Here's the latest
• Timeline uncertain: US President Donald Trump said there is no deadline for ending the war with Iran, the ceasefire, or Tehran’s response to his request for a peace proposal.
• Maritime standoff: Iran’s president said the US blockade on Iranian ports is a major obstacle to talks. The blockade is also what is preventing the Strait of Hormuz from reopening, Iran’s top negotiator said. Tehran has received its first revenue from tolls it imposed on ships passing through the strait, according to Iranian media.
• Israel-Lebanon talks: The US will host a second round of talks between the Middle Eastern neighbors today amid a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon that has seen attacks by Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Israeli military vows to maintain presence in southern Lebanon ahead of ceasefire talks
The Israeli military said today it will maintain its presence in southern Lebanon and urged residents not to return to dozens of villages in the country’s south, ahead of crucial ceasefire talks later today.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will continue to position itself in southern Lebanon “in the face of the ongoing terrorist activities of the Hezbollah organization,” IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted on Telegram. Over the past week, both the Israeli military and militant group Hezbollah have launched attacks, testing the fragile truce.
Israeli and Lebanese representatives are set to meet later today in Washington for a second round of diplomatic talks. A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah remains in place in Lebanon following an order from US President Donald Trump on April 16.
In his statement, Adraee warned residents not to return to dozens of villages in the country’s south, as well as areas near the Litani River, which bisects Lebanon.
CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman contributed reporting.
Oil prices gain on fears of a prolonged Middle East war
Oil prices are rising today, after US President Donald Trump said there was no deadline for ending the war with Iran, quashing hopes of an imminent resolution to the conflict.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, is up 1.9% at nearly $104 a barrel, on track for the fourth consecutive day of gains. WTI, the US benchmark, is up by a similar margin at $94.6 a barrel.
“The absence of any peace talks between the United States and Iran has led investors to price in a longer conflict again, along with a more extended closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a note. “If anything, the latest moves pointed in an escalatory direction.”
They were referring to America’s continuing blockade of Iranian ports and a statement from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that it had seized two ships in the strait. Meanwhile, peace talks set for this week between the United States and Iran were canceled.
That backdrop is weighing on stock markets this morning. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures point to a weaker US open, after the indexes closed at record highs Wednesday on news that Trump would extend the ceasefire with Iran.
Major European indexes are also overwhelmingly in the red. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indexes finished modestly lower, while South Korea’s Kospi notched a small gain.
Trump holds key to Lebanon ceasefire as Israel tests limits of "self defense," expert says
US President Donald Trump holds significant leverage over Israel’s offensive in Lebanon, a regional expert told CNN, as Washington prepares to host a second round of talks between the two nations.
Trump announced the “10-day ceasefire” last week, pausing hostilities between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, saying “Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer… Enough is enough.”
But Israeli strikes have continued since, killing civilians and a journalist in Lebanon. Hezbollah has also launched attacks on Israeli troops.
The truce is tied to a US-led framework that allows Israel to “preserve its right to take all necessary measures in self-defense” while calling on the Lebanese government to prevent Hezbollah “from carrying out attacks, operations or hostile activities against Israeli targets.”
Gerges questioned how Israel is interpreting its “right to self-defense.”
Iran receives first revenue from Strait of Hormuz tolls, Iranian official says
Iran’s deputy parliament speaker, Hamid-Reza Haji Babaei, announced today that the country’s central bank has received its first revenue from the Strait of Hormuz tolling system, according to Iranian semi-official outlet Tasnim.
Last month, the Iranian parliament’s Security Commission approved a plan to impose tolls on ships passing through the strait – sparking international backlash, including from maritime law experts and US officials.
Movement through the vital waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes, remains at a trickle amid the US naval blockade of Iranian ports and recent ship attacks and seizures in the region.
Tehran has previously said Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz is a condition to end the war. The country’s parliament and Supreme National Security Council are currently reviewing a plan to assert sovereign control over the waterway, a member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission told semi-official Mehr News Agency today.
Meanwhile, Pentagon officials briefed lawmakers this week on an intelligence assessment that found it could take up to six months to fully clear the strait of mines after the war with Iran ends, CNN has reported.
Israeli army burns houses in south Lebanon, state media says
The Israeli army has been burning houses in southern Lebanon since the early hours of Thursday, the National News Agency (NNA) said.
NNA said the burning was taking place in area of Mais Al-Jabal in Marjayoun, south of the country, seen as a Hezbollah heartland.
CNN reached out to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.
Israel’s military meanwhile said they intercepted a drone fired from southern Lebanon on Thursday.
Fragile truce: A 10-day ceasefire is in place in Lebanon after fighting erupted between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, but there have been accusations of violations from both sides.
Israeli and Lebanese representatives meet later today in Washington to try to seek an extension of the truce.
US naval blockade has disrupted but “not broken” Iran’s oil machine, analytics firm says
The US naval blockade of Iranian ports has disrupted the country’s oil machine, but its loading infrastructure remains intact, and cargoes are still flowing toward China, according to maritime analytics firm Kpler.
US Central Command announced overnight that US forces have redirected 31 vessels to return to port or turn around as part of the ongoing US blockade against Iran. Most of the redirected vessels were oil tankers, CENTCOM posted on X. The US has also seized an Iranian-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Oman and boarded a sanctioned vessel in the Indian Ocean.
Despite the blockade, tankers are still positioned in Iran’s loading zones and Iranian crude continues to move toward China, Kpler data shows. The maritime analytics firm estimated the flow of crude from Iran to China to be 985,000 barrels per day in the first half of April. Since then, this flow has not been interrupted, Kpler said.
Meanwhile, at Jask, an Iranian oil export terminal which bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, there is an all-time high of 5.8 million barrels in storage, Kpler said. Tankers laden with oil are able to exit the Jask terminal into the Gulf of Oman without passing through the strait.
Iran shares slick video purportedly showing Hormuz ship seizures. Too slick, experts tell CNN
A video released by Iranian state media on Thursday purportedly showing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) storming merchant ships may not depict the actual moment of capture and may have been at least partially reenacted for dramatic purposes, analysts told CNN.
The nearly two-and-a-half-minute video was posted on the Telegram account of state broadcaster IRIB with the caption: “First footage of the seizure of non-compliant container ships in the Strait of Hormuz by IRGC Navy forces.”
The video contains aerial shots and sequences which usually require prior planning. An aerial shot of masked men climbing a ladder is followed by a medium-sized shot showing them climbing up from the point of view of someone onboard.
“It looks staged to me,” said Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain and former director of the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center.
“Looks like a training exercise or a publicity stunt,” said Schuster, who did not contest Iran controls the ships.
Schuster said a few things made him doubt the sequence of events shown in the video.
- “There are no crewmen on deck or around the pilot house. No one is running for cover or being subdued.”
- No wave, wind or sea action, which he said is “unusual” for the Persian Gulf at this time of year. “That means the ship is in a protected anchorage or harbor,” he said.
Collin Koh, research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said the video doesn’t look like it was “made in real time,” also specifically citing the lack of any merchant crew in the images.
A CNN analysis also determined that the difference in lighting seen in separate moments in the video could indicate the shooting of the video may have been done in different takes.
Third US Navy aircraft carrier could soon add dozens of combat jets to Middle East force
The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush was in the Indian Ocean as of Tuesday, according to photos posted on a US Defense Department website, meaning the US Navy could soon have dozens of more combat aircraft in the region if a ceasefire ends or to help enforce a blockade of Iranian ports.
The exact position of the Bush and its more than 75 aircraft was not revealed, but US Rep. Maggie Goodlander, a New Hampshire Democrat who is on the House Armed Services Committee, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Wednesday that a third carrier was heading to the Middle East as the Trump administration adds to forces in the region.
Meanwhile, the Atlantic Council’s US military tracking website said the Bush and its strike group were steaming around the southern tip of Africa on April 17 as Washington brings more naval forces to bear amid its blockade of Iranian ports.
The Bush strike group departed Norfolk, Virginia, on March 31 for what the Navy said was a regularly scheduled deployment.
Already in the Middle East region are the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been operating in the northern Indian Ocean near Iran since the conflict started, and the USS Gerald R. Ford, which is back in the Red Sea after spending time at Mediterranean ports for repairs and replenishment from late March to early April.
While the US has 11 carriers in total, maintenance, overhauls and training mean not all are ready for combat at any one time.
The Bush, commissioned in 2009, is the newest of 10 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers in the US fleet. Almost 1,000 feet long and displacing more than 100,000 tons, it is powered by two nuclear reactors with more than 5,500 sailors and air crew aboard.
CNN has asked US Central Command for comment on the status of the Bush.
Iran doesn't need a large navy to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed
Iran’s apparent use of speedboats in what it claims was the seizure of two merchant ships on Wednesday shows how it can still affect what happens in the Strait of Hormuz using asymmetric and non-traditional naval warfare.
US President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have said repeatedly that Iran’s naval forces, estimated to be around 150 ships, are at the bottom of the ocean.
But those are mostly larger warships that were part of Iran’s regular navy, like the frigate sunk by a US submarine off Sri Lanka in March.
According to US intelligence sources, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) retains as much as 50% of the assets it had before the war started. Those amount to possibly thousands of small boats like those that might have been used in the takeover of the merchant ships this week.
The IRGC is believed to operate small boats carrying anti-ship missiles and troops aboard them, and they could be used to launch shoulder-fired missiles at surface and aerial targets.
Those boats in small numbers are not a match for a US Navy destroyer and are very unlikely to sink a cargo ship or tanker.
But operating in swarms of dozens, or in conjunction with aerial drones or shore-based anti-ship missiles, they could do considerable damage to both enemy warships or large commercial vessels.
The IRGC has used the swarm tactic since the 1980s. In a highly visible military exercise in 2015, IRGC forces used 100 small boats to blast a replica of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in the Persian Gulf.
They can also be used to sow mines one at a time, and it doesn’t take many of those to effectively keep the Strait of Hormuz closed as commercial captains and ship owners don’t want to take the risk.
That could put Iran in a strong position to keep the strait closed for now, even without large warships.
What we know about the video purportedly showing Iran seizing ships
Two vessels reportedly seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday currently appear to be stationary just off the Iranian coast, according to ship tracking data. CNN’s Will Ripley reports.
Two vessels reportedly seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday currently appear to be stationary just off the Iranian coast, according to ship tracking data. CNN's Will Ripley reports.
US to host Israel-Lebanon talks today. What to expect
Israeli and Lebanese representatives are set to meet in Washington for a second round of diplomatic talks on Thursday.
A fragile 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon, to pause fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, remains in place following an order from US President Donald Trump on April 16.
Here’s what to know:
- Lebanon plans to seek a one-month ceasefire extension in its ambassador-level talks with Israel, a political source told CNN on Wednesday. The US-led ceasefire plan stated that Israel would “preserve its right to take all necessary measures in self-defense” and called on the Lebanese government to prevent Hezbollah “from carrying out attacks, operations or hostile activities against Israeli targets.”
- Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the country has no “serious disagreements with Lebanon” and is willing to “extend a hand in peace” to all those who seek it, in a speech on Wednesday. Sa’ar also called on the Lebanese government to “work together” against Hezbollah.
- Action on the ground risks complicating the talks. Over the past week, the Israeli military and Hezbollah have launched attacks.
- Lebanon’s prime minister accused Israel of war crimes after an airstrike in the south killed one journalist and seriously wounded another on Wednesday, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency. Israeli forces killed at least four people in the southern region in separate strikes, Lebanese state media reported.
- The attacks prompted an international outcry from groups such as the United Nations and the Committee to Protect Journalists.
- The US Embassy in Beirut is urging Americans to leave, citing “ongoing risks of terrorism and kidnapping throughout Lebanon.”
Lebanon has long been trying to disarm Hezbollah, particularly near the border with Israel. In January, Lebanon announced it had completed the first phase of its plan to disarm the Iran-backed militant group but Israel said the progress was “far from sufficient.”
CNN’s Charbel Mallo, Dana Karni, Eugenia Yosef, Sana Noor Haq and Tamara Qiblawi contributed reporting.
What we know about the Navy secretary's ousting
Secretary of the Navy John Phelan was ousted from his position Wednesday, six sources told CNN. The shakeup comes as the US Navy continues its blockade of Iranian ports during the ceasefire.
CNN’s Zachary Cohen reports:
Secretary of the Navy John Phelan is leaving his position “effective immediately,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced. CNN's Zachary Cohen reports.
US naval blockade persists with no timeline for war's end. What to know
As the US military intercepts and redirects vessels in its ongoing naval blockade of Iranian ports, the war’s timeline remains uncertain as diplomacy stalls.
While peace talks between the US and Iran were canceled in Pakistan this week, eyes are now on Israel and Lebanon as they prepare to meet for a second round of negotiations in Washington later today.
Here’s what else to know on Thursday:
- Diplomacy in limbo: A deadline for Iran to send a peace proposal to the US remains unsettled, with US President Donald Trump asserting Wednesday that there is “no time frame” for the conflict. Trump extended the ceasefire, after diplomatic efforts with Tehran stalled, and has pushed back on assumptions that political considerations are influencing his approach. A spokesperson for Trump said he doesn’t view Iran’s assertion that it seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz as a ceasefire violation.
- US blockade holds: Late Wednesday night, US Central Command said that it redirected 31 vessels to return to port, or turn around, as part of the ongoing US Navy blockade against Iran. Most vessels have been oil tankers.
- Navy shakeup: And as the maritime standoff continues, US Navy Secretary John Phelan was ousted from his position, six sources told CNN. It was “effective immediately,” per a Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.
- Strait of Hormuz timeline: A source said Pentagon officials briefed lawmakers on an intelligence assessment that found it could take up to six months to fully clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines after the war with Iran ends. A Pentagon spokesman said a six-month closure would be “unacceptable.”
- Israel and Lebanon: Later today, Washington will host a second round of talks between Israel and Lebanon in hopes of extending a fragile truce. The talks come a day after Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities.
- Rejected again: For the fifth time this year, the Senate rejected a measure aimed at restricting Trump’s war powers by requiring congressional approval for any future military action in Iran. The measure failed to advance, 46 to 51.
CNN’s Tori B. Powell, Charbel Mallo, Clay Voytek, Elise Hammond and Morgan Rimmer contributed reporting.
Rep. Goodlander says it's hard to take Trump's shifting Iran war timeline "seriously"
Since peace talks between the US and Iran were canceled, President Donald Trump has offered little clarity on negotiations. On Wednesday, he said there is “no time frame” for the conflict.
“It’s really hard to take the president at his word on anything these days because he is shifting his position every day on the hour it feels like, so it’s very hard to take what he’s saying seriously,” former Naval intelligence officer Rep. Maggie Goodlander told CNN.
Watch the conversation below:
