Where things stand
• Ceasefire collapses: President Donald Trump said the US will continue talks with Iran but that Washington has informed Tehran the ceasefire is over. The US is also imposing fresh sanctions on the regime. There’s a lull in the fighting after a flurry of recent strikes, but Iran’s top negotiator warned the country is ready to mount an “all-out defense” if necessary.
• Diplomatic efforts: Qatari negotiators are meeting with Iranian officials, a source said, and Pakistani mediators are also involved in efforts to de-escalate.
• Nuclear sites: Iran may be attempting to rebuild nuclear facilities damaged by US-Israeli bombing, satellite imagery obtained by CNN reveals.
• At sea: A CNN team embedded with the US Navy spotted multiple commercial vessels in the Gulf of Oman, not far from the Strait of Hormuz. Crossings in the key strait have dropped recently as shipping companies operate with more caution.
Vessel traffic through Strait of Hormuz remains muted
At least 15 commercial vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, according to MarineTraffic data, as the US and Iran traded strikes.
A total of 11 ships entered the Persian Gulf — six cargo vessels and five tankers. An additional four cargo vessels crossed the Strait into the Gulf of Oman.
These figures remain in line with subdued vessel traffic observed in recent weeks, which surged briefly during US-Iran negotiations. Before the war, roughly 110 vessels passed through the Strait each day on average.
The region has also experienced months of GPS spoofing, a form of navigational interference that causes ships’ broadcast positions to appear in incorrect locations. These vessel crossings do not appear to have been spoofed.
Iran's foreign minister expected to travel to Oman this weekend, source tells CNN
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to travel to Oman on Saturday to discuss the Strait of Hormuz and broader regional developments, a source familiar with the matter told CNN Friday.
Iranian state media IRNA has also reported that Araghchi will travel to Oman on Saturday along with a diplomatic delegation, particularly to discuss the situation in the strait.
The expected visit comes as interlocutors try to revive the faltering diplomatic process. On Friday, US President Donald Trump again declared that the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding is “over,” but said that talks with Iran would continue.
Iran’s chief negotiator, meanwhile, said Tehran is prepared for “all-out defense” if the United States breaks the Memorandum of Understanding.
The Strait of Hormuz – which runs between Iran and Oman, with their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) meeting in the middle – has emerged as the key stumbling block to the ceasefire, as Iran has continued to assert control over parts of the key waterway and fired on ships earlier this week. In response, the US launched days of military strikes on Iranian targets.
Although US officials have said Iran cannot control the strait, the Memorandum of Understanding does not explicitly spell that out. Instead, it is ambiguous, calling for Iran to “make arrangements… for the safe passage of commercial vessels” and engage with Oman “to define the future administration” of the waterway.
Trump administration imposes fresh sanctions on Iran in response to ship attacks
The Trump administration on Friday imposed fresh sanctions on Tehran following Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week.
The sanctions are the latest in a string of retaliatory actions by the administration for those attacks. They come as the administration seeks to re-up pressure on the regime as diplomatic efforts falter. The US earlier this week carried out days of bombing of Iranian targets and rescinded a waiver to allow Iran to sell its oil without sanctions.
On Friday, President Donald Trump again declared that the US-Iran memorandum of understanding is “over,” but said that talks with Tehran would continue.
Mediators work to get US-Iran talks back on track after Trump says ceasefire is over
The ceasefire between the United States and Iran is over, President Donald Trump said today, as mediators work to try to get both sides back to the bargaining table.
It follows a flurry of strikes in recent days after Tehran targeted multiple vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic is still at a trickle and questions remain about key details of the memorandum of understanding agreed by both sides last month.
Here’s the latest:
- Trump said the US has agreed to continue talks with Iran, but he also reiterated that Washington has informed Tehran that the ceasefire is no longer in effect. Trump did not order additional strikes Thursday.
- Chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran is prepared for “all-out defense” if the US breaks their agreement. “Of course, ending the war is a priority for countries around the world. However, everyone must understand that this conflict will never end with Iran’s surrender.”
- Qatari negotiators have traveled to Iran to meet officials there in an effort to de-escalate the situation, a diplomat with knowledge of the visit told CNN. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian also held a phone call with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this afternoon. Qatar and Pakistan have been key mediators between the warring sides.
- The US military strategy has been to deliberately strike and then pause to avoid escalation and to let diplomacy work, a US official told CNN.
- The Trump administration doesn’t want Israel involved in the fighting over concerns of losing control of the conflict, according to two Israeli sources. On Thursday, Israel’s defense minister said the Israel Defense Forces was ready to resume the war against Iran once again.
- Satellite imagery obtained by CNN from Vantor shows signs that Iran may be attempting to rebuild its nuclear facilities. The images show activity at nuclear sites and missile facilities in late June and early July.
- Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation, Rosatom, has started returning employees of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant to Iran, according to Rosatom’s director-general. Bushehr is Iran’s only nuclear power reactor in operation.
- Meanwhile, Trump told The New York Post he has “left instructions” for the United States to respond with overwhelming military force if Iran were to assassinate him.
CNN’s Tal Shalev, Mostafa Salem, Alejandra Jaramillo, Aida Karimi, Anna Chernova, Allegra Goodwin, Katie Polglase and Lauren Kent contributed reporting to this post.
Iran's president holds call with mediator Pakistan to discuss latest developments
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian held a phone call with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday afternoon to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East, according to readouts from the Pakistani government and Iranian state media.
The Pakistani Prime Minister’s Office described the conversation as “warm and cordial,” and said that Sharif “expressed deep concern over the recent escalation in tensions in the region and underscored the urgent need to restore regional peace and stability.”
“The Prime Minister stressed the importance of upholding the commitments undertaken under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), describing it as an enduring framework for promoting mutual understanding, respect and shared prosperity in the region and beyond,” the readout added.
Pakistan and Qatar have served as key mediators in previous rounds of diplomatic discussions.
Meanwhile: Qatari negotiators have travelled to Iran to meet officials there in an effort to de-escalate the situation and create conditions for US-Iran talks to resume, a diplomat with knowledge of the visit told CNN on Friday. The trip was planned in coordination with the United States, the source said.
Iran may be rebuilding some nuclear sites, exclusive satellite images reveal
Exclusive satellite imagery obtained by CNN from Vantor shows signs that Iran may be attempting to rebuild its nuclear facilities.
A CNN visual investigation found new activity at several nuclear sites and missile facilities across the country in late June and early July. The activity at nuclear sites in particular raises questions as to whether Tehran violated the memorandum of understanding it signed with the United States on June 17.
For weeks, satellite providers have withheld imagery across the region following a US government request. CNN was able to analyze imagery after those restrictions were briefly relaxed. With US military action restarting, some restrictions have already come back into effect.
CNN found notable activity at a site in the Parchin military complex, known as Taleghan 2, where experts believe explosive material for nuclear weapons is stored. An analysis of the facility in conjunction with the Institute for Science and International Security identified repair and reconstruction work to several impact holes left by the US-Israeli bombing campaign, in images taken on June 22 and July 7.
At Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected underground nuclear site, imagery taken on June 21 shows vehicles entering and exiting tunnels, while the memorandum was in effect.
CNN has approached both the Iranian and US governments for comment on these findings. A Pentagon official told CNN they would not discuss battlefield conditions or intelligence matters due to operational security.
Top negotiator says Iran prepared for "all-out defense" if US breaks agreement
Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said Tehran is prepared for “all-out defense” if the United States breaks the Memorandum of Understanding signed last month.
That 14-point agreement spelled out provisions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, easing certain financial restrictions on Iran, and set expectations for addressing Iran’s nuclear program during future technical talks. The memorandum also noted that both Iran and the US would cease fire “on all fronts.”
“We do not trust the Americans. During the negotiations, I made it clear to the US vice-president that we have absolutely no trust in them,” Ghalibaf also said, IRIB reported on Friday. “Of course, ending the war is a priority for countries around the world. However, everyone must understand that this conflict will never end with Iran’s surrender.”
What the US has said: Ghalibaf’s comments come as US President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States has agreed to continue talks with Iran, but also reiterated that the ceasefire is “over.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks.’ We have agreed to do so,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “But the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!”
US cannot negotiate with Iran while it shoots at "civilian objects," US ambassador says
The United States prefers a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Iran, but at the same time, “stands ready to hold Iran to account for its acts that defy international peace and security,” Deputy US Representative to the United Nations Tammy Bruce said today.
It comes as the US repeatedly struck Iran this week after Tehran targeted multiple vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump said the US has agreed to continue talks with Iran but that Washington has informed Tehran the ceasefire established in a Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries is over.
Bruce said that in the last week, Iran has “taken actions that defy the substance and the spirit of the understanding established between our two countries.” She urged the United Nations to “remain fully engaged” on the issue of Iran’s nuclear program and reiterated that Tehran has “contravened international law and this council’s resolutions.”
“President Trump prefers peace, and we urge fellow council members to join us in upholding the instruments of this body,” Bruce said.
Other allies also expressed their support, with France’s representative, Jérôme Bonnafont, calling recent attacks by Iran in the Middle East “unacceptable.”
“We will continue to work with all of our partners to contribute to efforts aimed at achieving a durable diplomatic solution that will guarantee that Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon,” he said.
Trump says he has "left instructions" to strike Iran if he is assassinated
President Donald Trump said he has “left instructions” for the United States to respond with overwhelming military force if Iran were to succeed in assassinating him.
“I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with,” Trump told The New York Post on Friday.
“The only thing is, I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before,” he added.
Asked about Israel sharing intelligence of a new Iranian plot to assassinate him, Trump dismissed that there was a new plan, telling The Post: “No, no. Israel came up with nothing.”
The president added that Iran has wanted him dead for years. “I’ve been number one [on Iran’s kill list] for a long time, and it’s the way life is, you know.”
In February 2025, Trump similarly said he’d left instructions if Iran were to assassinate him. “I’ve left instructions if they do it, they get obliterated, there won’t be anything left,” he said during a visit from Israel’s prime minister.
CNN team embedded with US Navy spots commercial vessels near Strait of Hormuz
CNN’s team embedded with the US Navy spotted multiple commercial vessels in the Gulf of Oman on Friday, not far from the Strait of Hormuz. The vessels’ destinations and origins are unclear, but overall, ship-tracking data shows that crossings of the strait have fallen in recent days, as shipping companies operate with more caution.
Confirmed vessel crossings through the narrow waterway fell on Thursday for the second day in a row, dropping to 22 crossings, according to data from MarineTraffic. But that’s unlikely to show the full picture, as some ships in the region are turning off their tracking transponders in an effort to cross undetected.
One US official told CNN that diplomacy is happening behind the scenes to ease tensions in the US-Iran conflict. The US has been deliberately striking and then pausing to avoid escalation and let diplomacy work, the official said. It is maintaining a target list as leverage.
Meanwhile, aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, American troops continued to carry out operations that they say are defensive in nature, and the aircraft carrier remains on constant high alert for incoming Iranian attacks.
Russian employees of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant return to Iran
Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation, Rosatom, has started returning employees to Iran, according to Rosatom’s director-general.
Six Russian employees are now back in Tehran, although the process for returning employees to their posts at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in western Iran has been “halted” due to recent strikes.
The Rosatom chief said on Friday that there have been attacks on Iran’s Bushehr Province in recent days, but no attacks on the nuclear power plant itself.
Evacuated in April: Bushehr is Iran’s only nuclear power reactor in operation. Iranian authorities said back in March that projectiles struck the area around the plant multiple times. Then in April, Iranian state media said a projectile damaged a building near the power plant, killing a security staff member.
The outbreak of the US-Iran war prompted Rosatom to evacuate about 200 staff members from Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in April 4, state media reported at the time.
Latest attacks reported: On Thursday night, Iran’s IRNA news agency reported that a military facility near the city of Bushehr was hit by “US-Israeli enemy projectiles,” citing the political and security deputy governor of Bushehr province. IRNA did not provide details on the extent of the damage or casualties.
But a US official told CNN the US military is not currently conducting strikes, while Israeli officials said they were “not familiar with any Israeli involvement in strikes in Iran right now.”
CNN’s Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.
Trump says US has told Iran the ceasefire is "over," but insists talks will continue
President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States has agreed to continue talks with Iran, but he also reiterated that Washington has informed Tehran that the ceasefire is no longer in effect.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks.’ We have agreed to do so,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
“But the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!” the president added.
The US repeatedly struck Iran this week after Tehran targeted multiple vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. But Trump did not order additional strikes Thursday.
A diplomat told CNN that Qatari negotiators, in coordination with the United States, have traveled to Iran to meet with officials there. A US official had earlier told CNN that the Trump administration’s strategy was to strike and then pause military operations in an effort to avoid further escalation and allow diplomacy to continue.
A look at slain Iranian supreme leader's tomb
See inside the tomb of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to footage from Iranian state news agency Tasnim.
He was buried in the northeastern city of Mashhad, his birthplace.
Video of Khamenei's tomb was published Friday.
Khamenei’s funeral events, culminating Thursday, were crowded with large groups of mourners who genuinely believe in the Islamic Republic’s cause. But with a population of 90 million, Iran is a tale of two peoples: those who mourn, and those who don’t.
Qatari negotiators travel to Iran to de-escalate, source says
Qatari negotiators have travelled to Iran to meet officials there in an effort to de-escalate the situation and create conditions for US-Iran talks to resume, a diplomat with knowledge of the visit told CNN.
The trip was planned in coordination with the United States, the source said.
Friday saw a lull in fighting after escalating strikes threatened to derail the US-Iran agreement. Mediators are trying to bring the two sides back to the table.
A US official told CNN earlier that the military was deliberately striking and then pausing to avoid escalation and to let diplomacy work.
Sources say Trump administration doesn’t want Israel involved in US strikes
After a sharp escalation between the US and Iran that threatened to undo the ceasefire agreement, two Israeli sources say the Trump administration doesn’t want Israel involved in the fighting over concerns of losing control of the conflict.
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
On Thursday, Israel’s defense minister said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was ready to resume the war against Iran once again, even if it had to do it alone.
“The IDF is on high alert and prepared to resume the campaign, regain air superiority, and carry out an independent Israeli strike against Iran to eliminate threats — even for a third time,” said Israel Katz at the graduation ceremony for the IDF’s newest pilots. “If we have to return, we will return with even greater force.”
Nevertheless, one of the sources said the prevailing Israeli assessment is that Trump does not want a return to a full-scale war and that the most he may be willing to do is to reinstate the naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Fighting pauses — but no signs of compromise and unresolved questions remain over Hormuz
Iran sees the Strait of Hormuz as its biggest wartime gain — and appears determined to hold on to it, even at the risk of the ceasefire agreement unraveling.
Tehran’s view, experts say, is that the Trump administration is trying to return the waterway to prewar shipping levels without acknowledging Iran’s newfound authority there.
Iran has said ships traversing the strait can only follow the route it has assigned. The latest round of fighting began after the US retaliated against Iran for firing at vessels that did not comply with its directives.
At the heart of the renewed violence are competing interpretations of the fifth point of the memorandum of understanding (MoU). That section says Iran will “make arrangements… for the safe passage of commercial vessels” and engage with Oman “to define the future administration” of the strait. But it does not explicitly grant Iran exclusive authority over shipping there.
The ambiguities in the MoU may have helped end the fighting at first, Crisis Group notes. But they soon became a liability as both sides began interpreting the text in their own interests.
To prevent the rest of the ceasefire process from unraveling, the two sides must stop trying to impose their interpretation of the fifth point on each other — if only to calm the situation while negotiations continue, the think tank says. That would require Iran to stop firing at vessels and the US to stop pushing for alternative routes, at least for now.
Mediators say they are trying to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table. There has been no sign so far of a compromise, but the guns appear to have fallen silent — at least for today.
An obscured face at Khamenei’s burial creates more mystery
A figure with an obscured face stood among a row of carefully selected men chosen to lead the funeral prayer over the body of Iran’s slain leader, Ali Khamenei, on Thursday. The man’s mysterious attire sparked a buzz on social media, with users theorizing whether the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had concealed himself to attend his father’s burial in Mashhad.
It was yet another theory among many that surfaced during the weeklong grand funeral ceremony for Khamenei, who was killed in Israeli strikes coordinated with the United States in late February.
In the week of ceremony for Ali Khamenei, AI videos showing Mojtaba Khamenei in civilian clothing and a black baseball cap walking among the mourners in Tehranis to bid farewell to his father. Pro-regime journalists prophesized that he was among the crowd at the shrine while others shared pictures of a clean-shaven man in a black cap, claiming it was the ayatollah in disguise.
Now, the latest cause of mystery is a man wearing a black baseball cap and what appears to be a large mask covering his face, shown in pictures shown by the state broadcaster. He stood prominently among the select group at a private event held for Khamenei’s family and close friends on Thursday, led by another one of his sons, Mostafa.
Social media accounts scrutinized the man’s build, glasses, and height, comparing them to those of the new supreme leader in an effort to determine whether it was him who was concealed behind the mask. Mojtaba Khamenei has yet to make a public appearance since his appointment four months ago.
Even as Iran’s precarious political situation grows more turbulent amid deep internal divisions over diplomacy with the US, the Islamic Republic has chosen to keep its new leader concealed, offering no further proof of life beyond written statements attributed to him.
This approach signals that the regime is willing to keep the state’s top authority shrouded in mystery, despite the speculation it is causing.
His absence has left some doubting his capacity to lead, with others even suggesting that he may be dead.
US gas prices have surged 9 cents in two days
The average price for regular gas in the United States rose another 4 cents overnight to a little over $3.88 a gallon, according to AAA. After rising 5 cents Thursday, gas prices are now 9 cents a gallon more expensive than they were just two days ago.
That may seem a bit dramatic considering oil prices are up just 6% since the United States and Iran started exchanging fire in the Persian Gulf again. But that’s how gas prices work: They rise like a rocket and fall like a feather.
Gas prices have fallen very gradually since hitting their wartime peak of $4.56 in mid-May. That’s because when prices rise, gas station owners tend to sell less of it and keep retail prices much closer to wholesale prices than usual — making less profit. When prices start falling, station owners gradually reduce the price to make up for lost profit.
And when oil prices rise, in anticipation of rising gas prices, station owners start raising prices quickly.
For more on why you pay what you pay at the gas pump, check out this CNN Explains video, where we interview a gas station owner about how he sets prices each day.
Just one single vessel crossed the Strait of Hormuz on the Oman side Thursday
The Strait of Hormuz is loaded with mines (which are gradually being cleared) — so if you want to get in and out, you have two options: hug Oman’s northern coast or use Iran’s designated shipping lane.
Iran really wants ships to use its lane — targeting vessels on the Omanian side with drones to get its message across, which is what started this whole flareup in tit-for-tat attacks this week.
Shipping companies appear to be complying, at least for now. Of the 22 verified transits through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, just one vessel crossed via the Omanian channel, according to Kpler, which uses transponder and satellite data to track ships.
To note: Some ships are turning off their transponders and making a break for it, so it’s not clear exactly how many vessels are going in and out of the strait. But 22 crossings is way down from around 40 to 50 over the past few weeks and significantly lower than the over 100 transits that took place every day before the war started.
An absent supreme leader puts Iran in uncharted territory
Since its inception in 1979, the Islamic Republic has been a system built around the centrality of one man: the Supreme Leader.
The first person to hold the position, Ruhollah Khomeini was a larger-than-life figure who came to power off the back of a coalition of Islamist and leftist revolutionaries.
His successor, Ali Khamenei, didn’t have the same religious credentials but was steeped in the power structure of the young republic, having been president and overseeing the war with Iraq.
In the 37 years that he ruled as supreme leader, not a week went by that he didn’t address crowds or meet state officials or foreign delegations.
He was ever-present with his pronouncements on all matters of Iranian life and deeply involved in building out the political and economic power networks that has kept the regime in power even when he, as its top leader, was assassinated.
But now, the Islamic Republic has entered a new phase, one in which the top of the pyramid is nowhere to be seen or even heard.
Mojtaba Khamenei’s no-show at his father’s funeral might be down to legitimate security concerns the regime has about his safety but it will undoubtedly feed into the wider question regime supporters and opponents have been asking every day for the past four months: who is really calling the shots?
At some point, one would assume, the millions of faithful who took to the streets this week will need to actually see the leader whose authority is supposed to permeate through the system.
The longer he remains in absentia the looser his grasp will be as the system his father built was so tightly connected to the top that without it, it risks unravelling and perhaps ushering a new form of governance in Iran.
