public polling has consistently shown Trump’s war with Iran is backed by a large majority of Republican voters and has even more support from those who consider themselves MAGA-aligned.
Nevertheless, the administration and allies have scrambled to contain the fallout this week as deepening fears over Trump’s management of the war — and fragile ceasefire — with Iran spilled into public infighting among some of his most prominent allies.
A ceasefire deal Trump announced ahead of Tuesday’s deadline sparked new fury from those who initially defended Trump’s war. Longtime Iran hardliners on the right, including Fox News’ Mark Levin, are lamenting that Trump appears willing to back away from military action that could further cripple the country.
Read the full story here.
UAE to review regional relationships after Iran attacks, adviser says
The United Arab Emirates says it will reassess which regional partners it can “rely on” and review its national priorities after bearing the brunt of Iranian attacks during the US-Israel war on Iran.
UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said Abu Dhabi will “scrutinize” its “regional and international relationships” while strengthening an economic and financial system that boosts resilience.
“The rational review of our national priorities is our path to the future,” Gargash wrote on X.
The comments come as the UAE takes a cautious line on the ceasefire with Iran, seeking clarification on Tehran’s commitment to the truce and calling for the unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Last month, Gargash criticized “major” Arab and Islamic nations for failing to support Gulf Arab countries in “times of hardship.”
“The Arab Gulf states were a support and partner to all in times of prosperity… so where are you today in times of hardship?” he said at the time.
Gargash told CNN this week that Abu Dhabi will “double down on our relationship with the United States” as a result of the war and expects to see “Israeli influence become more prominent in the Gulf, not less.”
Israel and Hezbollah exchange strikes ahead of high-stakes Islamabad talks: Catch up here
Israel and Hezbollah are continuing to exchange strikes as high-stakes talks between the US and Iran are set to take place in Islamabad this weekend.
Here’s what you need to know:
- US-Iran talks: Make-or-break talks between the US and Iran are being held this weekend in Pakistan. The US delegation will be led by Vice President JD Vance, with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son in law, set to arrive Saturday. Tehran has not officially announced its delegation that’s expected to arrive on Friday, but some local media reports say it will be led by the speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
- Israeli bid to negotiate: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced Israel wants direct negotiations with Lebanon on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam will travel to Washington, DC in the coming days a Lebanese government source told CNN.
- Border attacks: Hezbollah said it launched a fresh attack on Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon on Friday morning. Hezbollah also said it targeted Israel’s border settlement Kiryat Shmona, in response to “the enemy’s violation of the ceasefire agreement.” Israel and Hezbollah have continued to exchange strikes since the uneasy US-Iran ceasefire began.
- Strait of Hormuz: The critical waterway may be officially reopening, but shipping executives and analysts say uncertainty surrounding the ceasefire is still making transit too risky right now.
- Iran senior adviser dies: Kamal Kharazi, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, has died after being injured in what Tehran said was a US-Israeli strike that targeted his home earlier this month.
CNN’s Laura Shahman, Lex Harvey, Rayhana Zaiter, Charbel Mallo, Adam Pourahmadi, Vanessa Yurkevich, Chris Isidore and Matt Egan contributed reporting.
Oil prices rise due to concern few ships are passing the Strait of Hormuz
Oil prices are up almost 1% today as few vessels are venturing through the critical Strait of Hormuz, despite the current ceasefire between the United States and Iran. It is the second consecutive day of price rises following a 13.3% drop on Wednesday after the truce was announced.
Additional upward pressure on prices comes from attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil and natural gas facilities, including the crucial East-West Pipeline, reported by state-run Saudi Press Agency.
The report, which cited an anonymous official from the Ministry of Energy, did not state when the attacks took place, but indicated that recent attacks on the kingdom’s energy infrastructure are having a significant impact on the production and transport of oil. Damage to the East-West Pipeline has led to the loss of “approximately 700,000 barrels per day,” while other infrastructure attacks have reduced capacity by a further 600,000 barrels, the agency said.
Around 6 a.m. ET, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was 0.9% up on the day at $96.8 a barrel. WTI, the US benchmark, rose by a similar margin to $98.9.
Stock markets were mixed. Most major markets in Asia ended the day in the green. Europe’s main indexes were also slightly higher in morning hours, while US futures were little changed.
“We maintain our view that the ceasefire will hold, not because we are any closer to (a) solution but because it is in the interest of both parties not to continue with the war,” Mohit Kumar, an economist at Jefferies, wrote in a note today.
US gas prices drop by the most since the war started
Americans are finally catching a bit of a break on prices at the pump.
The national average for regular gas declined to $4.15 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA.
The decline from $4.17 a gallon on Thursday marks the first time average US gas prices have fallen by more than a penny since the war with Iran started in late February.
Analysts have cautioned, however, that gas prices are unlikely to return to the pre-war levels below $3 a gallon anytime soon.
Even under the best conditions, gas prices famously go up like a rocket but only fall like a feather.
Any declines today will be limited by the fact that oil remains very expensive, flirting with $100 a barrel, compared with below $60 at the start of the year.
Despite the ceasefire with Iran, maritime traffic through the critical Strait of Hormuz remains limited. Not only that, but energy facilities in the Middle East have been damaged, personnel have been evacuated and production sidelined by a lack of storage. It will take time and money to undo all of that.
Lebanese PM to visit Washington after Israel asked for direct negotiations
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam will travel to Washington, DC in the coming days, after Israel asked for direct negotiations with Lebanon, a Lebanese government source told CNN on Friday.
It comes as a fragile two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran is holding, for now, but is under strain, particularly over the issue of whether or not attacks in Lebanon are included in the truce.
Israel has continued strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon despite the ceasefire, including a major wave of attacks on Wednesday that killed at least 300 people, according to Lebanese authorities.
CNN has approached the White House for comment.
Will Trump get a worse Iran deal than Obama?
The contrasts are remarkable.
One president chose diplomacy. Barack Obama and a large international coalition negotiated a deal with Iran to shelve its nuclear program for a decade over the objections of an outraged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who came to Congress in 2015 to speak out against the deal and the American president.
Another president chose war. Donald Trump, years after tearing Obama’s deal into shreds, and after becoming frustrated with talks for a new nuclear deal, brought Netanyahu into the White House Situation Room, according to a New York Times report. The Israeli prime minister sat across the table from the US president and sold him on a sneak attack against Iran without consulting allies in Europe or the Middle East.
However the war with Iran ultimately ends — talks will get underway in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday to try to build on a fragile ceasefire — Trump will want to declare that the outcome is better than what his predecessor Obama achieved without going to war.
Trump rarely talks about Iran without trashing Obama and the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.
Read Zachary B. Wolf’s full analysis here.
Hezbollah claims attacks on Israeli border town and Israeli soldiers in Lebanon
Hezbollah said it launched a fresh attack on Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon on Friday morning.
The Iran-backed militant group said in a statement it targeted the troops with a rocket barrage in Wata Al-Khiam shortly before 6 a.m. local time.
Hezbollah also said it targeted Israel’s border settlement Kiryat Shmona, in response to “the enemy’s violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israel and Hezbollah have continued to exchange strikes since the uneasy US-Iran ceasefire began, with officials urging for the truce to also encompass their conflict.
This post has been updated with additional information.
Saudi Arabia confirms attack on crucial East-West Pipeline
Saudi Arabia confirmed attacks against its oil and gas facilities, including the crucial East-West Pipeline, state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, citing an anonymous official from the Ministry of Energy.
The report dated Thursday did not say when the attacks took place but it said one Saudi national was killed and seven others wounded.
The SPA report indicated recent attacks on the kingdom’s energy infrastructure have had a significant impact on both the production and transport of oil, affecting more than one million barrels a day.
Attacks on the East-West Pipeline have lead to the loss of “approximately 700,000 barrels per day” while other infrastructure attacks have reduced capacity by a further 600,000 barrels per day, SPA said.
“That would bring the regional total of supply impacted to 12.1 million bpd (barrels per day),” Amena Bakr, an analyst at data intelligence and analytics platform Kpler, told CNN, referring to the overall impact across the Gulf region.
Gulf nations have mostly remained tight-lipped in recent week on exactly how much damage has been wrought on their oil and gas producing facilities by Iran’s attacks.
Bakr added that the East-West Pipeline “has been key to bypassing” the blocked Strait of Hormuz.
“Moreover we are not seeing any improvement with regards to flows via Hormuz,” she added.
CNN previously reported that satellite imagery provided by the European Space Agency showed fire and large plumes of thick black smoke rising from Saudi Aramco’s vital Abqaiq processing facility following reports of an Iranian attack Wednesday. The cause of the fire seen in the satellite image was not immediately clear.
The image was taken on April 8 at around 10:00am local time (03:00am ET) just hours after President Trump announced a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran.
Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq facility, located in eastern Saudi Arabia, is the world’s largest crude stabilization plant and provides around 5% of global oil supplies, according to the company. The facility is a starting point for the East-West Pipeline.
The 1,200 kilometer pipeline is one of two in the region that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, where the war in Iran has caused significant trade disruption.
CNN has reached out to Saudi Aramco for comment.
Photos show displaced families desperate for food in Beirut
Photos from the Associated Press show displaced people desperately waiting for donated food in Beirut on Thursday after fleeing Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon on Wednesday experienced the heaviest round of Israeli attacks across the country since the war began, including in capital, Beirut. Large explosions were heard and smoke was seen at the Israel-Lebanon border, with residents telling CNN there was no safe place to go. Israel says it targeted Hezbollah positions across the country.
More than 1 million people have been displaced in Lebanon since the start of the latest conflict. At least 1,888 people have been killed and 6,092 injured since the conflict began, according to the health ministry on Thursday.
Israel’s massive strikes on Lebanon this week are threatening to derail a fragile ceasefire with the US and Iran. Disagreements as to whether Lebanon was included in the ceasefire deal remain a key sticking point.
Meanwhile, the United States and Iran are preparing to begin their high-stakes talks in Islamabad which is expected to begin on Saturday, according to the White House.
As planting season begins, Iowa farmers hit by Iran war, tariffs
Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, coupled with President Donald Trump’s tariffs, is squeezing farmers as fertilizer and diesel prices rise.
CNN’s Jeff Zeleny spoke with two Iowa farmers who shared their concerns as a new planting season begins:
The war in Iran, coupled with President Donald Trump’s tariffs, is squeezing farmers as fertilizer and diesel prices rise. CNN’s Jeff Zeleny spoke with two Iowa farmers who shared their concerns as a new planting season begins.
For context: The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, ordinarily carries about a fifth of global oil and natural gas supplies and a third of the world’s urea fertilizer exports.
The waterway may be officially reopening for business since the US-Iran ceasefire, but shipping company executives and analysts told CNN that uncertainty surrounding the agreement is still making transit too risky right now. Only a few ships have made the journey in recent days.
CNN’s Hanna Ziady, Vanessa Yurkevich, Chris Isidore and Matt Egan contributed to this report.
Iran truce may be too late for many African countries
In northern Malawi, Suteny Williams Nsamba is struggling to buy fertilizer for his small farm, where he grows corn, groundnuts and tobacco. The war in Iran sent living costs soaring, and he warns if shipping disruption continues into Malawi’s crop-growing season in November, a “devastating low yield” is inevitable.
“The prices of many commodities will rise, and life will be unbearable,” he told CNN.
Nsamba’s struggles echo across Africa, with economies hit hard as fuel prices surge and the obstruction of trade routes leads to shortages of fertilizer during the key planting season.
The two-week ceasefire announced between the United States and Iran brings hope, but even if it holds, few expect a swift return to normality. Aliko Dangote, the owner of Africa’s largest oil refinery in Nigeria, told CNN last month that it may take several months for oil prices to stabilize.
While nowhere has been spared the impact of the Iran war, African countries – which rely heavily on imports of fuel, food, and fertilizer – are especially vulnerable.
US-Iran talks begin tomorrow. Here's what we know as world waits to see if they can deliver
The lives of millions of people across the Middle East – and the fate of the global economy – will hinge on the outcome of make-or-break talks between the US and Iran this weekend in Pakistan.
A fragile two-week ceasefire that paved the way for the talks is holding for now. But Israel’s massive deadly bombardment of Hezbollah and disagreements over whether Lebanon is included in the truce, could still derail the meetings.
Here’s what we know about the talks, which begin Saturday morning local time in Islamabad, according to the White House:
- Who’s attending the talks: The US delegation will be led by Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son in law. Tehran has not officially announced its delegation, but some local media reports say it will be led by the speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
- What’s on the agenda: Trump has cited “a 10-point proposal from Iran,” which he called “a workable basis on which to negotiate.” But Iran began sharing a 10-point list that included demands, such as acknowledging its control over the Strait of Hormuz and reparations for war damages and the lifting of all sanctions. Meanwhile Trump and his team have their own 15-point proposal.
- What the talks could achieve: Despite the confusion, American officials on Thursday were moving quickly to prepare for the negotiations, people familiar with the matter told CNN. Despite the disagreements, Trump told NBC he was “very optimistic” about a peace deal, saying that Iran’s leaders seemed open to peace in private discussions.
Trump warns Iran against Hormuz tolls while Israel wants talks with Lebanon. Here's the latest
We have been reporting on the developments in the Middle East, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel sought direct talks with Lebanon on disarming Hezbollah, but said Beirut is not part of the ceasefire deal. Read what we know so far here.
Catch up on other headlines:
- President Donald Trump warned Iran against implementing tolls following reports the country was considering charging tankers to traverse the Strait of Hormuz. During a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump pushed for urgent concrete measures from NATO members to help secure the strait, two European diplomats familiar with the matter told CNN.
- The head of Abu Dhabi’s state-owned oil company said the Strait of Hormuz is “not open,” adding that passage through the waterway is subject to “conditions and political leverage” by Iran.
- South Korea will send a special envoy to Iran to discuss the safe passage of its vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. It currently has 26 vessels, including oil tankers, unable to travel through the strait.
- World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged Israel to rescind its evacuation orders for two hospitals in Beirut, calling the orders “operationally unfeasible.” Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces issued a broad evacuation order for multiple neighborhoods in southern Beirut, including some areas that had not previously been targeted. Such warnings have often previously been followed by Israeli strikes.
- A top US State Department official summoned Iraq’s ambassador to the United States “to express the U.S. government’s strong condemnation” of attacks by Iranian-backed militias against US diplomatic facilities and personnel in Iraq.
- Kamal Kharazi, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, has died after being injured in what Tehran said was a US-Israeli strike that targeted his home earlier this month. Kharazi’s wife was killed in the strike, while he was critically injured and rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment, Iranian officials said last week.
CNN’s Donald Judd, Lauren Said-Moorhouse, Jennifer Hansler, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Michael Rios and Yoonjung Seo contributed reporting.
