Here's the latest
• Vance arrives in Pakistan: Vice President JD Vance and the US delegation have touched down in Islamabad, Pakistan for talks with Iran. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf will lead Iranian officials. Negotiations, if they do take place, are currently planned as a one-day event, Iranian state media reported.
• Lebanon conflict: Lebanese and Israeli diplomats are also planning to meet to discuss a ceasefire, in Washington, DC next week. The first days of the US-Iran truce were one of the deadliest for Lebanon, with hundreds of people killed by Israeli strikes.
• Alleged weapons shipment: Meanwhile, US intelligence indicates China is preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran amid the fragile ceasefire, according to sources. The Chinese embassy in Washington said “the information in question is untrue.”
Vance meets with Pakistan's prime minister in Islamabad
US Vice President JD Vance met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad Saturday ahead of high-stakes negotiations with Iran, according to pool reporters traveling with the vice president.
Sharif met earlier Saturday with the Iranian delegation, as Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator in efforts to end the war in Iran, now in its sixth week.
Vance was joined for the bilateral meeting by special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Sharif was joined by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sen. Mohammad Ishaq Dar, along with Interior Minister Sen. Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi, according to a news release from the Pakistani prime minister’s office. There was no press coverage of the meeting.
Sharif commended both sides’ commitment to engaging constructively, and “expressed the hope that these talks would serve as a stepping stone toward durable peace in the region,” his office wrote in the news release.
Europe is only three weeks away from a jet fuel shortage
European airports face a critical jet fuel crunch that could hamstring air travel across the region and, so, worsen the economic blow from the Iran war, an industry body has warned.
“At this stage, we understand that if the passage through the Strait of Hormuz does not resume in any significant and stable way within the next 3 weeks, (a) systemic jet fuel shortage is set to become a reality for the (European Union),” ACI Europe, which represents European airports, said in a letter dated April 9 to Dan Jorgensen and Apostolos Tzitzikostas, senior officials at the European Commission, the EU’s executive.
“The reduced air connectivity that would inevitably result… would significantly harm the European economy – thus worsening the macro-economic impact of the rise in oil prices,” reads the letter, shared with CNN.
ACI Europe said the approach of “the peak Summer season,” when increased air travel enables tourism, crucial to many EU economies, was “only adding to those concerns.”
The body called for “urgent monitoring” of jet fuel supply over the next six months, among other interventions. Its warning of a looming shortage chimes with a similar alert from the head of the International Energy Agency earlier this month.
Some Asia-Pacific airlines, including Air New Zealand and Vietnam Airlines, have begun cutting flights as prices for jet fuel have surged. America’s Delta Air Lines also said this week that it would cut the number of flights “until the fuel environment improves.”
The global average jet fuel price has more than doubled from a year ago, according to the International Air Transport Association.
Maisie Linford contributed reporting.
Here's what we know so far about ceasefire talks today and next week
US Vice President JD Vance landed in Islamabad, Pakistan earlier this morning ahead of expected negotiations with Iran, after a two-week ceasefire between Washington and Tehran was agreed upon earlier this week.
If you’re just joining us, here’s what we know so far about talks set to take place today between the US and Iran, and next week between Israel and Lebanon:
- They are expected to take place this afternoon, Iran’s state-affiliated outlet Tasnim reported, though Iranian officials have signaled that no final decision has been made on whether talks will proceed.
- Talks between Iran’s delegation and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took place at 1 p.m. local time (4 a.m. ET), Tasnim reported.
- Iran’s delegation in Islamabad is made up of 71 people, including negotiators, experts, media representatives and security, Tasnim reported.
- The US’ delegation, led by Vance, is also made up of special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son in law.
- A senior Pakistani source praised Vance’s role in pushing the US and Iran towards a diplomatic solution, telling CNN he has been key in bringing about the talks taking place in Islamabad.
- Meanwhile, Lebanese and Israeli diplomats are planning to meet next Tuesday to discuss a ceasefire, the office of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in a social media post yesterday.
CNN’s Lex Harvey, Adam Pourahmadi, Nic Robertson, Eyad Kourdi, Tamara Qiblawi and Max Saltman contributed to this reporting.
Iranian delegation meets with Pakistan prime minister ahead of talks with US
The Iranian delegation met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier on Saturday, according to state-affiliated outlet Tasnim, in what appears to be a precursor to any diplomatic meeting with the American side.
Possible negotiations between Tehran and Washington are expected later in the afternoon, the outlet reported, though Iranian officials have signaled that no final decision has been made on whether talks will proceed.
Tasnim said that any negotiations, if they do take place, are currently planned as a one-day event.
Iran is still assessing the US position, Tasnim said, suggesting talks could begin later Saturday but remain contingent on developments throughout the day.
People in Lebanon survey damage after Israeli strikes
While diplomacy takes place in Pakistan today, and in Washington, DC next week, these are the latest pictures we’re seeing from Lebanon.
The days after Wednesday’s US-Iran ceasefire have been the deadliest there since September 2024, with at least 350 killed and more than 1,200 injured by Israeli strikes, according to Lebanese authorities.
Several ships head towards Strait of Hormuz as peace talks set to start
Several ships are headed toward the Strait of Hormuz as peace talks between Iran and the United States are set to get underway in Islamabad, according to ship tracking data.
A handful vessels - most of them Chinese - have transited the Strait or are heading from the Persian Gulf towards it, according to the MarineTraffic site.
A Chinese bulk carrier passed through overnight after setting out from the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr almost a month ago.
Two Chinese crude oil tankers, each with a capacity of about 300,000 tonnes and showing as laden, were heading towards the Strait Saturday. Both were sailing close to the Iranian coast.
And a Botswana-flagged liquified natural gas tanker called the Nidi appears to be making a second attempt at leaving the Gulf after turning back early Friday.
Traffic is still a small fraction of what it would normally be - some 100 ships a day.
On Thursday US President Donald Trump said “Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz.”
“That is not the agreement we have!” Trump posted on social media.
The semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim said in a report from Islamabad Saturday that Iran “has maintained the current conditions for tanker transit through the Strait of Hormuz,” in response to what Tehran claims are US breaches of the ceasefire agreement, including Israel’s continuing strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iran has said vessels can pass through the Strait only with its approval.
In pictures: Pakistan braced for US-Iran peace talks
These are the latest images from Islamabad, Pakistan as talks between the US and Iran are due to get underway today.
The US delegation is led by Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son in law. Iranian officials will be led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Pakistan backs US peace efforts and repeats its offer to facilitate
Pakistan praised the United States for its “commitment to achieving lasting regional and global peace” as the American delegation touched down in Islamabad ahead of negotiations with Iran.
The country’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Army Chief Asim Munir shook hands with the US officials as they stepped off the plane in Islamabad on Saturday morning local time.
Dar expressed hope that the US and Iran would engage constructively and reiterated Pakistan’s willingness to help facilitate “a lasting resolution and durable solution to the conflict,” according to a statement from Pakistan’s foreign ministry.
The US delegation is led by Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son in law.
Vance greeted by Pakistan's army chief and Trump's "favorite field marshal"
Asim Munir, the head of Pakistan’s powerful military and US President Donald Trump’s “favorite field marshal” was one of the first to welcome Vice President JD Vance when he stopped off the plane in Islamabad Saturday.
Munir has played a prominent role in Pakistan’s deepening ties with the US during Trump’s second term, and even joined Trump for an unprecedented one-on-one lunch at the White House last June.
Munir used his personal favor with Trump and longstanding relationship with Iran to help broker the ceasefire this week and is expected to play a key role in the talks aimed at ending the war.
On the tarmac Munir greeted the VP in a black suit and green tie, pool footage showed – an outfit change from hours earlier when he welcomed the Iranian delegation in his military uniform, according to video from Pakistan’s foreign ministry.
Vance arrives in Pakistan for Iran talks
US Vice President JD Vance has touched down in Islamabad, Pakistan for negotiations with Iran this weekend, pool footage showed.
Vance was greeted by Asim Munir, the head of Pakistan’s military, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, the country’s foreign minister, and Natalie Baker, chargé d’affaires at the US Embassy Islamabad.
The US delegation is led by Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son in law. The trio arrived in Islamabad on Saturday.
Iranian officials, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, arrived in Pakistan earlier on Saturday for the negotiations.
This post has been updated with additional information.
Vance has been key in setting up US-Iran talks, senior Pakistani source tells CNN
A senior Pakistani source has praised JD Vance’s role in pushing the US and Iran towards a diplomatic solution to the war, telling CNN that the US vice president has been key in bringing about the talks set to get underway in Islamabad in the coming hours.
The source familiar with the talks process told CNN they assess it will take a few days of negotiations to get a ceasefire locked in, and that officials in Pakistan were hopeful they could convince Vance to stay longer in the country to help bring that about.
Separately, a senior Gulf source told CNN that the Iranians have very little trust in US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, who has led previous rounds of negotiations with Iran that have been cut short by US strikes on the country. Witkoff is part of the US delegation participating in the talks in Islamabad.
US intelligence indicates China is preparing weapons shipment to Iran, sources say
US intelligence indicates that China is preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran within the next few weeks, according to three people familiar with recent intelligence assessments.
It would be a provocative move considering Beijing said it helped broker the fragile ceasefire agreement that paused the war between Iran and the US earlier this week. President Donald Trump is also set to visit China early next month for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The intelligence also underscores how Iran may be using the ceasefire as an opportunity to replenish certain weapons systems with the help of key foreign partners.
Two of the sources told CNN there are indications that Beijing is working to route the shipments through third countries to mask their true origin.
The systems Beijing is preparing to transfer are shoulder-fired anti-air missile systems known as MANPADs, the sources said, which posed an asymmetric threat to low-flying US military aircraft throughout the course of the five-week war and could again if the ceasefire falls apart.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington said, “China has never provided weapons to any party to the conflict; the information in question is untrue.”
“As a responsible major country, China consistently fulfills its international obligations. We urge the U.S. side to refrain from making baseless allegations, maliciously drawing connections, and engaging in sensationalism; we hope that relevant parties will do more to help de-escalate tensions.”
Iran's delegation in Pakistan has 71 people, including technical experts, says state media
Iran’s delegation in Islamabad is made up of 71 people, including negotiators, experts, media representatives and security, state media Tasnim reported on Saturday.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, is leading the delegation, which also includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Tasnim reported.
“Given the complexity and high sensitivity of the negotiations between Iran and the United States, the Iranian delegation includes not only the main negotiators but also technical and expert committees for necessary consultations,” the report said.
The Trump administration’s 15-point proposal, which has not been revealed in full, is said to include Iran committing to no nuclear weapons, handing over its highly enriched uranium, limits on Tehran’s defense capabilities, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The US delegation will be led by Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son in law.
First days of Iran ceasefire were the deadliest for Lebanon since 2024
The first days of the fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran have turned out to be extremely deadly for Lebanon, with hundreds of people killed by Israeli strikes, including at least 357 on Wednesday.
Iran has said the strikes violate the truce, which it claims included Lebanon. Pakistan, which mediated the truce, also said Lebanon was included — but Israel and the United States say Lebanon was not part of the deal.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Friday that 13 members of his country’s security forces were killed in the southern city of Nabatieh in what was described by the local authorities as “the largest Israeli assault (there) since the start of the war.”
On Wednesday, just hours after the truce was first announced, Israel launched a massive wave of strikes that killed more than 300 people, including at least 30 children, and wounded more than 1,223, according to Lebanese authorities. This marked Lebanon’s deadliest day since September 2024. The toll has risen sharply over the past few days and Lebanon’s health ministry warned Friday that it is likely to climb even further.
The International Rescue Committee also said it was one of the heaviest days of violence in years.
“According to the WHO, three weeks’ worth of trauma supplies were used in a single day due to mass casualties, and stocks could run out within days,” the IRC said in a statement.
The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged it had struck “in the heart of the civilian population,” but claimed it had killed at least 180 “Hezbollah terrorists” and taken steps to mitigate harm to civilians.
Israel continued to strike Lebanon on Friday, even after US President Donald Trump told NBC News in an interview Thursday that he asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be “a little more low-key” in operations in Lebanon.
Israeli and Lebanese diplomats will meet in DC next week, officials say
As peace talks between the US and Iran are set to take place in Pakistan today, Lebanese and Israeli diplomats are planning to meet next week to discuss a ceasefire, the office of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in a social media post.
In a call mediated by US Ambassador to Lebanon Michael Issa, Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad agreed to meet at the US State Department in Washington next Tuesday “to discuss the declaration of a ceasefire and the date for the start of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under US sponsorship,” the post reads.
Leiter issued a statement Friday confirming the Tuesday meeting, but said that “Israel refused to discuss a ceasefire with the Hezbollah terrorist organization.”
Lebanon had earlier maintained that it will not negotiate without a ceasefire, and Israel has rejected the notion of ending hostilities with Hezbollah as a condition for talks.
On Friday, Hezbollah urged the Lebanese government to refrain from negotiating with Israel after days of intense bombardment; the days after Wednesday’s ceasefire between the US and Iran have been the deadliest in Lebanon since September 2024, with over 350 dead and more than 1,200 injured.
How Vance is navigating US-Iran talks and his own political future
Vice President JD Vance spent the last month largely out of the limelight as the US waged a war with Iran that he’d privately worried would spiral out of control.
Yet with President Donald Trump now eager to broker an end to the conflict, he’s emerged as a central player with a major public role.
Vance travels to Pakistan on Saturday to helm talks aimed at solidifying the fragile truce between the US and Iran — and in the process, elevate himself as the key peacemaker within an administration that has devoted its last several weeks to war.
It’s a daunting mission that carries little guarantee of success. The two sides are far apart and still trading barbs, offering few signs that tensions have substantially eased in the hours since Tuesday’s abrupt ceasefire announcement.
But for Vance, a prominent critic of foreign wars who harbored reservations from the start about striking Iran, the chance to negotiate a lasting deal is one he’s spent weeks working toward behind the scenes, multiple people familiar with the matter said.
And as he mulls a future presidential bid, it will offer the vice president perhaps his best opening yet to emerge in a strengthened position from an otherwise politically damaging period for the administration.
Vance is expected to lead the US delegation alongside Trump’s chief diplomatic envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in the administration’s first face-to-face meeting with Iran since the war began.
Ceasefire deal sparks new fury from those who initially defended Trump's war
Public polling has consistently shown US President Donald Trump’s war with Iran is backed by a large majority of Republican voters and has even more support from those who consider themselves MAGA-aligned.
CNN met with conservative students at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, in Edinburg, Texas, before the ceasefire deal in Iran was brokered. Here’s what they think about the war.
Nevertheless, the administration and allies have scrambled to contain the fallout this week as deepening fears over Trump’s management of the war — and fragile ceasefire — with Iran spilled into public infighting among some of his most prominent allies.
A ceasefire deal Trump announced ahead of Tuesday’s deadline sparked new fury from those who initially defended Trump’s war. Longtime Iran hardliners on the right, including Fox News’ Mark Levin, are lamenting that Trump appears willing to back away from military action that could further cripple the country.
Trump’s Pakistan gamble: Can talks produce peace?
After six weeks of war, the United States and Iran are now planning the most senior meeting between the two countries since the Islamic Republic of Iran was founded in 1979. Led by Vice President JD Vance on the US side and Parliament Speaker Mohammed Ghalibaf on the Iranian side, the talks mark a mind-boggling turn of events now two months into this crisis.
The only precedent for cabinet-level engagement between Washington and Tehran was the negotiations in President Barack Obama’s second term, when Secretary of State John Kerry met regularly with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. Those talks lasted well over a year. Before and after each round at their level, teams of experts on both sides spent weeks and months in Switzerland or Vienna hammering out the details of a nuclear pact.
The lead up to these talks has been different. There appears to have been little diplomatic legwork in preparation. The agenda is not entirely clear.
President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire to set the frame for the talks — but since then, the ceasefire has proven fragile at best and Trump’s precondition of a “complete, immediate, and safe” reopening of the Strait of Hormuz has not been met.
Iran claims the ceasefire must include Lebanon, where it supports Hezbollah. Vance has said that’s a misunderstanding.
CNN global affairs analyst Brett McGurk considers the downside potential for these talks, followed by the upside potential. Read more here.
How the Middle East conflict is costing Americans
Consumer prices spiked last month and inflation in the United States is higher than any other time under President Donald Trump. CNN’s Matt Egan explains how the war with Iran is costing Americans.
Consumer prices spiked last month and inflation in the United States is higher than any other time under President Donald Trump. CNN’s Matt Egan explains how the Middle East conflict is costing Americans.
Some context: A war-driven jump in gas prices helped push US inflation to 3.3% in March, marking the fastest annual pace in nearly two years, new Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed Friday.
On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.9%, triple the 0.3% pace seen in February, when inflation was 2.4%, the latest Consumer Price Index data showed.
Gasoline prices, which rose a record 21.2% during the month, accounted for nearly three-quarters of the overall monthly increase.
How Pakistan became a bridge between the US and Iran
Pakistan, a nation more frequently making international headlines for its heightened militancy and shaky economy, is hosting the first direct talks between Washington and Tehran, working to end a weeks-long war that has left thousands dead and sent shockwaves across the globe.
It is a stunning pivot for a country historically viewed through the lens of deep security concerns. The breakthrough underscores just how much Islamabad’s relationship with the White House has evolved since President Donald Trump’s first term, when he accused Pakistan of giving Washington “nothing but lies and deceit.”
Vice President JD Vance along with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to attend this weekend’s talks, with Vance the most senior US official to visit Pakistan since 2011.
Analysts attribute this transformation to a combination of geographic necessity, deft diplomacy, and shifting regional alliances. Together, these factors have transformed Pakistan into an indispensable mediator, elevating the country’s profile on the global stage.
Until last year, Pakistan was widely considered an unreliable US partner, one that offered support to Washington during the war in Afghanistan while allegedly backing the Taliban at the same time.
But Trump 2.0 has shaken the mixer of US diplomacy, upending friendships and bringing foes into the fold of his presidency – if they have something to offer.
