Here's the latest
• Trump confident: The president said the US could be sealing a deal with Iran within days, the latest in Donald Trump’s dozens of promises that the end of the monthslong war was close. He said the deal would allow the Strait of Hormuz to reopen, and ban Iran from having nuclear weapons.
• US helicopter crash: Asked about a New York Times report that a US Army helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said “the pilots are fine” and that more information would be made public in the coming hours.
• On the ground: Iran and Israel halted strikes against each other but said they are ready to resume attacks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s offensive in Lebanon would continue — a conflict that Tehran warned would prompt Iranian attacks. Trump warned Netanyahu that further strikes on Iran could isolate him.
Trump and Netanyahu remain far apart, former Israeli diplomat says
The relationship between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “diverging,” a former top Israeli diplomat told CNN.
When asked if Trump and Netanyahu were on the same page, Alon Pinkas responded: “They’re not even on the same book at this point.”
The former Israeli Consul General in New York City said this was “evident in how Trump is talking about Netanyahu in the last two weeks.”
Pinkas also raised concerns over the lack of exit strategy for Israel’s offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon — and pointed out that conflict has become part of Netanyahu’s political campaign.
Here's how many times Trump claimed an Iran deal was close
It’s been more than two months since President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran, saying at the time that the two sides were close to a deal.
Trump said on April 7 that they were “very far along” but needed two weeks for “the Agreement to be finalized and consummated.” He concluded by saying that “it is an Honor to have this Longterm problem close to resolution.”
There was no resolution, of course. But Trump has nonetheless spent the two months since then continuing to suggest a deal was right around the corner. A lot.
Including the period before the ceasefire, he’s done it at least 37 times. That’s the number of times he’s said directly — in social media posts, public appearances and phone calls with the media — that a deal was nigh or claimed Iran was desperate to cut one.
There’s no indication that’s any more true today than it was back on April 7. But Trump keeps saying it, either because he’s delusional, trying to calm the financial markets or thinking he can will it into existence.
But it’s clearly not a claim people should take seriously anymore.
Trump says Iran deal could come in "two or three days," will ban nuclear weapons and reopen Hormuz
A deal aimed at ending the conflict with Iran could be reached “in two or three days,” US President Donald Trump told reporters early Tuesday, adding that that outcome would stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon and lead to the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump, who spoke to reporters after attending the NBA Finals in Madison Square Garden, said Iran and Israel had agreed to stop firing at each other following the worst escalation in tensions between the two since a shaky ceasefire came into effect in early April.
“They were going back and forth (with strikes), and now they both agreed, through me, to stop,” he told reporters before boarding Air Force One.
“The strait will open up right away. It’ll open up immediately upon signing, which could be in two or three days,” he added.
He said he didn’t think there were any sticking points, and that all parties were “very close” to reaching a deal. Meanwhile, the US blockade on Iranian ports is continuing, he added.
Some context: It’s worth remembering that Trump has made similar optimistic claims that a deal was about to be signed during back-and-forth negotiations, only for conflict to flare up once more.
This moment is particularly precarious, with Iran and Israel halting attacks on each other after trading fresh strikes Sunday and Monday – though Tehran warned it would resume if Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon continue.
Trump says “pilots are fine” after report US Army helicopter went down near Strait of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump said “the pilots are fine” after being asked about a report that a US Army helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz.
The New York Times reported that a US Army Apache helicopter gunship went down near the strait on Monday, and that two crew members were rescued.
“The pilots are fine, nobody injured,” Trump told reporters in New York after attending Monday night’s NBA Finals game. “We are going to issue a report tomorrow,” Trump added.
He did not provide further information on what happened. The New York Times report said it was not clear what brought down the helicopter.
How the war in Iran is driving Trump and Netanyahu apart
The latest Israel-Iran attacks are exposing a growing rift between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. CNN’s Kevin Liptak reports.
The latest Israel-Iran attacks are exposing a growing rift between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While Trump is looking for a deal to end the war, Netanyahu remains skeptical of negotiations with Iran. As political pressure mounts on both leaders, questions are growing about whether they're still on the same page. CNN’s Kevin Liptak reports.
US and Israel have "differences" to iron out, Israeli ambassador tells CNN
Israel and the US still have “some differences” to work out on how to end the war with Iran, the Israeli ambassador to Washington told CNN, as President Donald Trump suggested he would be declaring “total victory” within two weeks.
When asked if Israel believes a deal to end the war could be reached within two weeks, as Trump suggested Monday, Leiter said it would depend on the specific terms of agreement.
“If we can end this war where Iran no longer has a nuclear weapons program, no longer has a ballistic missile program that can hold the world hostage and no longer supports its proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah… then the war will be won, whether it’s in two weeks or two hours,” Leiter said.
When asked about Trump’s recent remark that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “doesn’t call the shots” and would have to accept any deal the US reaches with Iran, Leiter reluctantly agreed, but added that “there’s a wonderful relationship between the president and the prime minister.”
“We entered this war against Iran together, and I think we’re going to end it together on the same page,” he said.
Iran doesn’t see “serious will” from US to finalize deal, top Iranian official says
A top Iranian official told CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen major roadblocks persist on issues like Iran’s nuclear program and uranium enrichment.
Iran’s top security official told CNN's Frederik Pleitgen that major obstacles remain to any U.S.–Iran deal, citing disputes over nuclear and enrichment issues, deep mistrust, and what Tehran sees as a lack of U.S. will to finalize a framework. The comments come amid renewed Iran‑Israel tensions following recent cross‑border attacks. CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
US emergency oil reserve nears Biden-era low
America’s stockpile of emergency crude oil is shrinking fast, rapidly approaching the four-decade low set under former President Joe Biden.
US officials continue to aggressively drain the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to cushion the blow caused by the war with Iran.
According to Energy Department data released on Monday, the SPR declined by another 7.9 million barrels last week, in line with the 8 million barrels released the week before.
That leaves the SPR with 349.2 million barrels of oil, the lowest since August 2023.
At this pace, the SPR will decline below 346.8 million this week, the Biden-era low from July 2023.
That would leave the US emergency oil reserve with the least amount of oil since the early 1980s, when the economy was smaller and consumed less energy.
When he launched his campaign for the White House in 2022, President Donald Trump blasted Biden for aggressively draining the SPR ahead of that year’s midterms.
But Trump is now releasing emergency oil at an even faster pace ahead of this year’s midterms.
The SPR is down by 66 million barrels since the war started in late February.
Mike Sommers, CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, has warned about the toll the Iran war is having on the SPR. Here’s what he told CNN about production around the globe:
Trump warns Netanyahu as Iran and Israel halt strikes. Catch up here
President Donald Trump suggested the US would be declaring “total victory” over Iran in the next two weeks. “They’re willing to give us everything, they’re willing to give us no nuclear weapon,” he said Monday at a rally.
It’s not the first time he’s made promises about significant progress in “two weeks.” The ceasefire with Iran was supposed to last two weeks while negotiators finished a deal to end the war.
Here’s what else to know:
- Israel was preparing for a significant attack in Tehran on Monday when Trump convinced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off, according to an Israeli source and a US official.
- Shortly after the call between Trump and Netanyahu on Monday, the Israeli leader announced his country had accepted the US request to halt strikes on Iran, but said attacks in Lebanon will continue.
- It was Trump’s second phone call to Netanyahu in a matter of hours. Trump told Axios that he warned the Israeli prime minister that he would isolate himself if he continued to strike Iran.
- Tehran warned it would resume attacks against Israel if its strikes continued in southern Lebanon. Within hours, Israeli strikes killed five people in southern Lebanon.
- Iranian official Ebrahim Azizi said Tehran has “no problem” pushing forward with peace talks with the US, but any potential agreement hinges on the US changing its behavior amid a climate of deep mistrust.
- Iran issued several warnings about its influence over oil trade. Tehran’s top foreign policy official pledged to maintain control over the critical Strait of Hormuz, criticizing fresh European Union sanctions. A top negotiator said Iran will “defeat” the US naval blockade of its ports. And the commander of Iran’s Quds Force said a “new security belt of the resistance” would be established from the Strait of Hormuz to the Bab al-Mandab — a gateway to the Red Sea.
CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen, Jennifer Hansler, Billy Stockwell, Aida Karimi, Kevin Liptak, Tal Shalev, Jeremy Diamond, Zachary Cohen, Oren Liebermann, Caitlin Danaher, Eyad Kourdi and Kit Maher contributed reporting to this post.
