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• Get the latest updates on the war with Iran here.
Key developments
• Timeline uncertain: President Donald Trump declined to give a timeline for resolving the Iran war on Thursday, telling reporters at the White House, “Don’t rush me.” The US president blamed what he described as a lack of clear leadership in Tehran for holding up talks, as pressure grows from the war’s global economic impacts.
• Lebanon ceasefire: A ceasefire in Lebanon has been extended by three weeks after Israeli and Lebanese representatives met at the White House, Trump announced. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has been among the key factors discussed in US-Iran peace efforts.
• Maritime standoff: US military officials are developing new plans to target Iran’s capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz if the current ceasefire falls apart, sources told CNN. Trump has ordered the US Navy to attack any Iranian boats placing mines in the waterway.
What's behind Joe Rogan's criticism of the Iran war
CNN’s Erin Burnett talks to political commentators Van Jones and SE Cupp after Joe Rogan spoke out against the Iran war just days after meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.
Extended ceasefire in Lebanon is “not 100%,” Israel's Ambassador to the UN says
The extended ceasefire in Lebanon is “not 100%,” according to Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon, who said he wonders if the Lebanese government is capable of enforcing the truce in southern Lebanon, where Iranian-backed Hezbollah operates.
The ceasefire extension followed negotiations today at the White House between Lebanese and Israeli diplomats.
Danon said the agreement was better than what existed before. “It’s a significantly better situation. It’s not 100%. I hope …to see that the Lebanese military are actually able to implement and to enforce this ceasefire.”
Peace between Israel and Lebanon is not a "pipe dream," says Israeli envoy
Peace between Israel and Lebanon is not a “pipe dream,” Israeli ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter said during diplomatic talks at the White House today.
During an ambassador-level meeting between Israel, Lebanon and the US, Leiter said his country did not have any irreconcilable disputes with Lebanon, but peace was being hindered by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
“Time and again, Iran and Hezbollah have dragged Lebanon into war against Israel,” Leiter said.
The Israeli envoy said that the focus should not be on the Israeli troop presence in southern Lebanon, which has been a major point of contention between the two countries, and doing so would be “putting the emphasis in the wrong place.” He said that Israeli troops would remain in place to defend northern Israel from missiles.
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading attacks, with Hezbollah firing rockets toward Israeli territory and Israel conducting attacks on what it says is Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
Leiter said the focus instead should be on dismantling Hezbollah, something he said the Lebanese government had fallen short on.
“Lebanon has not met its obligations to dismantle terror infrastructure, as demonstrated in the repeated attacks against Israel launched from the South Lebanon area in recent weeks – indeed, during the ceasefire itself,” Leiter said.
Trump announces Lebanon ceasefire extension. Catch up on the latest
President Donald Trump announced that the ceasefire, involving Israel and Lebanon, has been extended by three weeks. The news came after Trump hosted a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese representatives at the White House on Thursday.
Trump touted “a great meeting,” telling reporters he expects to welcome the nations’ two leaders to the White House soon. The original truce, announced last week, was set to expire after ten days.
Catch up on other headlines here:
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump’s involvement in the mediation between Israel and Lebanon “made it possible” for the ceasefire to be extended and expressed optimism about the prospects for peace. Rubio also said both Israel and Lebanon have been victimized by Hezbollah, adding, “the people of Lebanon deserve to live in a country that’s peaceful and prosperous.”
- As diplomatic talks took place at the White House on Thursday, the Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel exchanged attacks. Hezbollah launched rockets toward northern Israel, according to local media, and the Israeli military said it intercepted several launches fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory.
- After his remarks earlier today about the Iran war, Trump was asked about the impact on gas prices. The president said Americans can anticipate spending more money “for a little while.” The president had offered little clarity on a timeline to end the war with Iran.
- In addressing news of the US special forces soldier who was arrested for allegedly betting on the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump expressed concern about the growing trend of betting on geopolitical events. The world “has become somewhat of a casino,” Trump said.
CNN’s Dana Karni, Hira Humayun and Jennifer Hansler, Kevin Liptak and Donald Judd contributed reporting.
The US "would not want to affect" Iranian soccer athletes in FIFA World Cup, Trump says
President Donald Trump said the US “would not want to affect the [Iranian] athletes” looking to participate in the upcoming FIFA World Cup this summer.
Iran is set to play New Zealand, Egypt and Belgium, with two matches being hosted in Los Angeles and the other in Seattle. However, on Wednesday, reports emerged that US special envoy Paolo Zampolli, an envoy to Trump, was attempting to replace Iran with Italy, which had failed to qualify.
When asked to clarify, Zampolli told CNN he suggested the idea to Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino, adding that it was his understanding that Iran was not planning to participate. While the war is causing obvious complications, Iran has indicated it wants to be involved in the tournament and is working on ways to do so safely.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US has not forbidden Iran’s participation in the tournament.
“The problem with Iran, it would be not their athletes. It would be some of the other people that [they] would want to bring with them — some of whom have ties to the IRGC. We may not be able to let them,” Rubio told reporters in the Oval Office Thursday, referring the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite wing of the Iranian military.
He added that any reports on Iran being replaced by Italy is just speculation.
It’s Iran’s decision whether the athletes come to the US or not, Rubio said. “What they can’t bring is a bunch of IRGC terrorists into our country and pretend that they’re journalists and athletic trainers,” he continued.
Rubio says Trump's involvement made Lebanon ceasefire extension possible
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump’s involvement in Israel-Lebanon mediation “made it possible” for the ceasefire in Lebanon to be extended and expressed optimism about the prospects for peace.
“The president wanted to be personally involved and glad he was, because it made it possible to get this extension, and it gives everybody time to continue to work on what’s going to be permanent peace between two countries that want to be in peace,” Rubio said Thursday in the Oval Office.
Trump announced the three-week extension after the second round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon, which were held at the White House. He was flanked by other participants in the talks: Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad.
Rubio noted that both Israel and Lebanon have been victimized by Hezbollah, adding that “the people of Lebanon deserve to live in a country that’s peaceful and prosperous.”
“And what’s standing in the way is an organization that operates, a terrorist organization that operates within their national territory,” Rubio said. “That threat needs to be eliminated.”
“I’m very optimistic that in a few weeks, we’ll be closer to the kind of permanent peace that the people of Israel and Lebanon deserve,” he added.
Trump says leaders of Israel and Lebanon will visit US “over the next couple of weeks”
President Donald Trump touted “a great meeting” between officials from Israel and Lebanon at the White House Thursday, telling reporters he expects to welcome the nations’ two leaders to the White House soon.
“We had a great meeting, with the very high officials of Lebanon and the very high officials of Israel, and I think that the president of Lebanon and the prime minister of Israel, over the next couple of weeks, will be coming here,” he said. “They’ve agreed to an additional three weeks of, I guess, no firing — ceasefire — no more firing. Let’s see. We hope that happens. It’s not going to happen between them, but we still have Hezbollah to think about.”
In a follow up exchange, Trump said the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, which he announced via Truth Social moments before the event, is expected to last three weeks, “and the leaders will most likely be coming here during that time.”
“And I think when they do, that’s a very historic thing,” he added. “They have never met, they’re next to each other and they’ve never met.”
Pressed by reporters in the Oval Office, the president said believes there’s a “great chance” for peace between Israel and Lebanon this year.
“They’re friends about the same things, and they’re enemies on the same things,” he said. “And it has to do with, I guess you could say a couple of countries, but certainly it’s, you look at Hezbollah, that’s where everybody seems to be united — against them.”
Trump calls materials found in seized China vessel "top secret"
President Donald Trump said Thursday he could not disclose the specific materials found in a ship intercepted from China to Iran on Monday, calling it “top secret.”
“Yeah, there was stuff in there, but it’s top secret,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding, “We have a lot of things that we got.”
When asked if he was angry at China for trying to violate the US blockade of Iranian ports, Trump said “no,” adding that the US does “the same thing with other countries.”
Trump continued to warn Iran against dropping mines in the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a “very foolish thing to do.”
CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo contributed to this report.
Correction: A previous version of this post referred to the wrong seized ship.
Trump says Israel-Lebanon truce extended 3 weeks
President Donald Trump says a ceasefire in Lebanon has been extended by three weeks after hosting a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese representatives at the White House.
“The Meeting went very well! The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The original truce, announced last week, was set to expire after ten days.
Trump hopes to eventually broker a broader peace between the two countries, which have been officially at war since 1948.
“I look forward in the near future to hosting the Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, and the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun,” Trump wrote.
Hezbollah and Israel exchanged attacks as ceasefire talks took place at the White House
The Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel exchanged attacks on Thursday, as ambassador-level diplomatic talks took place at the White House.
Hezbollah launched rockets toward Shtula in northern Israel, according to Hezbollah-owned Al Manar TV, which came as the talks were set to begin. The Israeli military said it intercepted several launches fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory.
The military said it retaliated by striking several rocket launchers in southern Lebanon.
The attacks came despite a fragile ceasefire negotiated between Israel and Lebanon to pause fighting with Hezbollah.
Delegations from both countries are in Washington today for a second round of talks.
Trump says Americans can anticipate spending more on gasoline “for a little while”
Americans can anticipate spending more money on gasoline “for a little while,” Donald Trump said today, as the timeline to end the war remains uncertain.
The payoff for those higher prices, according to the president, is “Iran without a nuclear weapon.”
“I want to get a deal where our nation and the world is safe from lunatics with nuclear weapons,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump says he will not be rushed on US-Iran deal. Here are the top headlines
President Donald Trump said he does not want to be rushed when it comes to ending the war with Iran. The timeline remains unclear as no firm deadline on when Tehran needs to submit a peace proposal has been established by the US president.
Trump is also expected to join for part of the Israel-Lebanon direct talks at the White House, multiple sources familiar with the matter said. The 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon is due to expire in the coming days.
Here’s the latest:
- Time favors the United States and not Iran when it comes to reaching a deal to end the war, Trump said Thursday, and he is under no pressure to come to an agreement quickly. “I have all the time in the World, but Iran doesn’t,” he wrote on Truth Social.
- In the Oval Office, Trump was pressed on the timetable. “Don’t rush me,” he told reporters. “They’re in turmoil, so we thought we’d give them a little chance to get some of their turmoil resolved.” He also said the US doesn’t know “who the leader is in Iran.”
- The US president explicitly said he would not use nuclear weapons against Iran. It comes as tensions continue to rise in the Strait of Hormuz after Trump on Thursday ordered the Navy to “shoot and kill” any Iranian boats placing mines.
- Trump also said he was making a “moral request” when he asked Iranian officials not to execute eight women protesters as part of ongoing negotiations. Officials denied they were ready to execute any women.
- Two top Iranian officials touted the country’s unity after Trump claimed that the country’s leadership was split by infighting. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf issued identical statements.
- An Iranian vessel seized by the US on Sunday was carrying medical supplies for dialysis patients, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said, calling it a violation of international law.
- Pope Leo XIV says that “as a pastor” he cannot support the US-Israeli war with Iran but condemns the Iranian regime’s killing of protesters.
CNN’s Christopher Lamb, Jennifer Hansler, Kristen Holmes, Alejandra Jaramillo, Christian Sierra, Donald Judd and Aditi Sangal contributed reporting to this post.
Trump says ousted Navy secretary clashed with Pentagon officials
President Donald Trump said Thursday that former Navy Secretary John Phelan ran into conflicts with others at the Pentagon, offering new insight about the ouster that comes as the US Navy is carrying out a blockade of Iranian ports.
“He’s a very good man. I really liked him, but he had some conflict with, not necessarily Pete, with some others,” Trump said in the Oval Office, referring to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
“He’s a hard charger, and he had some conflicts with some other people, mostly as to building and buying new ships,” Trump added of Phelan.
“I think he would have gotten along great with me. I didn’t really deal with him too much,” the president said, before adding, “especially in the military, you got to get along.”
Phelan was ousted Wednesday amid tensions with Hegseth, six sources familiar with the matter told CNN, particularly over shipbuilding reforms and his close relationship with Trump.
Earlier Thursday, Trump praised Phelan on Truth Social and said he’d like to have him back in the administration at some point.
“I very much appreciate the job that he has done, and would certainly like to have him back within the Trump Administration sometime in the future. A very special thank you to John for his service to the United States of America!”
Trump rules out nuclear strikes on Iran
President Donald Trump explicitly said Thursday that he would not use nuclear weapons against Iran, dismissing the idea in response to a reporters’ question in the Oval Office.
Asked whether he would consider deploying a nuclear weapon, Trump responded bluntly: “No.”
“Why would a stupid question like that be asked? Why would I use a nuclear weapon?” Trump said, arguing the US had already “decimated” Iran without a nuclear strike.
Trump’s remarks two weeks ago that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran did not make a deal had some of his critics publicly wondering if he were referring to a nuclear strike. The US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire before Trump carried out the threat.
Now, tensions continue to rise in the Strait of Hormuz, and the president has ordered the Navy to “shoot and kill” any Iranian boats placing mines in the vital shipping lane.
Trump says the US does not know "who the leader is in Iran"
President Donald Trump said his administration does not know who the leader is in Iran.
“They’re delaying it because they — we don’t know who to deal with,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday. He offered assurances that it won’t be “very long” before the war is over.
“They know who the leader is in this country. We don’t know who the leader is in Iran,” Trump added.
“Because remember regime change. (Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei is gone. He’s gone to greener pastures. He’s gone, and all of his team is gone. Then a second group came in. They’re all gone. And now you have the third group, and they’re a little concerned about being gone, too.”
Trump declines to give a timeline on ending war with Iran: “Don’t rush me”
President Donald Trump declined to say Thursday how long he’d be willing to draw out war with Iran, telling reporters at the White House, “Don’t rush me,” when pressed on a timetable.
“So we’re in Vietnam, like, for 18 years; we’re in Iraq for many, many years. … I don’t like to say World War II, because that was a biggie, but we were four and a half, almost five years in World War II,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
The president pointed to the ongoing ceasefire as a promising sign in negotiations, insisting: “We stopped a little early, because they wanted to have some peace.”
“They want to make a deal,” the president said. “We have been speaking to them, but they don’t even know who is leading the country. They’re in turmoil. They’re in turmoil, so we thought we’d give them a little chance to get some of their turmoil resolved.”
And Trump insisted once again that he felt no pressure to end to the war quickly, despite his original timeline of four to six weeks, pointing to Iran’s inability to export oil during the ongoing naval blockade.
“I don’t want to rush myself, you know, because every story says, ‘Oh, Trump is under time pressure,’” Trump said. “No, no — you know who’s under time pressure? [Iran is], because if they don’t get their oil moving, their whole oil infrastructure is going to explode.”
Trump says he asked Iran not to execute 8 women as a "moral request"
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he was making a “moral request” of Iran when he asked authorities not to execute eight women protesters as part of ongoing negotiations.
“Eight young women were going to be executed yesterday afternoon, at 6:00, and I asked them — call it a favor, or call it just a moral request — that they not be executed. And they came back with an answer that they won’t be executed,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“I said, let’s see if we can save them, and there were, it was very nice what happened. So they’re not going to be, what they’re doing is, as you know, they’re releasing four of them very shortly, and they’re going to keep four of them in jail for a period of one month and release them, so they won’t be executed,” the president added.
Iranian officials have denied they were ready to execute any women. The competing accounts add to ongoing questions about the accuracy of information surrounding individual cases inside Iran’s judicial system.
Trump’s announcement follows previous instances in which he has falsely claimed alleged death sentences in Iran that were later disputed.
Alejandra Jaramillo contributed to this report.
US seized Iranian vessel carrying dialysis supplies, Iran's Red Crescent says
An Iranian vessel seized by the United States on Sunday was carrying medical supplies for dialysis patients, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said today, while calling the US action a violation of international law.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that US forces fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship after it tried to get past a US naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman.
“Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA, nearly 900 feet long and weighing almost as much as an aircraft carrier, tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
In a statement Thursday, the Iranian Red Crescent Society and the National Committee on Humanitarian Law said the vessel was carrying “raw materials required for producing supplies for dialysis patients.”
“Any disruption in the supply of these essential items could directly threaten the health and lives of patients in need of dialysis treatment,” the statement continued.
The statement called the US actions “contrary to the fundamental principles of humanitarian law.”
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
Trump says he has "all the time in the world" to reach a deal to end the war
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is under no pressure to quickly reach a deal with Iran to end the war, arguing that time favors the United States and not Iran.
“I am possibly the least pressured person ever to be in this position. I have all the time in the World, but Iran doesn’t — The clock is ticking!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social about ending the conflict.
The president again described Iran’s military position as significantly weakened, saying: “Iran’s Navy is lying at the bottom of the Sea, their Air Force is demolished, their Anti Aircraft and Radar Weaponry is gone, their leaders are no longer with us, the Blockade is airtight and strong and, from there, it only gets worse — Time is not on their side!”
The president continued to say that any agreement to end the war would be made on US terms and his timeline, emphasizing that a deal will come only “when it’s appropriate and good” for the United States, as well as “our Allies and, in fact, the rest of the World.”
Earlier Thursday, Trump expressed frustration with Iran’s leadership as he awaits a “unified” proposal to end the war.
