Where things stand
• Trip canceled: President Donald Trump said he no longer plans to send a US delegation to Pakistan this weekend, blaming “infighting” in Iran for derailing potential talks and saying the trip would have been “too much work.” Trump said the cancellation does not mean fighting will resume.
• Stalled peace effort: The White House had hoped to renew peace talks by sending envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad, but Tehran never confirmed plans to meet directly. Iran’s top diplomat has already left Pakistan after talks with mediators.
• In Lebanon: Meanwhile, Israel has launched more deadly strikes on southern Lebanon, according to the country’s health ministry, despite a ceasefire agreement recently extended by three weeks. Iran-backed Hezbollah has fired rockets into northern Israel.
Trump says cancellation of Pakistan trip does not signal return to fighting
President Donald Trump said the cancellation of plans for two of his top advisers to travel to Islamabad, Pakistan, for a new round of talks does not mean the resumption of the war.
“No. It doesn’t mean that. We haven’t thought about it yet,” Trump said in a call with Barak Ravid, an Axios reporter and CNN contributor, when asked whether the decision to not send special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to Pakistan should be interpreted as a step toward another round of fighting.
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
Iran's president calls on people to conserve energy amid US naval blockade
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called on people to conserve energy amid the US naval blockade, which is strangling the Islamic Republic’s main economic corridors and threatening an oil storage crisis.
Pezeshkian added that the United States had put Iran under siege to sow “dissatisfaction” among the Iranian population. “People must not allow dissatisfaction to arise,” he said.
Trump cancels Witkoff, Kushner trip to Pakistan due to "infighting" among Iran's leadership
President Donald Trump said he canceled special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s scheduled trip to Pakistan for a second round of talks with the Iranians, due to “infighting” among their fractured leadership.
“I just cancelled the trip of my representatives going is Islamabad, Pakistan, to meet with the Iranians. Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work! Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership.’ Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!” Trump said on social media.
On Friday, after the trip was announced, Trump told Reuters “we’re dealing with the people in charge now.”
But a day prior, he told reporters in the Oval Office that the United States didn’t know who the Iranian leadership was.
Trump says he has canceled Witkoff and Kushner's Pakistan trip
President Donald Trump says has called off his envoys’ trip to Islamabad, Pakistan, where a US delegation was supposed to work with Iranian counterparts toward a ceasefire deal to end the US-Iran war.
The White House directed CNN to comments Trump shared with Fox News on the cancellation.
“I’ve told my people a little while ago, they were getting ready to leave, and I said, ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18 hour flight to go there,’” Trump told Fox News in a phone interview, according to comments read aloud on the network’s air. “’We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you’re not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing.’”
The US delegation was supposed to be led by White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, along with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
The sudden and unilateral move comes as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently departed Islamabad, where he had been engaging with Pakistani officials.
At least 2,496 killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon since March 2, Health Ministry says
At least 2,496 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since they began on March 2, the Lebanese Health Ministry said in a statement today.
This figure marks a significant jump since the last death toll provided by the ministry on April 17. Then, it reported that 2,294 people had been killed in Israeli attacks, including 177 children.
Despite a recently extended ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, Israel has insisted its forces will remain in the south of the country and continue responding to “any threat.”
Four people were killed in an Israeli strike targeting a motorcycle in southern Lebanon earlier today, the Lebanese Health Ministry said, while Israel reported incoming rocket fire from Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed it has killed “more than 15 terrorists in southern Lebanon” this weekend, including three who were driving in “a vehicle loaded with weapons” earlier today.
“An additional terrorist riding a motorcycle in southern Lebanon, south of the Forward Defense Line, was also eliminated,” the IDF said.
Read more: Satellite imagery shows how the Israeli offensive against Hezbollah quickly became a mission to flatten swathes of southern Lebanon.
CNN’s Tim Lister contributed to this reporting.
Superyacht linked to Russian oligarch traverses Strait of Hormuz
A megayacht linked to a sanctioned Russian oligarch traversed the choked Strait of Hormuz earlier today, tracking data appears to show.
The Nord (IMO: 9853785), a nearly 142-meter (466-foot) yacht that is said to be one of the world’s largest, left the UAE city of Dubai yesterday evening before sailing through the critical waterway overnight, according to data from maritime intelligence provider MarineTraffic. It is heading toward Muscat, Oman, MarineTraffic data shows.
A yacht broker previously told CNN the vessel is estimated to be worth at least $500 million and is widely believed to belong to Alexey Mordashov, the chairman of a Russian steel and mining giant and one of Russia’s wealthiest billionaires. The Associated Press has reported that Mordashov owns the ship.
The yacht, 1.5 times the size of an American football field, appears to have taken the route that passes by Iran’s Larak Island, which Lloyd’s List Intelligence has previously said is a route used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to control access to the strait.
CNN has previously reported that the US State Department sanctioned Mordashov in 2022, in addition to three of his other companies, his wife and two adult children.
The Nord yacht boasts two helipads, and would typically have an extensive staff on board, including a full-time chef, fitness instructor and massage therapist, yacht broker Michael Maximilian Bognier told CNN in 2022.
It remains to be seen if the megayacht’s journey will be impacted by the US military presence in the region, including a naval blockade which US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters yesterday “is growing and going global.”
CNN’s Oliver Sherwood contributed to this report.
Araghchi leaves Pakistan, Iranian sources tell CNN
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi departed Islamabad on Saturday evening local time, according to Iranian sources familiar with the discussions, after meetings in the Pakistani capital to discuss a truce with Washington and consult key allies in the region.
It was not initially clear where Araghchi would travel next, but the Iranian Foreign Ministry previously said he would also visit Oman and Russia during the trip.
Some background: Araghchi landed in Islamabad on Friday evening for a flurry of meetings with Pakistan’s top leadership, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the country’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has served as a key mediator between Tehran and Washington.
Pakistani ministers are trying to facilitate a second round of talks between US and Iranian officials, after lengthy discussions in early April failed to alleviate the thorniest diplomatic hurdles between the warring parties.
The White House said Friday that a US delegation would travel to Islamabad this weekend, but Iranian media had denied reports that Araghchi would directly negotiate with Washington during his trip, leaving the status of talks uncertain.
Why Iran may be betting Trump will blink first in its stand-off with the US
A United States naval blockade on Iran is strangling the Islamic Republic’s main economic corridors – leaving Tehran facing a looming oil storage crisis and its citizens grappling with rising food prices and surging unemployment.
Yet unless Washington is prepared to impose its naval blockade for months longer, it will be difficult to completely dismantle an Iranian economy that has spent years adapting to US pressure and crippling sanctions.
Only three months ago, the Iranian government was on the brink of collapse after people took to the streets nationwide to protest the poor handling of the economy.
That same government was given a lifeline when the US and Israel launched its attacks, and it is now using the pretext of war to justify dire economic conditions to a nation of 92 million.
And as much as Iran is suffering, its leaders will be aware that Trump is under pressure too, with the US president facing growing backlash over the war domestically and crucial midterms looming.
Tehran may have calculated that Trump will blink first.
Read the full analysis here.
Four more killed in Lebanon despite ceasefire
Four people have been killed in an Israeli strike in south Lebanon on Saturday, according to the Lebanese health ministry. The strike targeted a motorcycle in the town of Yahmar Al-Shaqif, the ministry said.
Despite a ceasefire that came into effect a week ago, Israel has continued strikes in southern Lebanon, while the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah has fired more rockets at northern Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed it has killed “more than 15 terrorists in southern Lebanon” this weekend, including three who were driving in a vehicle loaded with weapons.
Israel’s military has repeated a warning to displaced Lebanese not to approach Israeli-controlled areas in southern Lebanon, naming dozens of villages. The IDF also said Saturday it had struck loaded rocket launchers outside the Israeli-occupied zone in southern Lebanon.
For context: On Thursday, the ceasefire was extended for three weeks, but Israel has insisted that its forces will remain in southern Lebanon.
“We are maintaining full freedom of action against any threat, including emerging ones,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday. “We struck yesterday and we struck today.”
Abbas Araghchi: Iranian foreign minister, veteran negotiator and nuclear expert
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has a wealth of negotiating experience, with nearly 30 years in a variety of diplomatic roles.
Now 63, Araghchi was born in the central city of Isfahan and volunteered to fight in the Iraq-Iran war as a teenager, as did tens of thousands of young Iranians. After receiving a doctorate at the University of Kent in England, Araghchi joined the Iranian Foreign Ministry, and over the past 20 years has been a member of Iranian delegations on nuclear issues.
Other negotiators described him as highly competent with a command of the details. He was instrumental in negotiating the 2015 agreement with the West, Russia and China that set limits on Iran’s nuclear program before US President Donald Trump quit the accord in his first term.
Araghchi was appointed Foreign Minister in 2024 by President Masoud Pezeshkian, with a mandate to secure sanctions relief. He was soon negotiating with US envoy Steve Witkoff on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missiles programs - talks that ultimately failed.
Dozens of senior Iranian officials have been assassinated in airstrikes since the conflict began at the end of February but Araghchi does not appear to have been a target, perhaps because he is seen as a possible interlocutor in any settlement.
But to many commentators, Araghchi has been eclipsed by other officials closer to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and to the new supreme leader. A post on X declaring the Strait of Hormuz open a week ago sparked criticism at home and a quick reversal, with one semi-official news agency criticizing him for a “flawed and incomplete tweet.”
Lebanese reporters say Israeli attacks won't silence them as UK decries killing of Amal Khalil
A colleague of Amal Khalil – the Lebanese journalist killed by Israeli forces on Wednesday – insisted reporters would not be deterred from doing their job as the British government escalated calls for the protection of media staffers in the region.
Khalil is the fourth media worker slain by Israel in Lebanon since March – drawing ferocious condemnation from press advocacy groups which have warned that the targeted killing of journalists amounts to a war crime.
On Saturday, the UK Foreign Office denounced Khalil’s “unacceptable” death and urged Israeli authorities “to ensure that media workers in Lebanon can conduct their work freely and safely,” in a post on X.
Earlier this week, a navy-blue press helmet, white and cream flowers and the Lebanese flag decorated the casket of Amal Khalil in the city of Sidon, where mourners gathered to commemorate her.
Photos and video from Khalil’s funeral in Baisariyah, showed hundreds of people bearing photos of Khalil and shouting, “Allahu Akbar! (God is great).”
At least 17 journalists and media workers have been killed in 2026 so far, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, all of those in the Middle East.
Omar Nashabeh, a co-worker of Khalil’s, insisted that journalists were “not scared” by the Israeli campaign, adding “time will prove that.”
Iran's foreign minister meets Pakistani PM, as US officials set to travel to Islamabad
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held talks in Islamabad, according to Pakistani officials and Iranian state media, while US officials are also expected to be traveling to Pakistan today for talks.
If you’re just joining us, here’s what you need to know about some of today’s other developments in the region:
- Turkey’s foreign minister said he believes that the key sticking points relating to nuclear issues could be resolved during a next round of peace talks between the US and Iran.
- A CNN review of satellite imagery reveals the scale of Israel’s destruction of southern Lebanon, mirroring tactics played out in Gaza.
- International flights from Tehran have resumed for the first time since the US and Israel’s war with Iran erupted at the end of February.
- Only a handful of vessels appear to have traversed the Strait of Hormuz so far today, according to tracking data.
- Exactly eight weeks have passed since the Iranian regime blocked the country’s internet access, the monitoring watchdog NetBlocks reported.
- Protesters in Jerusalem today called on the Trump administration to end its support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
CNN’s Sophia Saifi, Sana Noor Haq, Gul Tuysuz, Sophie Tanno, Abeer Salman, Oren Liebermann, Zeena Saifi, Allegra Goodwin, Rayhana Zalter, Farida Elsebai, Tim Lister, Ibrahim Dahman and Billy Stockwell.
Araghchi meets with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Sharif in Islamabad
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have begun talks in Islamabad, according to the Pakistani officials and Iranian state media, as Araghchi kicks off a diplomatic tour of the region.
Araghchi has “arrived at the Prime Minister’s House,” according to a statement from the Pakistani prime minister’s office. Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and army chief, Asim Munir are also present.
Iran’s state-backed Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that both parties have “exchanged views on Iran-Pakistan relations” and “strengthening regional cooperation, especially the ongoing diplomacy to completely stop the war.”
The Iranian foreign minister also thanked Pakistan for supporting “the oppressed people of Palestine” and “special efforts to implement the ceasefire understanding regarding Lebanon,” according to IRNA.
Mediators in Islamabad are pushing for a second round of negotiations between US and Iranian officials after marathon talks stalled in early April. Araghchi has spoken with Pakistani leaders at least twice since he arrived in the capital on Friday.
Earlier today, Araghchi met separately with Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, and highlighted government ministers’ “commendable efforts” to halt the war.
Araghchi emphasized the “valuable endeavors” of Field Marshal Munir – the top Pakistani mediator between the US and Iran – and other officials “for establishing the ceasefire,” in a Telegram post shortly after the meeting finished.
“Discussions and exchanges of views were held regarding the latest developments related to the ceasefire,” Araghchi’s post said. “Field Marshal Munir… announced the country’s readiness to continue Pakistan’s mediation efforts until a result is achieved,” the post added.
Traffic through Strait of Hormuz remains at a trickle
Traffic through the choked Strait of Hormuz remains significantly lower than pre-war levels.
Only a handful of vessels appear to have traversed the crucial waterway so far today, according to tracking data.
The channel, through which one-fifth of global crude oil flows, has become a key focal point of the US-Israeli war with Iran, with spiraling economic impacts around the world. Tehran and Washington have launched separate blockades of the waterway, with Iran attacking what it calls “hostile” vessels and the US targeting ships from Iranian ports.
Data from MarineTraffic, a maritime intelligence provider, shows an oil products tanker named Oceanjet, owned by an Indian company, and an oil and chemical tanker called Lumina Ocean crossed the waterway in recent hours. A Russia-flagged yacht has also sailed through the strait.
CNN cannot independently verify the journeys as shipping data can sometimes show irregularities due to signal gaps and spoofing – the transmission of false signals to mislead tracking systems.
Mediator Turkey optimistic nuclear issues could be resolved in second round of US-Iran talks
Turkey’s foreign minister said he believes that the key sticking points relating to nuclear issues could be resolved during a next round of peace talks between the US and Iran.
Hakan Fidan said that Turkey had had almost daily contact with the parties involved and reiterated Ankara’s support for the ceasefire, which was initially set at two weeks and has now been extended.
“We are trying to encourage the parties to make positive contributions in this regard as much as we can.”
He added that, “if this happens, of course, it will be possible to resolve the problem regarding the Strait of Hormuz.”
Iran's top diplomat is visiting Russia during his overseas tour
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has embarked on his foreign tour, where, on top of visiting key mediators Pakistan and Oman, he’ll also head to Russia, highlighting the countries’ long standing partnership.
Russia has remained a critical diplomatic ally for Iran throughout the conflict with the US.
The Kremlin has repeatedly offered to take custody of Iran’s enriched uranium, proposing to store or reprocess it on Russian soil.
While this could theoretically resolve some of the US key demands in negotiations to end its war with Iran, President Donald Trump reportedly rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer, presumably wanting to stave off Moscow – already a global leader in nuclear energy – from gaining even more leverage.
Beyond uranium, Iran and Russia signed a 20-year treaty in January 2025 strengthening their economic, military and political partnership. Russia views US strikes on Iran as “unprovoked aggression,” but crucially the agreement signed by Tehran and Moscow stopped short of a mutual-defense pact.
Yesterday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he “highly appreciated” Islamabad’s mediation efforts between Iran and the US in a call with his Pakistani counterpart Mohammad Ishaq Dar, while voicing Moscow’s “readiness to contribute.”
In March, CNN reported that Russia was providing Iran with intelligence about the locations and movements of American troops, ships and aircraft, according to multiple people familiar with US intelligence reporting on the issue, the first indication that Moscow sought to get involved in the war.
Araghchi’s upcoming trip to Moscow is a sign Tehran will be looking to consult its partners in the Kremlin amid the conflict.
Protest in Jerusalem calls on Trump to end support for Netanyahu
Protesters in Jerusalem called on the Trump administration to end its support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Dozens gathered outside the home of the US ambassador to Israel on Saturday morning, carrying signs with messages aimed at President Donald Trump, saying “Don’t be fooled again” as they accused Netanyahu of endangering the strategic US-Israel relationship.
“He fooled you on Gaza & Iran,” read one of the signs.
Yaron, an 11-year-old boy, said, “(Netanyahu) does not care about our future. He cares only about himself and about staying in power. He has hurt our country.”
The protest was held outside the home of US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a staunch ally of Netanyahu. During the visit of Argentine President Javier Millei to Israel earlier this week, Huckabee said of Netanyahu and Millei, “I don’t know of any two world leaders on our planet that our president has more respect for and more personal relationship with than President Millei and Prime Minister Netanyahu.”
Although Israelis overwhelmingly supported the joint US and Israeli war against Iran when it began, that support has slowly eroded. A series of polls in mid-April showed that most Israelis do not believe the US and Israel won the war against Iran. Anti-war protests, though very small at the beginning of the Iran war, have since grown in size.
Why Iran's foreign minister's presence in Pakistan matters
As Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi touched down in Islamabad late last night to lead the next round of US and Pakistan talks, there are questions about why Iran’s number two at the last talks has returned in pole position.
Mohammad Baghir Ghalibaf, the powerful former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general and current speaker of Iran’s Parliament, led the last Iranian delegation and faced US Vice President JD Vance across the talks table. It would be wrong to assume he has been marginalized.
President Donald Trump’s claims that the Iranian leadership is divided have been roundly rejected by Iranian leaders, including both Araghchi and Ghalibaf in near matching tweets in recent days. Ghalibaf has said that “there are no radicals or moderates - we are all Iranian and revolutionary.”
While Trump had called on the Iranians to submit “their proposal,” it’s not clear what the aim of Araghchi’s mission to Tehran is, but it breathes life back in to the stagnating process around peace talks.
Here's where else Iran’s foreign minister is traveling on his diplomatic tour
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi embarked yesterday on a tour to Pakistan, Russia and Oman, reconvening with allies as hostilities with Washington near a third month.
The tenuous truce between the US and Iran is holding. But clear hurdles remain over a longlasting resolution between the warring parties.
Araghchi held talks with Pakistan’s political officials early Saturday, including the country’s army chief – Asim Munir – who has assumed the role of lead negotiator between the US and Iran. Tehran has not disclosed the length of Araghchi’s stay in Islamabad.
After a diplomatic squeeze in Pakistan, Araghchi will touch down in Moscow and Muscat.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is a steadfast ally of Tehran – even offering to guard Iran’s enriched uranium.
And in February, Omani government ministers ferried messages between US and Iranian officials to facilitate indirect nuclear talks – before the US-Israeli strikes triggered another bout of violence.
It’s hard to say whether this latest round of talks in Islamabad will bear fruit – or end in another stalemate.
Even though White House officials are scheduled to travel to Pakistan on Saturday, semi-official state media in Iran has denied reports that Araghchi is planning to negotiate with the US.
The heads of the US and Iranian delegations at the last round of talks, US Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf are not planning to attend, two administration officials told CNN.
How the last round of US-Iran peace talks unfolded
Delegations from the US and Iran last met in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, two weeks ago. Negotiations lasted 21 hours before ending without a deal to end the war.
US Vice President JD Vance suggested the primary sticking point was Iran’s refusal to abandon its nuclear program, while the leader of the Iranian negotiators, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the US failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation.
With US officials expected to travel to Pakistan today, here’s a closer look at how the last talks unfolded between the US and Iran:
- Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Vance arrived in Islamabad and separately met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif before beginning the face-to-face talks on Saturday afternoon.
- A few hours into the talks, experts in economic, military, legal and nuclear issues from both sides met with each other, Iran’s government said.
- In the early hours of Sunday morning local time, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that the delegations had begun a new round of trilateral talks, also saying that significant challenges remained.
- Hours later, Vance held a news conference, where he announced that the sides had not reached an agreement, despite what he called “substantive discussions” and the US offering its “final and best offer.”
- Meanwhile, Iran’s Tasnim blamed “US overreach and ambitions” for preventing “a common framework and agreement.”
CNN’s Laura Sharman, Lex Harvey, Betsy Klein, Sophia Saifi, Sophie Tanno, Issy Ronald, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Kevin Liptak, Tim Lister and Aida Karimi contributed to this reporting.
