Here's the latest
• US blockade: The US military blockade on Iranian ports started at 10 a.m. ET after peace talks faltered this weekend, with President Donald Trump threatening Iranian ships that come near the blockade. The US and Iran are still communicating, a US official told CNN, as the president said Tehran is seeking to “make a deal very badly.”
• Pope criticism: Trump continues to denounce Pope Leo XIV for his stance on the war, after the pope said he has “no fear of the Trump administration.” A post that depicted Trump as Jesus — which Trump said was showing him as “a doctor” — has been deleted from the president’s social media.
• Markets roiled: Oil prices again topped $100 a barrel and stock markets fell amid fears of further disruption to the global economy.
• Lebanon talks: The focus of the Israeli military is on Lebanon during the two-week ceasefire with Iran, a source says, ahead of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon tomorrow.
Iran warns against blockade in phone calls with Persian Gulf countries
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with the Saudi Arabian and Qatari foreign ministers Monday afternoon to discuss what Iran called “the risks posed by provocative US actions” in blocking Iranian ports.
While emphasizing “Iran’s good-faith approach in accepting the ceasefire” between the United States and Iran, Araghchi told his Saudi counterpart, “Unfortunately, we witnessed the continuation of the American side’s greed in the negotiations, which caused the failure to reach a result,” according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry. He referred to talks in Pakistan over the weekend that failed to produce a breakthrough.
In another phone call with Qatar’s foreign minister today, Araghchi stressed that Tehran “has responsibly entered the diplomatic process to protect its national interests and safeguard regional peace and security.”
Separately, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei warned today in a post on X that the US threats to blockade Iranian ports would amount to retaliation against the global economy.
China’s top diplomat urges continuation of ceasefire, calling it "extremely fragile"
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said blockading Iranian ports doesn’t serve the world’s “common interests” and called on the international community to “intensify its efforts to promote peace talks” in meetings with other senior diplomats today.
In a phone call with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, Wang urged the international community to promote talks to preserve the “extremely fragile” ceasefire between the US and Iran.
“The urgent task is to prevent the resumption of hostilities and maintain the hard-won momentum of the ceasefire,” according to a readout of the call issued by China’s Foreign Ministry.
Separately, Wang met with Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, the United Arab Emirates’ special envoy to China, where he outlined that blockading the Strait of Hormuz — as the US began doing earlier today, along with other ports in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman — “doesn’t serve the common interests of the international community,” according to a summary of the meeting posted on X by Lin Jian, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
“Achieving a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire through political and diplomatic means is the fundamental way forward,” the post said.
Some context: Throughout this war, China has sought to position itself as an outwardly neutral party while at the same time as maintaining its relationship with Iran, whose oil it heavily depends on. US intelligence indicates that Beijing is preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran within the next few weeks, three sources told CNN. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said that “China has never provided weapons to any party to the conflict.”
Trump's "staged" DoorDash delivery highlights administration's midterm struggle on Iran
Moments after President Donald Trump abruptly summoned reporters to the West Wing, he opened the door to greet a woman wearing a “DoorDash Grandma” T-shirt and bearing two big bags of McDonald’s food.
“This doesn’t look staged, does it?” Trump asked the assembled press pool, before spending about 15 minutes answering questions on the Iran war, including on failed negotiations over the weekend, the Strait of Hormuz and criticism from Pope Leo XIV.
The gathering was clearly meant to tout provisions in a GOP law that limited taxes on tips, which Trump and Republicans are hoping will bolster their midterm chances in November. But it mainly underscored the White House’s strained effort to juggle domestic politics while simultaneously waging war in Iran.
Trump is slated to make trips to Nevada and Arizona later this week to tout his tax policies, resuming domestic travel that advisers once viewed as key to energizing midterm voters — but that’s largely been put on hold since attacking Iran in late February.
Trump during the planned appearance briefly touted his policy eliminating taxes on tips, which the DoorDash Grandma — real name, Sharon Simmons — said “helped my family out immensely.”
At one point, the president tried to bring the delivery woman back into the conversation, pressing her over transgender women’s ability to participate in women’s sports. But Simmons demurred.
“I really don’t have an opinion on that,” she said. “I’m here about no tax on tips.”
US and Iran still engaged in talks, US official says
The US and Iran are still engaged in talks as the two sides work toward a diplomatic off-ramp for the war, a US official told CNN.
“There is continued engagement between the US and Iran and forward motion on trying to get an agreement,” the official said.
The statement comes after a marathon session of negotiations in Pakistan on Saturday between Washington and Tehran failed to produce a breakthrough. It is unclear whether the US and Iranian delegations will meet in person at a future date.
President Donald Trump said today that Iran had called the Trump administration earlier in the morning. “They’d like to make a deal very badly,” he said.
Trump says he hasn't spoken with China's leader but that Xi wants war to end
President Donald Trump said Monday he hasn’t spoken with Xi Jinping but that the Chinese leader wants to the see the Iran war ended — comments that come after CNN exclusively reported that US intelligence indicates Beijing is preparing a weapons shipment to Tehran.
“We have a very good relationship with China,” Trump told reporters at the White House. Xi “would like to see” the war ended, the president added.
Some context: CNN reported this weekend that US intelligence indicates China is preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran within the next few weeks, according to three people familiar with recent intelligence assessments.
Asked by CNN on Saturday about the US intelligence and whether he has spoken to Xi about the issue, Trump indicated that Beijing would face consequences if it sent weapons to Tehran. “If China does that, China will have big problems, OK?” he said.
Trump is set to visit China early next month.
Extended closure of Strait of Hormuz threatens a global food crisis, warns UN body
A global food crisis could develop if normal traffic doesn’t resume through the Strait of Hormuz soon, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned today.
Substantial proportions of the world’s supply of products required for farming – including oil, natural gas, urea and fertilizers – are currently choked off from global markets as vessels cannot safely pass through the crucial waterway due to the war in the Middle East.
He warned the “clock is ticking” to avoid this situation ballooning into a global crisis which could rival that caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Everything is linked to the crop calendar,” he said. If farmers don’t have all the resources they need for planting, that could cause lower yields, meaning less food in the future, he warned. In addition, if countries start restricting energy or fertilizer exports that will add to the problem, he said.
Any squeeze on global food supply will have an outsized effect on lower-income and smaller countries, added David Laborde, director of the Agrifood Economics and Policy Division at the FAO.
What a US naval blockade in Iran might look like
The US military blockade on Iranian ports started Monday morning, after weekend peace talks collapsed in Pakistan.
President Donald Trump said the US will sink Iranian “fast attack ships” that come near the blockade.
CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh explains how the blockade could work:
The US military blockade on Iranian ports started Monday morning, after weekend peace talks collapsed in Pakistan. President Trump said the US will sink Iranian “fast attack ships” that come near the blockade. CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh explains how the blockade could work.
Trump denounces Pope Leo again for stance on Iran war: “He’s wrong”
President Donald Trump again denounced Pope Leo XIV for his position against the war in Iran.
Asked if the president owes Pope Leo an apology after he tore into the pope on Sunday evening, Trump said, “No, I don’t, because Pope Leo said things that are wrong. He was very much against what I’m doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran.”
Trump said the pope would “not be happy with the end result” if Iran were able to gain nuclear capability. “You have hundreds of millions of people dead, and it’s not going to happen.”
He also accused the pope of being “very weak on crime and other things. So I’m not, I mean, he went public. I’m just responding to Pope Leo.”
Leo, the first American pope, has become increasingly vocal about the US and Israel’s war with Iran, last week condemning Trump’s rhetoric against the people of Iran as “truly unacceptable.”
CNN’s Laura Sharman, Isabelle D’Antonio, Christopher Lamb and Antonia Mortensen contributed to this report.
Trump's post depicting him as Jesus deleted amid friction with pope over Iran
A post that depicted Donald Trump as Jesus has been deleted from the president’s social media account amid friction between Trump and the pope over the Iran war.
The image, which showed Trump as a Christ-like figure healing the sick while surrounded by American flags and eagles, was posted to Truth Social late Sunday night shortly after the president criticized Pope Leo XIV for speaking against the war with Iran.
As of late Monday morning, the image no longer appeared on the president’s feed, and a prior link to the post now brings up a page that says the “content is no longer available.”
Later on Monday, Trump said he thought it was showing him as a doctor.
Trump said that “only the fake news” could come up with the idea that it depicted him as Jesus.
“I just heard about it, and I said, ‘How did they come up with that?’ It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better. And I do make people better,” he said.
Some context: Pope Leo XIV said Monday he has “no fear of the Trump administration” and will continue to speak out after criticism from the president, who denounced his stance on the Iran war and said he was “terrible for foreign policy.”
Leo, the first American pope, has become increasingly vocal about the Iran war, last week condemning Trump’s rhetoric against the people of Iran as “truly unacceptable.”
This post has been updated with Trump’s comments.
Trump says Iran called this morning: "They'd like to make a deal very badly"
President Donald Trump said his administration received a call “from the other side” this morning, referring to Iran, adding that “they’d like to make a deal very badly.”
His comments to reporters at the White House come less than three hours after the US imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and after marathon talks in Pakistan this weekend failed to yield a deal.
Trump maintained that the sticking point in talks with Tehran “was over nuclear,” adding that “Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.”
“We agreed to a lot of things, but they didn’t agree to that, and I think they will agree to it. I’m almost sure of it. In fact, I am sure of it. If they don’t agree, there’s no deal. There will never be a deal,” Trump said.
He said another priority is for the US to retrieve the enriched uranium still in Iran’s possession, telling reporters, “We’re going to get the dust back. We’ll get it back. Either we’ll get it back from them or we’ll take it.”
No deal by the end of the ceasefire will not be "pleasant" for Iran, Trump says
President Donald Trump said if a deal is not reached with Iran to end the war by the end of the ceasefire, “it won’t be pleasant for them.”
A reporter asked the president if his threat that “a whole civilization will die” still stands if the two-week ceasefire ends without an agreement.
“I don’t want to comment on that, but it won’t be pleasant for them. Let me put it that way,” Trump responded.
Hours before the president’s deadline last week, Trump announced he’d agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran. Over the weekend, however, peace talks in Pakistan faltered, with Vice President JD Vance saying Iran would not commit to forgoing a nuclear weapon.
Before the pause in fighting, Trump also threatened to destroy Iran’s power plants and said it “makes no difference to me” whether both sides make a deal.
Trump says "other countries" are offering to help with blockade
President Donald Trump said at the White House today that “other countries” — though he did not specify which — are offering to help the United States’ blockade of Iranian ports.
“We don’t need other countries, frankly,” the president said. “But they’ve offered their services.”
“We’ll let it be known, probably tomorrow,” he added.
Italian PM slams Trump for "unacceptable" comments about Pope Leo
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has criticized US President Donald Trump for his “unacceptable” remarks about Pope Leo XIV.
On Sunday evening, Trump denounced the pope’s stance on the Iran war, calling the pontiff “terrible for foreign policy.”
“We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon. … He’s a man that doesn’t think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world,” Trump told reporters, adding, “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo.”
The pontiff — who has been increasingly vocal about the US and Israel’s war with Iran — pushed back against the criticism, saying he has “no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel.”
The world is about to get its last delivery of pre-war oil
The last oil tankers that left the Strait of Hormuz before the war are about to reach their destination.
Two tankers delivering oil from Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia that transited the strait prior to February 28 are still on the water, according to a note from JPMorgan analysts sent to clients this past Sunday. One, the Ocean Thunder, is set to deliver crude oil from Iraq to Malaysia on Saturday. The other, named the Yuan Ju Wan, is scheduled to deliver jet fuel to Australia on Sunday.
Once those two deliveries are completed, the world will have exhausted its supply of pre-war crude and fuel.
Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has blocked off 12 million barrels of oil from the world each day, which has created a profound supply shortage. Governments, companies and consumers have dipped deep into reserves, drawing down 250 million barrels of crude in storage since the war broke out. That works out to 6.6 million barrels a day, making up more than half the choked-off crude.
But the stockpiles are running out, and Western countries could reach operational minimums by early May, JPMorgan said.
These are the Iranian ports affected by the US blockade
The US blockade on Iranian ports is now in effect after weekend peace talks with Iran in Pakistan collapsed.
President Donald Trump issued a new threat today and said the US will sink any Iranian “fast attack ships” that come near the blockade.
Here’s a look at the ports impacted, which include those in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman alongside the Strait of Hormuz:
Trump issues new threat amid US blockade of Iranian ports as economic fallout fears grow
President Donald Trump issued a new threat to Tehran this morning, saying the US will sink any Iranian ships that come near the US military blockade of Iran’s ports, which started at 10 a.m. ET.
Iran’s acting defense minister said Monday the country’s armed forces are on “maximum combat alert” and are prepared for “any scenario,” warning that any aggression against Tehran would draw a “harsh and decisive response,” according to remarks broadcast on Iran’s state-run television.
Meanwhile, concerns are mounting over how the latest move by the US will affect the global economy.
Here’s a quick recap of the latest developments in the conflict:
- Qatar said in a call with Iran that maritime routes should not be used as a “bargaining chip,” while warning of the negative impacts of such actions on global energy supplies and international security.
- France and the United Kingdom will convene talks aimed at “restoring freedom of navigation” in the Strait of Hormuz, French President Emmanuel Macron said on X today, adding that this would be a “strictly defensive” mission.
- The Kremlin has criticized Trump’s decision to begin a blockade of Iranian ports. “Such actions will likely continue to negatively impact international markets. This can be assumed with a high degree of certainty,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
- The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had been informed that “maritime access restrictions are being enforced affecting Iranian ports and coastal areas.” Ship-tracking data showed traffic through the Strait of Hormuz thinning hours before the blockade began.
- Freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is of “paramount importance,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said while drawing attention to the economic impact of the war. Von der Leyen added that there can be no stability in the Middle East or Persian Gulf while Lebanon is “in flames.”
- Von der Leyen’s comments come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of a “solid, deeper security zone” held by Israel inside southern Lebanon, one day before the two countries are set to begin direct talks in the US.
- An Israeli military official said its focus has shifted to Lebanon during a two-week ceasefire with Iran. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) view Lebanon as the “main operational front” for now.
- Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that he hopes that tomorrow’s negotiations with Israel in Washington will result in a ceasefire.
CNN’s Aileen Graef, Hanna Ziady, Eugenia Yosef, Joseph Ataman, Nadeen Ebrahim, Tim Lister, Anna Chernova, Oren Liebermann, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Billy Stockwell and Sarah Tamimi contributed to this report.
This post has been updated with additional reporting.
Lebanese president hopes Tuesday talks with Israel result in ceasefire
Lebanon hopes that tomorrow’s negotiations with Israel in Washington will result in a ceasefire, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said today during a meeting with Italy’s foreign minister in Beirut.
“These negotiations would be handled by a Lebanese negotiating team to put an end to hostilities,” Aoun said, “followed by practical steps to reinforce stability in the south in particular and in Lebanon more broadly.”
Aoun added that talks “are the responsibility of the Lebanese state, and no other party, because this is a sovereign matter in which Lebanon has no partner.” The comment was an oblique reference to Hezbollah, the powerful Iranian-aligned Lebanese Shiite militant group with which Israel has traded blows for years.
The president also said that Lebanon has implemented “security measures” at the Rafik Hariri Airport in Beirut and the country’s ports to “prevent arms smuggling or the flow of illicit funds.”
Israel currently occupies much of southern Lebanon and continues to strike targets deep within the country. Lebanese authorities say that more than 2,000 people have been killed and over 6,500 wounded since March 2.
The talks between Israeli and Lebanese diplomats under US supervision were scheduled amid fears that the Israeli strikes in Lebanon could threaten a delicate ceasefire in the US-Israeli war with Iran.
While Iran and Pakistan, which mediated talks between Iran and the US, say that Lebanon is included in the ceasefire, Israel and the US say that Lebanon isn’t part of the deal reached last week.
Israel's expanding operation in Lebanon could threaten its cultural riches, experts warn
Israel said that it’s expanding ground operations in southern Lebanon, targeting the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah to protect residents in northern Israel. But international organizations have cautioned that Lebanese cultural heritage sites shouldn’t be placed in the firing line.
UNESCO said earlier this month that 39 cultural properties in Lebanon, including several in the south, had been granted “the highest level of legal protection against attack and use for military purposes.”
Israel’s campaign seeks to expel “every resident south of the Litani (River) who isn’t returning – and won’t return – until security is guaranteed here for the northern residents,” said Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz.
Now, Lebanon’s heritage is “severely threatened,” according to the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage, a fund dedicated to the protection of cultural heritage in conflict zones.
The organization announced last month a fund devoted to the protection of monuments and archaeological sites in Lebanon.
Lebanon’s coastal city of Tyre – which has been subject to recent evacuation orders – was an ancient Phoenician city that founded “prosperous colonies such as Cadiz and Carthage and according to legend, was the place of the discovery of purple pigment,” according to UNESCO.
Today, the city has important archaeological remains, mostly from Roman times, the UN agency said.
Elsewhere, 12th century Beaufort Castle, which overlooks the Litani River, is recognized as “one of the best-preserved Crusader-period castles in the Near East and constitutes a distinguished archetype of medieval military architecture,” said UNESCO.
UK calls for Lebanon to be "included urgently" in US-Iran ceasefire
The United Kingdom is calling for Lebanon to be “included urgently” in the current ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said today, also condemning Israel’s continued attacks on the country.
The prime minister also said that, while the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah “must disarm,” he is “equally clear” that Israel’s strikes on the country “are wrong.”
Referencing US President Donald Trump’s threat last week that “a whole civilization will die” if Iran did not agree to a deal, Starmer said that Trump’s language was “wrong.”
Starmer also discussed the Strait of Hormuz, which is still effectively closed by Iran, saying that “freedom of navigation is vital and must be restored.”
Separately today, Britain’s defense ministry said that it had deployed military planners to US Central Command to “explore options for making the Strait of Hormuz accessible and safe once hostilities have ceased.”
Iran warns US Navy ships that attempt to block its ports will be "sent to the bottom of the sea"
A senior Iranian lawmaker has warned the US that any Navy vessels that attempt to block Iran’s ports will be “sent to the bottom of the sea”.
Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of Iran’s Foreign Policy and National Security Committee, rejected US President Donald Trump’s threat to blockade Iran’s ports as militarily baseless propaganda, according to Iran’s state-run Press TV.
Boroujerdi said the US has “no real ability” to carry out the threat, and said other NATO members would not support such a move.
