What to know
• Daring rescue operation: A US airman whose fighter jet was shot down over Iran evaded capture for more than a day, hiding alone and scaling rugged terrain as a massive rescue effort unfolded, officials told CNN. US troops brought the officer to safety in a mission involving hundreds of personnel, including a CIA deception campaign to throw off potential captors.
• At the White House: President Donald Trump, who said the airman was wounded but going to be “just fine,” will address reporters about the mission tomorrow.
• Deadline looms: Meanwhile, Trump reiterated his Monday deadline for Iran to make a deal and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, warning of severe consequences in a profanity-laced message to Tehran. Details are emerging on last-ditch talks between Oman and Iran about the key shipping route.
• Latest strikes: Iran’s military said it targeted energy sites around the Persian Gulf and has issued its own grave threats over US-Israeli attacks on infrastructure.
Iran says it will only reopen Strait of Hormuz after being paid war damages
A senior Iranian official has responded to US President Donald Trump’s latest ultimatum by saying the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil thoroughfare, will only “reopen” when financial damages from the war are “fully compensated.”
Earlier today, Trump issued a profanity-laced message to Iran, warning of severe military action should Tehran fail to make a deal or reopen the vital waterway.
In response, Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy for communications at Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s office, said the US leader has resorted to profanity “out of sheer desperation and rage.”
He accused Trump of sparking an “all-out war in the region.”
Iranian officials have previously said they will continue charging fees for the safe passage of some tankers through the strait – a proposal that has faced backlash from governments and shipping industry experts.
Meanwhile, Iran’s mission to the United Nations said Trump’s message was an open threat to “destroy infrastructure essential to civilian survival in Iran.”
A look at the numerous deadlines Trump has set for fully opening the Strait of Hormuz
In a Truth Social post earlier today, US President Donald Trump warned Iran that if it doesn’t make a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz before Tuesday, the country will be “living in Hell.”
The threat is the latest from the US leader since his country, alongside Israel, began striking Iran in late February.
Trump has repeatedly shifted his stated deadline for the reopening of the strait, a vital waterway that Iran has effectively closed in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks, choking off around one-fifth of the world’s oil supply from global energy markets.
The president has also put pressure on European countries to commit resources to reopening the shipping lane.
Fox News reporter Trey Yingst said today that Trump told him Tehran has been trying to postpone the negotiating timeline. The president also said there is “a good chance” for a deal by the Monday deadline, according to Yingst.
Here’s a recap of Trump’s statements on the strait since the war began:
- Trump’s initial threat was on March 21, when he said the US would “hit and obliterate” Iranian power plants if Tehran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. The next day, Iran’s representative to the UN maritime agency said the strait remained open to all except Iran’s “enemies.”
- On March 23, shortly before Trump’s deadline was set to expire, the president said his country and Iran had held “productive conversations” over the previous two days and that he would hold off on striking energy sites for five days.
- On March 26, Trump added an extra ten days to the deadline, saying Iran had asked for more time, making his new cut-off date April 6.
- On April 1, Trump said Tehran had asked the US for a ceasefire, adding he would only consider this after Iran had reopened the Strait of Hormuz. A spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry denied this claim.
- Two days later, Trump suggested the US could “easily” reopen the strait if it had “a little more time.”
- Yesterday, on April 4, Trump told Iran’s leaders that “time is running out” to reopen the waterway. “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out - 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them,” he wrote on social media.
CNN’s Betsy Klein, Kit Maher, Alejandra Jaramillo, Kevin Liptak, Samantha Waldenberg, Aileen Graef, Sophie Tanno, Adam Pourahmadi and Julia Benbrook contributed to this reporting.
Democrat on House Armed Services Committee says Trump is “failing” US service members
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna said President Donald Trump is “failing” US troops in Iran, arguing in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the president’s rhetoric is out of sync with realities on the ground.
Khanna, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, pointed to Trump’s Truth Social post earlier Sunday demanding Iran “open the Fuckin’ Strait” of Hormuz or face escalating attacks, saying that while the president is “cursing out and threatening war crimes,” US service members are under fire, despite Trump’s repeated claims that Iran’s military capabilities are destroyed.
“We need to end this war now,” the California lawmaker told NBC. “We need an immediate ceasefire. Iran, Israel and the United States need to stop bombing and have a negotiated settlement.”
Khanna went on to say he would refuse to vote for any additional funding that prolongs the conflict, including funds directly designated for the Pentagon’s war effort.
Projectiles target UAE port of Khor Fakkan, authorities say
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates said they are dealing with an “incident” in the Emirati port of Khor Fakkan, shortly after maritime authorities reported that unknown projectiles had targeted the area.
No injuries have been reported so far, local authorities posted on X.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center confirmed earlier today that it had received a report of an incident at the port.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said earlier today it had targeted fuel and petrochemical facilities in Persian Gulf nations, including the UAE, in response to US and Israeli strikes, according to Iranian state media.
Elsewhere, in nearby Qatar, the country’s defense ministry said it had been subjected to an Iranian attack involving drones and cruise missiles, all of which it intercepted.
Details emerge on last-ditch talks between Oman and Iran on reopening the Strait of Hormuz
Details are emerging of the “possible options” being discussed by the Gulf Arab state of Oman and Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.
The key shipping route, which Iran has effectively closed in response to US-Israeli strikes, lies in the two sides’ territorial waters.
An Omani source said the talks have been underway for the past two weeks and are focused on putting a “safe passage protocol” in place to allow commercial shipping access.
That would compel oil and gas tankers transiting through the narrow waterway, which has been effectively blocked since US and Israeli forces attacked Iran last month, to register with Iran and agree to fly the flag of a non-aggressive state, the source told CNN – essentially acknowledging Iranian authority over the strategic waterway.
The proposals appear to be part of a last-ditch attempt by energy-rich Oman, which has previously mediated between Washington and Tehran, to avert a broader escalation of the war.
The source described President Donald Trump’s threats to step up US attacks on Iran after a new 48-hour deadline expires on Monday morning as “alarming”.
“Escalation risks untold suffering in many parts of the world,” the source told CNN.
OPEC+ to boost oil production but warn repairing infrastructure “takes a long time”
Eight OPEC+ countries agreed today to slightly boost their oil production in May, but the wider organization warned that repairing damaged energy infrastructure after airstrikes is “both costly and takes a long time,” underlining the longer term potential disruption to energy supply.
The eight countries – Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman – agreed to raise their production by 206,000 barrels a day between them, taking their combined output to 33.7 million bpd, they said in a statement on Sunday after a meeting of the joint ministerial monitoring committee.
At the same time, the organization cautioned that any disruption to energy security, “whether through attacks on infrastructure or disruption of international maritime routes,” increases market volatility.
Some energy infrastructure in OPEC nations, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, has been damaged by Iran’s strikes over the past month, while about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply remains choked off from global markets due to the Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
State-owned QatarEnergy has declared force majeure as it could not fulfil contracts after several Iranian strikes damaged Ras Laffan, one of the world’s largest liquefied national gas (LNG) facilities.
Trump tells Fox News US sent arms meant for Iranian protesters to Kurds
President Donald Trump told Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst during an interview this morning that the US sent weapons to Kurdish forces with the intent of arming Iranian protesters, seeming to confirm a CNN report from last month.
“President Trump told me the United States sent guns to the Iranian protesters. He tells me ‘we sent them a lot of guns. We sent them through the Kurds,’” Yingst said, recounting the phone interview. Yingst added that the president said he thinks the Kurds kept the weapons.
CNN reported last month the US was arming Kurdish groups with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran. The goal was to have the armed Kurdish forces take on Iranian forces, making it easier for Iranian civilians to take to the streets in protest.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters at the time that “none of our objectives are premised on the support of the arming of any particular force. So what other entities may be doing, we’re aware of, but our objectives aren’t centered on that.”
Trump reiterates Monday deadline for Iran to make a deal
US President Donald Trump reiterated his Monday deadline on Iran to strike a deal and open the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on its power infrastructure in a phone interview with Fox News reporter Trey Yingst.
The Iranians negotiating with the United States — who would be part of making that deal — have been offered limited amnesty, Yingst said Trump told him. If they don’t make a deal with the US, Trump told the reporter that they would take Iranian oil, a move Trump previously said Americans may not have the patience for.
Yingst said Trump told him the Iranians were trying to postpone the negotiating timeline for a deal, which he said prompted the strike on a key bridge outside Tehran last week. He said Trump also told him that there is “a good chance” for a deal by the Monday deadline, though there have been no indications publicly from Iranian officials that a deal was close.
Trump had previously given Iran an April 6 deadline to make a deal or face threats of attack to critical infrastructure, after extending a prior deadline by 10 days
Earlier Sunday, Trump warned Iran that “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!”
Israel and US commend rescue of missing airman, as Trump warns Iran over Hormuz
A missing US airman has been rescued in Iran after his fighter jet was shot down on Friday, according to US President Donald Trump. Details are now emerging as to how the rescue operation took place.
Meanwhile, in a social media post a short while ago, Trump issued a profanity-laced warning to Iran, threatening severe military action should it fail to make a deal or reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil thoroughfare.
Here are some of the other latest developments regarding the conflict in the Middle East today:
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the “incredible rescue” of the missing US airman. Earlier, Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz said the mission underlined his country’s “close cooperation” with the US.
- Meanwhile, Iranian state media did its best to undercut the announcement, with the Tasnim News Agency claiming that “several enemy American aircraft” were “destroyed by the warriors of Islam, and the pilot rescue operation failed,” citing Iran’s military headquarters.
- Egypt’s foreign minister held a phone call with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff yesterday, as well as separate calls with Iran’s foreign minister and his regional counterparts to try to de-escalate the ongoing war, the country’s foreign ministry said.
- Representatives from Oman and Iran met yesterday to discuss “possible options” for allowing ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the Omani foreign ministry has said.
- Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said today that it targeted fuel and petrochemical facilities in countries including Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, according to Iranian state media.
- Iran’s internet blackout now amounts to the longest nationwide internet shutdown on record, the internet watchdog NetBlocks said.
CNN’s Betsy Klein, Tal Shalev, Issy Ronald, Eugenia Yosef, Billy Stockwell, Tim Lister, Ibrahim Dahman and Sophie Tanno contributed to this reporting.
Iran's IRGC says it targeted fuel and petrochemical sites in Persian Gulf
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said today that it targeted fuel and petrochemical facilities in Persian Gulf nations, including Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, according to Iranian state media.
The IRGC framed its military action as a response to an attack on a petrochemical complex in Mahshahr, southwestern Iran – which Israel has claimed responsibility for – and a strike on a major bridge just outside Tehran, the country’s state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported.
The “first phase” of Iran’s response was carried out this morning, IRIB cited the Revolutionary Guards as saying.
Iran claimed responsibility for attacks on American-linked gas and petrochemical facilities in the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait, also warning that it would escalate attacks on US interests if attacks on civilian infrastructure were repeated. The IRGC also said an oil refinery in Haifa, northern Israel, was targeted. CNN cannot independently verify the IRGC’s claims.
Authorities in the UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi said today that falling debris from air defense interceptions above a petrochemical plant resulted in three fires breaking out. No injures were reported due to the incident, but the site was damaged, the city’s media office said.
CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman contributed reporting. This post has been updated with additional information.
Netanyahu hails rescue of missing US airman
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed the operation which led to the rescue of the missing US airman whose F-15 jet was shot down over Iran.
“This rescue operation reinforces the sacred principle: no one is left behind,” Netanyahu said today in a video statement that directly addressed and congratulated US President Donald Trump.
Earlier today, Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz said that the rescue mission underlined his country’s “close cooperation” with the US.
Israel postponed some planned strikes in Iran to not interfere with the search and rescue efforts, an Israeli official told CNN, and offered intelligence support, according to two Israeli sources.
Trump warns Iran to "open the Fuckin' Strait" or face severe consequences
President Donald Trump has also just issued a remarkable, profanity-laced threat to Iran, warning of severe military action should Tehran fail to make a deal or reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil thoroughfare.
He said in a post to social media that Tuesday “will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!”
The missive marks the president’s latest signal regarding US plans to target Iran’s critical infrastructure.
Trump’s deadline for Iran to reopen the strait has repeatedly shifted and during an address to the nation, he suggested the strait would “open up naturally” when the conflict is over.
But the virtual shutdown of the strait, which accounts for the transit of approximately 20% of the world’s oil, has led to a major increase in gas prices.
The war is deeply unpopular with Americans, according to CNN polling, and Trump has suggested it could be over in a matter of weeks.
Inside the mission to recover a downed American airman
Hiding alone in a mountain crevice behind enemy lines, the injured American airman knew exactly what to do: survive and evade.
For more than a day, the weapons systems officer whose F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down inside Iran avoided being captured by encroaching Iranian forces. At one point, he scaled the rugged terrain to a ridgeline 7,000 feet above sea level, equipped with little more than a pistol, a communication device and a tracking beacon.
It was into the high mountains that a team of American commandos, accompanied by US aircraft dropping bombs to clear the area, swarmed to locate the officer, bringing him and themselves to safety.
Two US officials described the details of the risky operation afterward.
It involved hundreds of American military and intelligence personnel, including special operations forces who carried out the successful rescue mission, and CIA operatives who mounted a deception campaign beforehand to throw off potential Iranian captors.
And it came with multiple twists, including a pair of damaged US special operations aircraft that the US had to blow up on the ground in Iran during the operation.
The race to find and recover the officer had quickly become an all-consuming endeavor for the administration after the fighter jet was shot down on Friday. The pilot of the plane was found quickly, but the White House and Pentagon refused to confirm the rescue as a second, more prolonged mission to find his crewmate was underway.
Read the full account here.
Trump to address reporters on crew member rescue Monday at the White House
President Donald Trump will speak to reporters about the remarkable rescue of a US service member from Iran on Monday afternoon, he announced in a post to social media.
“I will be having a News Conference, with the Military, at the Oval Office, on Monday, at 1:00 P.M.,” Trump wrote.
The president does not have any public events on his schedule Sunday, but is expected to appear at the White House Easter Egg Roll early Monday morning.
He also offered some additional new details on the crew member, whom he described as “seriously wounded” and “really brave,” and said was rescued from “deep inside the mountains of Iran.”
“The Iranian Military was looking hard, in big numbers, and getting close,” the president said, underscoring the sensitivity of the mission.
CNN has reported that prior to the rescue, American intelligence operatives worked to circulate information inside Iran that both crew members had been recovered in an effort confuse Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members.
Trump called the operation “an AMAZING show of bravery and talent by all!”
Israel says US pilot rescue underlines "close cooperation" with Washington
Israel has commended the United States’ rescue efforts in Iran after President Donald Trump announced that an injured airman had been recovered from the country.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the successful rescue operation was “another expression of the close cooperation between Israel and the United States, even in the most complex moments.”
Remember: Israel postponed some of its planned strikes in Iran Friday so as not to interfere with the search and rescue efforts for the two crew members who were aboard the downed fighter jet, an Israeli official confirmed to CNN.
Israel also offered intelligence support to the search and rescue efforts, according to two Israeli sources.
Thousands demonstrate for and against war in global protests
People in cities around the world have taken to the streets this weekend in marches related to the conflict in the Middle East, with some demonstrating in solidarity with Iran, others supporting the US, and some calling for an end to the war entirely.
Thousands gathered in Baghdad and across a number of other Iraqi provinces yesterday to demonstrate against the US-Israeli war with Iran after the powerful Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on people to protest.
In Sanaa, Yemen on Friday, supporters of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels burned an American flag. Many of the thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets brandished weapons including guns and daggers, while others waved Lebanese, Palestinian, Iranian and Hezbollah flags.
In a protest yesterday near the US embassy in Ankara, Turkey, people waved signs featuring phrases including “Murderer USA get out of the Middle East!” and “Leave NATO! Destroy NATO!” according to Reuters.
In cities across Pakistan on Friday, people protested over rising fuel prices that have emerged because of the conflict.
At a protest in London yesterday, a group of people gathered to demonstrate against the Iranian regime, waving Iranian, US and Israeli flags and holding placards bearing the face of Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s ousted shah.
In Cologne, Germany, people participated in an annual Easter Peace March yesterday, where some held placards reading “STOP THE WAR IN IRAN” and “NO TO WAR!”
Israeli police also broke up an anti-war protest in downtown Tel Aviv last night, arresting at least 10 people. Demonstrators wrote “stop war” on their hands, and held up signs calling for peace and an end to the conflict.
CNN’s Aqeel Najim, Max Saltman and Dana Karni contributed to this reporting.
Oman and Iran meet to discuss allowing ships to pass through Strait of Hormuz
Representatives from Oman and Iran met to discuss “possible options” for allowing ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the Omani foreign ministry has said.
During the meeting on Saturday, experts and undersecretaries from both countries’ foreign ministries “presented a number of perspectives and proposals, which will be further studied,” the Omani ministry’s statement added.
Iranian state media offered a slightly different account of the meeting, saying the “exclusive role of Iran and Oman as the coastal states of the strait was emphasized.”
On Sunday morning, several tankers, including a Chinese vessel and one that had loaded in Iraq, appeared to have passed through the Strait of Hormuz, according to shipping tracker MarineTraffic.
Iran has effectively closed the strait to most traffic in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes on the country, choking off around one-fifth of the world’s oil supply from global energy markets. Tehran controls the critical waterway’s north side while Oman controls the south.
More than 180 ships have successfully transited the strait since the outbreak of the conflict, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency. Nearly 70% of these transits were of ships owned by Iran or its allies, and countries such as China, India, Pakistan, and Turkey had negotiated passage for some of their vessels, Tasnim reported.
Before the war as many as 140 ships passed through the strait everyday, according to the United Nations trade division.
The meeting came three days after Iran said it was drafting a protocol with Oman to monitor maritime traffic through the strait, arguing that ships’ passage should take place under the “supervision and coordination” of coastal states - even in peacetime.
Recognition of Iran’s sovereignty over the strait, which would be in defiance of international law, is one of Tehran’s main demands to end the war. Earlier this week, the Iranian parliament’s Security Commission approved a plan to impose tolls on ships passing through the strait and enforce “Iran’s sovereign role,” a commission member said according to the state broadcaster.
CNN’s Mohammed Tawfeeq, Tim Lister, Abbas Al Lawati and Ibrahim Dahman contributed reporting.
Trump says downed crew member recovered in Iran — watch our report
We’ve been bringing you details on the US search and rescue operation after President Donald Trump’s announcement that an injured US airman who crashed over Iran has been recovered.
CNN’s Kit Maher reports, below.
President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that the injured US airman who had crashed over Iran has been recovered. CNN’s Kit Maher reports.
Iran's internet blackout now longest nationwide shutdown on record, NetBlocks says
Iran’s internet blackout now amounts to the longest nationwide internet shutdown on record in any country, internet watchdog NetBlocks has said.
Comparing the situation in Iran to other countries in digital darkness, it added, “Iran is the first country to have had internet connectivity and then subsequently lost it by reverting to a national network, while others such as North Korea have skipped the connected phase and been internationally isolated for longer.”
Since the US and Israel first struck Iran, its regime has almost completely blocked the country’s access to the internet.
This followed another weeks-long internet blackout in January this year during nationwide anti-regime protests.
Iranian state media shares images of apparent aircraft wreckage after US rescue operation
Video and images released by Iranian state media and geolocated by CNN appears to show the burnt out wreckage of several aircraft in southern Esfahan province after President Donald Trump said US forces rescued a crew member from a downed fighter jet.
In the footage, a large field of aircraft debris can be seen still smoldering.
Destroyed aircraft parts including what appear to be turboprops engines are also visible. It is not clear what type of aircraft they are or who owns them.
State media claimed Iranian forces shot down the aircraft seen in the images. In a post on Truth Social President Trump, made no mention of aircraft losses, but did say no US service members were injured or killed in the operation. CNN has approached the US military for comment.
Iran’s military said US forces used an abandoned airstrip to conduct the operation. A CNN analysis of satellite imagery confirmed the presence of a small airstrip around the area where the images were taken.
The images were taken around 31 miles (50 km) from the Iranian city of Esfahan.
CNN was able to geolocate the video and images by matching the mountain range behind the wreckage with satellite imagery.
