Here's the latest
• Mixed signals on US-Iran talks: Iran said that no negotiation meetings are scheduled with the US at any level in the coming days, despite President Donald Trump saying the US will meet with Iran in Qatar tomorrow.
• In Lebanon: Fighting between Hezbollah and Israel continued in Lebanon over the weekend despite a recent agreement between the countries. Iran has demanded a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon as part of a final deal with the US.
• Strait of Hormuz: Marine traffic through the strait has modestly picked up in the last 36 hours, according to ship tracking data. A growing number of vessels are also using a route close to the Omani coast, threatening Tehran’s leverage over the waterway.
Iran's president says it will honor commitments if US does, too
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Monday that Iran will honor its commitments if the United States does the same, while warning that Tehran will respond firmly to threats.
In a post on X, Pezeshkian said: “Mutual understanding is a two-way street. If the American party adheres to the agreement, we will also fulfill our commitments.”
Without naming US President Donald Trump, he added a gibe that appeared to be aimed at the White House.
“Our approach towards unreasonable grumbles and baseless threats relies on rationality and human dignity in decision-making, and decisive and unhesitant defense when it comes to action,” Pezeshkian said.
Shipping traffic consistent through Strait of Hormuz
Over two dozen commercial vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, according to MarineTraffic data, ahead of US-Iran peace talks that President Donald Trump says are set for tomorrow.
The ships included six tankers and eight cargo ships exiting the Persian Gulf and five tankers and six cargo ships entering it.
These figures are consistent with crossing rates seen in recent days, as shipping continues at a depressed pace. Before the war, about 110 vessels crossed the strait every day on average.
In the months since, the strait has seen intense GPS spoofing — a form of navigation systems interference that causes vessels’ broadcast positions to appear in the wrong locations. Spoofing has subsided noticeably in recent weeks.
Iran says no talks planned with US in coming days
Iran said Monday that no negotiation meetings are scheduled with the United States at any level in the coming days, as Tehran remains focused on implementing the memorandum of understanding rather than moving to final agreement talks.
Esmaeil Baghaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry and its negotiating team, said Tehran’s current priority is to ensure implementation of the memorandum’s provisions and to press its demands under the arrangement, the official Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported Monday.
Baghaei said the United States has issued the necessary licenses tied to Clause 10, which covers oil sales, and that Iran is following up on implementing them.
He said the implementation of Clause 11, related to the release of Iran’s frozen assets, is also being pursued. In that context, an expert delegation from Iran will travel to Doha later this week, he said.
Baghaei said Iran and the United States have not yet entered the stage of negotiating a final agreement. Under Clause 13 of the memorandum, he said, talks on a final agreement can begin only after implementation has started on Clauses 1, 4, 5, 10 and 11, and those provisions continue to be carried out.
He added that any visit by US representatives to Qatar is unrelated to the Iranian delegation’s trip, which he said is intended to follow up on implementation of the memorandum, including Clause 11.
Israeli defense minister: Trump linked Iran and Lebanon conflicts despite our opposition
US President Donald Trump insisted on linking the wars in Lebanon and Iran during ceasefire talks, Israel’s defense minister said Monday, despite Israel’s desire to handle them as separate conflicts.
Katz said that Israel had “no territorial ambitions” in Lebanon, but that it had received US backing to stay there until Hezbollah is disarmed across the entire country.
Lebanon has already complicated nascent talks between the US and Iran. Tehran has demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon before signing a final agreement with Washington, while Israel has made it clear it will not withdraw from southern Lebanon until Iranian proxy Hezbollah is fully disarmed.
According to an Israeli official, Katz also said that Israel had destroyed 100% of the villages adjacent to the western portion of the Israel-Lebanon border and approximately 73% in the rest. He said that about 200,000 people displaced from southern Lebanon will not be allowed to return to their homes.
Katz reiterated Israel’s policy that Israel will strike the Dahiyeh neighborhood of Beirut if Hezbollah attacks northern Israel. He also said that Israel was prepared to resume the war with Iran, either if Trump concludes the negotiations have failed or if Iran attacks Israel.
Iranian president says $6 billion of assets frozen in Qatar will be returned
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that half of Iran’s frozen assets held in Qatar will be returned to Tehran.
Pezeshkian was quoted by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency as making the announcement during meetings with senior Iranian clerics in the city of Qom.
“Based on the plans made, $6 billion out of the total $12 billion of Iran’s resources in Qatar will be returned to the country, and the necessary follow-ups are also underway for the return of the remaining part of these resources,” Pezeshkian was quoted as saying.
US officials have said that no frozen Iranian assets have yet been released. A US official said Monday in a statement: “Iranian assets that are released would be used to purchase American agricultural products to feed the Iranian people. Any release of funds for humanitarian purchases will be tied to performance and Iran’s implementation of the MOU.”
The memorandum of understanding agreed between the US and Iran earlier this month stipulated that Washington “undertakes to make fully available for use the frozen or restricted funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran upon the implementation” of the agreement.
Iran has long insisted in the talks that the return of assets frozen in overseas banks must be part of the process following the signing of the memorandum.
Senior Lebanese official slams US-brokered agreement with Israel
Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday slammed the US-brokered agreement between Israel and Lebanon, saying it “won’t be implemented” and it could spark hostilities within Lebanon.
Berri, the head of Lebanon’s Amal Movement and considered a key ally of Hezbollah, told Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper that the deal has the potential to “incite internal divisions and draw the Lebanese into a confrontation among themselves.” The Amal Movement put out a separate statement saying that the agreement is “unbalanced” and favors Israel in many clauses “at the expense of the national interest.”
Berri also said that negotiations between the United States and Iran are the only realistic opportunity to secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
The initial agreement, signed on Friday, calls for Israel to withdraw from two areas in southern Lebanon, transferring those sites to the Lebanese military. In a prerecorded video statement on Friday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces were leaving sites that the military “does not need” in Lebanon.
This just in: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated Monday that his country will not fully withdraw from Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed, arguing that “we have effectively secured US backing to remain in southern Lebanon for as long as Hezbollah has not been disarmed throughout the country.” Netanyahu has previously described the agreement as a major win for Israel, allowing the Israeli military to remain in much of the territory it occupies, as long as Hezbollah is not disarmed.
The bottom line: CNN previously reported that Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon have complicated efforts to secure a lasting peace agreement between the United States and Iran. Iran has demanded a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon as part of a final deal with the US. These latest comments by Berri and Katz further reveal the difficulties with penning and implementing separate agreements that relate to overlapping issues.
CNN’s Dana Karni and Eyad Kourdi contributed to this report.
Qatar temporarily halts all marine vessels after citizen killed by shrapnel
Qatar’s Ministry of Transport on Monday issued an “important notice” calling on users of marine vessels, including jet skis, to stop sailing until further notice due to safety concerns.
The directive applies to “all owners and users of marine vessels, including leisure boats, fishing boats, jet skis and all similar marine vessels,” the ministry said. It added that vessels subject to international maritime conventions are exempt and will continue operating under applicable regulations and procedures.
The ministry said the move is a temporary precaution taken in coordination with the relevant security authorities. It urged full compliance and said any updates would be announced through official channels.
The notice came a day after Qatar’s Interior Ministry said a Qatari citizen aboard a vessel was killed after suffering injuries from shrapnel resulting from “military operations in the area.”
According to the ministry, the victim was found after maritime patrols launched a search for a vessel that had failed to return on time during routine monitoring by the General Directorate of Coasts and Borders Security.
The statement did not say whether the shrapnel was connected to Iranian drones launched Sunday against US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Trump says the US and Iran will meet tomorrow, after earlier threatening military action
Representatives from the US are set to meet with their Iranian counterparts in Doha, Qatar, tomorrow, according to a Truth Social post today from US President Donald Trump.
The two sides traded attacks over the weekend, straining the already fragile ceasefire between them.
Here’s a look at what else Trump said over the weekend about the conflict:
- On Friday, the day after the US said that Iran struck a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement.”
- In a post Saturday on Truth Social, Trump also threatened Iran, saying the US may be forced to take more military action if Tehran continues to launch strikes. “It is very possible that they will never learn!” he wrote. “There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”
- Earlier today, Trump posted about tomorrow’s potential US-Iran meeting in Qatar. “IRAN HAS REQUESTED A MEETING. IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA!” he said.
CNN’s Aileen Graef, Dalia Abdelwahab and Casey Gannon contributed to this reporting.
Rubio will brief House lawmakers on Iran agreement this afternoon, source says
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will brief House lawmakers of both parties on the tentative agreement with Iran at 4 p.m. ET today, a source familiar with the plans told CNN.
It will be the first time that most members will hear directly from the Trump administration on its efforts to wind down the war. The briefing will take place virtually, as some lawmakers will still be traveling back to Washington ahead of tonight’s 6:30 p.m. votes. It comes after the US said both sides have agreed to stand down, for now, after weekend strikes.
Politico first reported the briefing.
Trump says meeting with Iran will take place in Doha Tuesday
US President Donald Trump said the US will meet with Iran in Doha on Tuesday.
“IRAN HAS REQUESTED A MEETING. IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA!” he posted on Truth Social early Monday.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s chief negotiator, had previously told reporters that no technical working group meetings have been scheduled for this week.
A senior US official, meanwhile, told CNN yesterday that technical talks regarding the memorandum of understanding were “on track” as planned despite a recent exchange of fire.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News shortly after the president’s post to say there will be high-level talks with technical talks on the sidelines.
“Well, I just spoke with the president about it. Iran has requested a meeting this week, so Special Envoy (Steve) Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be flying to Doha for high-level meetings this week as we continue to discuss the memorandum of understanding,” she said.
Shipping through Hormuz increasing, tracking data suggests
Marine traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has modestly picked up in the last 36 hours, according to ship tracking data.
A US official told CNN Sunday that the United States and Iran “will stand down for now” following exchanges of fire near the Strait of Hormuz over the last several days.
Several larger tankers were outbound through the Strait on Monday, according to their automatic identification system (AIS) transponders, which showed them on a southern route close to the Omani coast.
Among them was a partially loaded chemical and oil tanker, the Vaughan, showing its destination as the UAE port of Fujairah outside the Gulf. A laden crude tanker, the Das, was on a similar route leaving the Gulf, as was the Greek-operated Nissos Heraclea, which left the Iraqi port of Basra three days ago.
Three container ships have entered the Gulf over the past three days – the first with commercial links to major carriers to do so since the start of the conflict, according to marine intelligence firm Kpler.
However, it’s difficult to gauge total traffic as many ships are sailing without transponders active.
Tehran insists that ships must have its permission to travel through the Strait on designated routes. But a growing number of vessels are using a route close to the Omani coast, threatening Iran’s leverage over the waterway.
Some ships are still using a route designated by Iran, including a bulk carrier – the Star Kamila – entering the Gulf on Monday.
According to a report on Iranian state television Monday, the Iranian Navy has again warned vessels to only pass south of Larak Island, just off the Iranian coast.
On Sunday, there were a total of 42 transits through Hormuz, according to marine intelligence group Windward. Twenty-eight were inbound and 14 outbound. Outbound flow was dominated by bulk carriers and product tankers.
Traffic on Sunday included a five-vessel inbound convoy that transited via the southern corridor, near the Omani coast, including a very large crude tanker entering the Gulf for the first time since anchoring in February, Windward said.
US-Iran talks to take place in Doha on Tuesday, source says
Talks between the US and Iran will start in Doha on Tuesday, a source with knowledge of the talks tells CNN.
US President Donald Trump announced in a social media post on Monday that American and Iranian negotiators will meet on Tuesday.
Why oil prices are rising so tepidly after weekend of conflict
Oil prices are rising after a weekend of back-and-forth strikes near the Strait of Hormuz. But not by as much as you’d think.
Brent crude was up just 0.6%. US oil prices are up only around 0.8%. And oil remains below where it had traded before the war started.
What’s going on here? Sure, the US and Iran agreed to end hostilities in the strait. But there are 3 reasons why oil has tumbled so low and is staying there.
Supply: The cushion of record oil supply before the war has kept a cap on prices throughout the conflict. They never approached record highs despite the strait’s closure creating the largest oil supply shock in world history. And oil analysts expect OPEC to start producing rapidly again soon, potentially creating another massive supply glut.
Demand: As prices rose and oil became scarce in some parts of the world – particularly Asia, demand fell much more sharply than expected. That was particularly true in China, which rapidly switched to alternate fuels during the war – and the industry expects demand may never fully return.
Trump: Inventories in the US are at critical levels. President Donald Trump recognizes that: He said as much two weeks ago. The market believes he is hugely incentivized to keep the strait open. And, like clockwork, the president announced in a social media post Monday that US and Iranian negotiators will meet tomorrow.
First direct commercial flight between UAE and Iran lands since war began
A commercial plane flew from Iran to the United Arab Emirates on Monday in the first direct flight between the two countries since the war erupted four months ago.
The Sepehran Airlines plane landed at Dubai International Airport at 1:39 p.m., according to the airport’s website. Another flight from Dubai to Tehran is scheduled for later today.
The UAE bore the brunt of Tehran’s attacks during the US-Israeli war. Iran responded by firing nearly 2,000 missiles and drones at the UAE, targeting military, energy and civilian sites.
Relations between Iran and the UAE – a close US ally that has strong ties with Israel – remained turbulent even after Washington and Tehran reached a ceasefire in April.
One of Iran’s biggest trading partners before the war, the UAE adopted a more hawkish stance on Iran after coming under attack, downgrading economic and cultural ties, among other measures.
Last week, however, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a call with his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the first known conversation between the two since the war began.
Weekend escalation shows how far Iran is willing to go to control Hormuz
Escalation over the weekend between Tehran and Washington underscored that the Strait of Hormuz remains the most precarious issue threatening the ceasefire, as the two rivals clash over competing interpretations of who ultimately governs the vital oil chokepoint.
Traffic at the strait is now effectively partitioned into multiple routes. Iran insists that vessels use its own designated corridor and has fired on ships using other routes, rendering all alternatives unsafe.
Tehran remains unrelenting even after the US military struck Iran in retaliation for the Islamic Republic’s attacks on transiting ships. It is signaling that it will aggressively defend its newly acquired control of the strait, even if that means putting its own infrastructure at risk to preserve its greatest gain from the war.
The weekend’s escalation triggered a sharp drop in the number of ships transiting the strait after more than a week of optimistic traffic recovery in the corridor, observers say.
But as vessels pull back from the other routes, traffic through the Iran-approved route remains steady, shipping experts say.
Despite the setback, maritime experts remain optimistic. They view the return to calm today as a sign that an all-out conflict is still unlikely. Instead, the exchanges appear driven by competing interpretations of control over the Strait.
“The Strait of Hormuz remains the principal flashpoint, but also the principal focus of ongoing negotiations,” Dimitris Maniatis, CEO of maritime risk consultancy Marisks told CNN, adding that Washington and Tehran “demonstrated a willingness to retaliate while simultaneously preserving the diplomatic track.”
As long as dialogue continues, Maniatis assess that there “remains a realistic window of opportunity for commercial transits under carefully managed conditions,” although the “security environment remains fragile and capable of changing with little warning.”
Additional reporting by Eleni Giokos
The US and Iran traded fire over the weekend. Catch up here
This past weekend saw the US and Iran trade multiple attacks, straining an already delicate ceasefire.
A residential building in Bahrain was heavily damaged in an Iranian attack, its Interior Ministry said, and a Qatari citizen died because of shrapnel resulting from “the military operations in the area,” according to Qatar’s Interior Ministry.
Here’s a look at developments in the conflict over the past few days:
Strikes exchanged
The renewed exchange of fire began on Thursday, when Iran struck a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump described the attack as a “foolish violation” of the agreement to end the war, and on Friday, the US military conducted strikes against Iranian military targets around the strait.
The US carried out further strikes on Saturday, which Iran called a “clear violation” of the memorandum of understanding. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Sunday that it targeted US facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait in retaliation for US airstrikes.
Strait of Hormuz
While Iran has not claimed responsibility for the initial attack on Thursday, it came hours after the IRGC warned that vessels would only be given safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz via Iranian routes.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said yesterday that any interference in Iran’s management of the Strait of Hormuz will escalate tensions, amid signs of ships evading Tehran-controlled routes. Several large merchant ships also passed through the southern part of the waterway yesterday, though this traffic was still only a fraction of pre-war levels.
Latest on talks
After the renewed attacks, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said yesterday that the US would continue to target Iranian military infrastructure if Tehran threatened shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
A senior US administration official told CNN that technical talks regarding the US-Iran memorandum of understanding are still “on track” despite the exchange of fire. Hours after this, a Trump administration official said that the US and Iran “will stand down for now,” adding that “vessels can move freely.” It’s not yet clear what Iran’s position is on the matter.
Continued fighting in Lebanon
In an agreement signed on Friday, Israel agreed that it would withdraw from two areas in southern Lebanon and transfer the sites to the Lebanese military. The next day, the Israeli military carried out a drone attack in southern Lebanon. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) official told CNN the strike was aimed at eliminating a threat to its troops.
In the days since, fighting has continued in southern Lebanon. Yesterday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said that a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon must be part of a final deal with the US. Also yesterday, Israel approved continued military operations in southern Lebanon.
CNN’s Brad Lendon, Ibrahim Dahman, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Zachary Cohen, Jessie Yeung, Kevin Liptak, Casey Gannon, Yasha Saebi, Aida Karimi, Tim Lister, Kathleen Magramo, Logan Schiciano, Julia Benbrook, Hanna Ziady, Eugenia Yosef and Oren Liebermann contributed to this reporting.
Iran says no technical talks scheduled with US on major issues
Technical talks between the US and Iran on implementing a broader agreement between the two governments will not resume this week, according to a senior Iranian official.
Kazem Gharibabadi, a deputy Foreign Minister and the official leading Iran’s delegation to the technical talks, told reporters in Muscat, Oman, that “no technical working group meetings have been scheduled for this week,” according to Iranian news agencies.
The technical groups were agreed when US and Iranian delegations were in Switzerland earlier this month for talk mediated by Qatar and Pakistan.
The negotiators decided that four working groups would be established, on sanctions, Iran’s nuclear enrichment program and uranium stocks, reconstruction and economic development, and on monitoring progress towards an agreement.
“Although consultations with Qatar, including on the implementation of the other side’s commitments, are continuing as usual, reports by some media outlets claiming that technical working-group talks will be held in Doha are not confirmed,” Gharibabadi said.
The first round of such talks will be held “once the necessary conditions are in place and after agreement is reached on the date and venue,” he added.
Correction: This post has been corrected to say that the technical talks will be held between the US and Iran.
Fighting in Lebanon continues days after new agreement
Conflict between Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces in south Lebanon continued over the weekend, days after the countries signed a new agreement.
The Israeli military said it struck three “Hezbollah command centers” in south Lebanon’s Nabatieh and Mayfadoun on Sunday. Israeli forces also dismantled what they said was a launcher that Hezbollah used to direct attacks at them, it added.
In a separate statement on Monday, Hezbollah said Israeli forces struck residential buildings in Nabatieh and Mayfadoun, among other attacks, calling them “a blatant violation of the ceasefire.”
Some context: An agreement signed in Washington on Friday, which both sides framed as a first step, stipulates Israel will withdraw troops from two areas in southern Lebanon. Two days after signing the agreement, Israel approved continued military operations in southern Lebanon.
Iran wants a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon as part of a final deal with the US.
Strait of Hormuz traffic still only a fraction of pre-war levels, data shows
A total of 124 commodity vessels transited through the Strait of Hormuz since Thursday, according to Kpler, a data intelligence firm that tracks global shipping and commodity flows.
The number of ships that passed through the strait in four days is now similar to the number of vessels transiting in a single day before the war. Kpler data showed over 100 ships used to pass through the strait daily before the war began.
Kpler’s data tracked commodity ships such as tankers, dry bulk, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessels but not shipping containers.
Maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies travel, remains stalled as renewed tensions flared in the region. In recent days, the US and Iran exchanged fire near the Strait of Hormuz and US military sites in Gulf nations were targeted.
While a Trump administration official said Sunday “vessels can move freely” in the strait, the situation remains tense in the waterway, leaving commercial vessel operators and their crews facing uncertainty and risk.
Despite US-Iran agreement, ship operators face difficult choice in Strait of Hormuz
The agreement which the US and Iran signed earlier this month stipulates that Iran will make “arrangements using its best efforts” to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
But for Iran, reopening the strait does not mean relinquishing control of it. A vaguely worded article in the agreement said Iran and Oman would work together to “define the future administration” of the waterway, effectively giving Tehran a formal role in managing it.
Three distinct routes for ships have now emerged, with different authorities vying to organize the transit of dozens of vessels through the waterway. One southern route goes through the waters off Oman; a second route, which was used before the war, passes through the middle of the strait; and a third route further north is controlled by Iran.
There is growing evidence that operators are prepared to use the Omani route.
On Thursday, 18 vessels transited inbound and 45 outbound through the Strait of Hormuz, according to maritime intelligence analysts Windward. It said more than half the vessels leaving the Gulf had used the southern route close to Oman.
Several large merchant ships used the southern route on Sunday heading for ports in the Gulf, according to ship tracking service Marine Traffic. A container ship also passed through the strait by the same route.
Nevertheless, the lack of clarity over which route to take is complicating efforts for trade in the waterway to return to pre-war levels.
The competing corridors have left ship operators confused, forcing them to navigate not only the treacherous waters but also the complex political currents across the strait.
If ships opt for the non-Iranian routes, they risk being attacked. If they use the Iranian route, they fear the risk of Western sanctions should the agreement collapse.
