Here's the latest
• Diplomatic moves: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will arrive in the Gulf region later to sell the US-Iran agreement to three countries likely to be among its biggest skeptics. Meanwhile, Iran’s president and foreign minister have arrived in Pakistan following negotiations in Switzerland over the weekend.
• Nuclear monitoring: US President Donald Trump claimed today that Iran has agreed to nuclear inspections into “infinity,” after Tehran denied making any new commitments following the talks. Vice President JD Vance had described the development as a “major milestone.”
• Israel-Lebanon talks: The US will mediate another round of talks beginning today to end deadly fighting in Lebanon between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah, not included in the talks, has denounced them. The US has also set up a “monitoring mechanism” for the ceasefire, a US official said.
Hezbollah accuses Israel of "blatant violation" of ceasefire as two killed in Lebanon
Hezbollah has accused Israel of a “blatant violation” of the US-Iran 14-point ceasefire plan after Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli attacks killed two people on Tuesday.
“At 11:30, the Israeli enemy army opened fire with machine guns from between residential houses toward a group of civilians in the Al-Dayr neighborhood of the city of Nabatieh,” the Iran-backed militant group said.
“The Islamic Resistance warns that what the enemy has committed constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire,” the organization added.
Hezbollah said those killed were part of a group clearing roads and recovering bodies from rubble.
Earlier Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it struck “armed terrorists who posed an immediate threat to IDF soldiers operating in the Security Zone in southern Lebanon.”
“The IDF will continue to operate to remove immediate threats and will not allow the Hezbollah terrorist organization to harm Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers,” it added.
In a separate incident, the IDF said it fired at what it described as four Hezbollah members riding a bulldozer and a motorcycle approaching Israeli troops in the security zone.
Despite the nascent agreement between the US and Iran, which calls for a complete end to hostilities in Lebanon, fighting continued between Israel and Hezbollah over the weekend.
This post has been updated with additional information.
US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon now underway
A fresh round of talks between Israel and Lebanon has started in Washington, DC, the Israeli Embassy in the US said.
“The discussions will be conducted simultaneously on diplomatic and military tracks,” the embassy added.
The talks will begin with a “joint military and political session, then a military session, followed by a political closing round,” a State Department official said Monday.
The talks are scheduled to last until Thursday.
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler contributed reporting.
A look at what's happened after US-Iran talks in Switzerland
Officials from the US, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar met at the Swiss mountain resort of Bürgenstock over the weekend, where they discussed an agreement towards the end of the US-Iran war.
Here’s what we learned about what was negotiated:
- Lebanon: An emergency session on Israel’s fighting in Lebanon was added to the talks and was set to be the first topic addressed, a diplomat briefed on the session told CNN. US Vice President JD Vance touted “progress”, while Qatar and Pakistan said the US and Iran agreed to create a “de-confliction cell” involving Lebanon, to ensure the end of military operations in the country. Yesterday, Vance said talks to end fighting in southern Lebanon were still a “work in progress.”
- Strait of Hormuz: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the US and Iran agreed that ships must be allowed to pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz, state media Tasnim reported. Tehran and Washington agreed to set up a “telephone hotline” to “prevent and resolve any misunderstandings” in the waterway, Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said.
- Sanctions: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said sanctions on Iran’s oil had been waived and some of Iran’s assets frozen abroad had been released. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the Trump administration is temporarily lifting sanctions on the sale of Iranian oil.
- Nuclear program: Vance told reporters that Iran had agreed to admit nuclear monitors into the country. Pushing back on this, Baghaei said Iran had not taken on any new commitments, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
- US-Iran relations: Vance said the US was willing to “fundamentally transform” its relations with Iran if it abandons its nuclear ambitions “for the long term.”
CNN’s Lex Harvey, Becky Anderson, Michael Williams, Yasha Saebi, Rupert Neate, Adam Cancryn, Donald Judd, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Thom Poole contributed to this reporting.
Trump claims Iran agreed to nuclear inspections into "infinity," despite Tehran's denial
President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday that Iran had agreed to the “highest level Nuclear inspections” in perpetuity, even after Tehran said nothing had changed in its cooperation with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.
“Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!),” he wrote on Truth Social. “This will insure ‘Nuclear Honesty.’ If they did not agree to this, there would be no further negotiations!”
It was the latest salvo in dueling narratives about the state of the talks, which began over the weekend in Switzerland. On Monday, Vice President JD Vance said a “major milestone” had been reached when Iran agreed to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency into the country.
He didn’t specify what type of access they would have. And hours later, Tehran said its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog would continue “under the current procedures.”
Trump, in his post, reaffirmed the US blockade of Iranian ports would remain lifted, a provision of the memorandum of understanding signed with Iran last week.
And he claimed any financial relief offered to Iran would come with conditions, namely that freed-up money would be put toward “the purchase of food and medical supplies, exclusively from the United States, including Corn, Wheat, and Soybeans from our great American Farmers.”
“These are things that are desperately needed by Iran. This is a humanitarian crisis, and I feel it is necessary to help, NOW, before it is too late. Talks are going well!” he wrote.
Iran's president and foreign minister arrive in Pakistan after US talks
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi have arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan.
The Iranian delegation was welcomed by Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and several ministers.
The visit comes a day after Pakistan and Qatar said the round of US-Iran talks in Switzerland over the weekend was productive.
“Pakistan and Iran share strong brotherly ties, deeply rooted in history, faith, and culture,” a statement from Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. “The leadership and people of Pakistan extend a warm welcome to Foreign Minister Araghchi and the Iranian delegation to Islamabad.”
Israel must have “arms independence,” Netanyahu says, as US military aid expiring in 2028
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the country must have “arms independence” as billions in US military aid is set to expire in 2028.
“I want arms independence,” said Netanyahu, speaking to reserve officers in the occupied West Bank. “I deeply appreciate the support we have received – and that I have also secured over the years – from our American friends. Today I say: we must have our own independent armaments system. We must produce our own weapons.”
In September, Netanyahu acknowledged that Israel is facing a “kind of isolation” that could last for years, claiming that Israel would develop its own weapons industry and became “Athens and super Sparta combined.”
Under a 10-year Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2018, Israel receives $3.8 billion a year in military aid from the United States, much of which Israel is required to spend on US arms manufacturers.
The agreement would need to be renegotiated ahead of its expiration in 2028, but Israel has become an increasingly political issue in the US. The Democratic Party has been harshly critical of Netanyahu and Israel’s conduct in war in Gaza and Lebanon, while younger Republicans have also increasingly criticized Israel.
In early June the Israeli Defense Ministry announced the launch of formal talks with the Trump administration on a new security cooperation framework to replace the current 10-year memorandum of understanding.
What has happened since Israel and Hezbollah agreed to renew the ceasefire in Lebanon?
The next round of US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon is expected to take place in Washington, DC today, with leaders set to hold discussions on both military and political issues, according to a US State Department official.
It is the first face-to-face meeting between Lebanese and Israeli representatives since a renewed ceasefire was agreed to on Friday, after fighting that killed at least 83 people in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, and four Israeli soldiers, the IDF said.
Here’s a look at what has happened since then:
- Following the deadly attacks, Israel and Hezbollah agreed to renew the ceasefire in Lebanon. There was no formal agreement, nor were there any specific terms of the deal that were publicized.
- The next day, at least 16 people were killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, according to Lebanese Civil Defense. Hezbollah said that it “will not hesitate to confront any attempt by the enemy to seize land and expand its occupation.”
- Iran’s military command said it would close the Strait of Hormuz due to Israel’s “ongoing” violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon and the US “failing” to stop this, Iranian state media reported.
- On Sunday, Iran’s Deputy of Communications and Information Dissemination of the President’s Office, Seyed Mehdi Tabatabaie, said that the US-Iran peace agreement cannot be implemented unless the war in Lebanon ends.
- Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his country’s military “will not withdraw from the security zone” in Lebanon, declaring that there is “no restriction” on soldiers operating there.
- Israeli military raids killed at least seven people in Lebanon on Sunday, including a child and two elderly people, Lebanese state media reported.
- Yesterday, an Israeli source familiar with the matter told CNN Israel is considering announcing “symbolic” withdrawals from occupied territory in southern Lebanon.
- US Vice President JD Vance said talks to end fighting in southern Lebanon were still a “work in progress.”
- The US and Iran agreed to create a “de-confliction cell” involving Lebanon to ensure the end of military operations there, mediators said.
- A US official also said yesterday that Washington has set up a “monitoring mechanism” involving US Central Command “so that our policymakers have real-time and accurate information about fighting in Lebanon.”
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Eyad Kourdi, Charbel Mallo, Oren Liebermann, Charlotte Reck, Adam Pourahmadi, Sophie Tanno, Dana Karni, Sana Noor Haq, Tal Shalev, Michael Williams, Lex Harvey and Deva Lee contributed to this reporting.
Exclusive: Downed US pilot reported seeing Iranian drones swarm in ‘jellyfish’ formation
A US fighter jet pilot rescued by special forces after being shot down over Iran in April described a shocking sight before ejecting from his aircraft: multiple Iranian drones hovering in the air, moving as one, in a formation that resembled a jellyfish, according to four sources familiar with the matter.
The account, which has not been previously reported, was shared by the F-15 pilot with intelligence officials during a debriefing after the incident. It immediately set off a firestorm of debate within the US intelligence community that has yet to be resolved.
If the airman really saw what he described — a formation moving in unison — it would be an alarming advance in Iranian drone capabilities.
Another source told CNN the pilot described witnessing a “minefield of drones” in the air.
While the exact cause of the F-15 downing is still being investigated, initial reports indicated that it was possible the drone formation had in some way enabled Iran to shoot down the American jet, according to two of the sources.
The downing of the F-15 fighter jet marked the first time a US aircraft has been shot down over Iran during the conflict.
Iran and Oman formed "joint committee" to discuss Hormuz, Iran's top negotiator says
Iran and Oman have formed a joint committee to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Tuesday on Telegram.
Following the Iranian delegation’s trip to Muscat, “Iran and Oman formed a joint committee to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, with more details to be provided in a joint statement to be released,” he said.
Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said earlier that he and Ghalibaf had “constructive discussions on the recent Iran-US (Memorandum of Understanding), especially the Strait of Hormuz paragraph.”
“We affirmed commitment to international law and toll-free safe passage,” Albusaidi wrote on X.
Shipping companies remain cautious about sending their vessels through the Strait of Hormuz amid conflicting signals about the agreement between the US and Iran and the presence of dozens of mines.
Traffic has however steadily increased but is still well below pre-war levels. The increase came as Iran and the US agreed to set up a hotline for the strait to “prevent and resolve any misunderstandings” with countries as ships transit the chokepoint, according to Iran’s top negotiator.
Rubio visiting Gulf allies hit hardest by Iran as US-Iran deal advances
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will arrive in the Gulf region tonight to sell the Iran deal to three countries that are likely to be among its biggest skeptics.
The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait were among the Gulf states most heavily targeted by Iran during the war, while attacks on Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman declined in the conflict’s final days.
Kuwait’s position is particularly precarious. The US ally relies heavily on oil export revenues and is more exposed to disruption in the Strait of Hormuz than the UAE because all of its maritime oil exports pass through the waterway. Unlike some of its neighbors, it also lacks highly advanced missile defenses and sits within range of Iran’s short-range missile arsenal.
While Gulf states have broadly welcomed the end of the war, Rubio may face a tougher task convincing them of the merits of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding behind closed doors.
The agreement grants Iran a formal role in overseeing commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz alongside Oman, an unusual arrangement for a major international waterway. This means that much of the maritime trade of the Gulf states could be conducted with Iranian oversight.
The agreement also does not address Iran’s missile program, a concern many Gulf states consider more immediate than Tehran’s nuclear activities. The nuclear issue itself remains unresolved under the interim arrangement.
But perhaps more importantly, the agreement requires buy-in from the Gulf states because it includes a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran that Tehran insisted on adding. Trump committed Gulf funding to the initiative, but there has been little indication that Gulf states themselves have signed on. Saudi Arabia has already said it has “no details” about the proposal, while Qatar has expressed interest but stopped short of a formal commitment.
No withdrawal from Lebanon security zone, says far-right Israeli minister ahead of talks
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich insisted there will be “no Israeli withdrawal from the security zone” in Lebanon ahead of talks between the two countries set to start in Washington on Tuesday.
“There will be no Israeli withdrawal from the security zone, including the Beaufort (fortress), from Lebanon as long as Hezbollah exists in Lebanon,” Smotrich said on Israel’s Army Radio.
CNN previously reported that Israel is considering the possibility of announcing a “symbolic” withdrawal from some territory in Lebanon.
Smotrich’s comments echo those made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Monday that he is “firm on our remaining in the security zone in Southern Lebanon for as long as is required.”
Iran’s president says success of agreement with US will depend on "precise implementation"
The success of the framework agreement reached between the US and Iran will depend on its “precise implementation,” Iran’s president said Tuesday.
US and Iranian negotiators voiced optimism on Monday following negotiations in Switzerland but have offered differing messages on International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors visiting Iran’s nuclear sites.
Pezeshkian is due Tuesday to visit Pakistan, which has played a key role as mediator between the US and Iran for months as the two sides work to find a final diplomatic resolution to the war.
Rubio’s visit to the Middle East intended to “reassure” Gulf allies, expert says
Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to the Middle East is intended to “reassure” Gulf allies as the US and Iran work to implement a framework agreement aimed at permanently ending the war, according to an international relations expert.
US allies in the region, including the wealthy Gulf nations of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the UAE, came under repeated attack over the course of the US-Israel war against Iran that began in February.
Many of the attacks targeted energy infrastructure and commercial sites, causing billions of dollars of economic losses and shattering their image as a safe haven for foreign travel and investment.
Iranian officials have stated repeatedly that the Strait of Hormuz, which is the primary conduit for Gulf states’ oil exports will not return to its pre-war status as an open international waterway but instead be jointly administered with Oman when a final agreement is reached.
A dozen Indian nationals killed in explosion due to "malfunction" at Qatar LNG hub
At least 13 people, including a dozen Indian nationals, were killed in an explosion at a massive Qatar gas complex Sunday, authorities said, adding it was the result of an industrial accident and not conflict-related.
The explosion at the Ras Laffan liquified natural gas (LNG) hub was caused “due to a technical malfunction during operations,” Qatar’s Ministry of Interior said in a statement on X on Monday. It added that 13 people had died, while 66 more were injured.
The Indian embassy in Doha said a dozen Indian nationals were killed in the explosion and that it was working to repatriate their bodies.
Qatari authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.
The Ras Laffan LNG hub is the world’s largest such facility. It was struck by Iranian missiles during the US-Israeli war with Iran, suffering “extensive damage.”
QatarEnergy is working to restart operations at the facility, which had been halted following the attack, according to Reuters.
Some background: There are about 9 million Indian nationals residing and working in the Gulf, according to India’s foreign ministry. Many of these migrants work as laborers powering major sectors including construction, hospitality and domestic work, yet they remain among its most exposed and unprotected demographic.
A large number of the people killed in Gulf countries since the start of the war have been South Asian nationals.
US-Iran talks expected to continue as next steps take shape. Here's the latest
Negotiations focused on finding a permanent end to the war with Iran are retaining their momentum, with steps toward implementing the country’s initial agreement with the US taking shape. Lead negotiators have left Switzerland, but technical talks are expected to continue.
Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain from Tuesday through Thursday to discuss US-Iran negotiations.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, meanwhile, will visit mediator Pakistan today.
Iran is also set to hold talks with Persian Gulf states on regional security in the next stage of negotiations with the US, according to Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.
Here’s what else happened on Monday:
- Strait of Hormuz hotline: Iran and the US agreed to set up a hotline for the strait to “prevent and resolve any misunderstandings” with countries as ships transit the oil trade chokepoint, according to Tehran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Traffic through the strait is steadily increasing, according to MarineTraffic data, but is still well below pre-war levels.
- Nuclear messaging: US Vice President JD Vance said Tehran had agreed to admit nuclear monitors into the country, describing this as “the first step in permanently denuclearizing” Iran. But Iran denied making any new commitments on monitoring, with state media reporting that Tehran did not negotiate the nuclear issue during 18 hours of discussions.
- Iran’s frozen assets: Vance outlined an initiative for unfreezing Iranian assets that would grant the US approval over what Tehran can purchase using the money. Ghalibaf, meanwhile, claimed Iran’s access to $12 billion of its frozen funds was finalized during negotiations in Switzerland.
- Temporary lifted sanctions: The US Treasury Department issued a 60-day waiver on the sale of Iranian oil, following through on one of the US-Iran agreement’s key commitments. The waiver allows Iran to sell and deliver oil sanction-free until 12:01 a.m. on August 21 to nearly every country around the world, including the US.
- Trump focused on nuclear: President Donald Trump said preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon outweighs concerns about the potential economic consequences of prolonged military action, including the risk of a global depression. Trump reiterated that military action remains on the table if Iran does not comply with their agreement.
CNN’s Adam Cancryn, Alejandra Jaramillo, Donald Judd, Haley Britzky, Jennifer Hansler, Kevin Liptak, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Sarah Tamimi and Tal Shalev contributed to this report.
Preventing Iranian nuclear weapon "supersedes" risk of economic depression, Trump says
President Donald Trump said preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon outweighs concerns about the potential economic consequences of prolonged military action, including the risk of a global depression.
President Donald Trump said Monday that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon outweighs concerns about the potential economic consequences of prolonged military action, including the risk of a global depression.
US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon resume today. Here's what to know
Another round of talks between Israel and Lebanon are set to begin in Washington, DC today. The meetings come amid a recently renewed ceasefire in Lebanon, where deadly violations by Hezbollah and Israel have threatened to derail the US-Iran negotiations.
This fifth round of US-mediated talks will include sessions on political and military issues, as Washington seeks to move forward on a “comprehensive peace and security agreement,” a State Department official said.
Since the war with Iran began, a series of truces have failed to maintain peace in Lebanon. A US-brokered truce was struck in April and most recently renewed on June 20, but repeated strikes and artillery fire have been frequently reported since.
Israel offensive in Lebanon has killed more than 4,000 people since March, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Here’s what to know:
- US steps: The US has set up a “monitoring mechanism” for the ceasefire, a US official said. It is part of a “de-confliction cell” referenced by JD Vance, which the vice president and mediators said was set up during talks in Switzerland. Israel was not mentioned in statements about the mechanism, and it’s not clear that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signed off on the idea.
- On the ground: Vance noted a period without fighting on the front lines, telling reporters on Monday that the previous 24 hours “have probably been the most peaceful that we’ve seen the situation in Lebanon.” He said teams had taken steps to “ensure it doesn’t spiral out of control in the future.” Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the UN secretary general, said in a briefing that Sunday was “the first day since the resumption of hostilities in Lebanon on 2 March that peacekeepers from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon did not detect any trajectories or observe any interceptions.”
- Israel weighing steps: Israel is considering announcing “symbolic” withdrawals from occupied territory in southern Lebanon as part of the talks, according to an Israeli source. The withdrawals would constitute the pullback of some forces from minor areas over the so-called Yellow Line, which delineated the boundary of the territory the Israeli military held after a previous ceasefire in April.
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Haley Britzky, Michael Williams and Tal Shalev contributed reporting.
Shipping steadily increases in Strait of Hormuz
At least two dozen commercial vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz over 24 hours, according to MarineTraffic data reviewed by CNN on Monday.
The ships included eight tankers and two cargo ships exiting the Persian Gulf and eight tankers and six cargo ships entering it.
These figures mark a clear increase from depressed crossing rates seen during much of the Iran war since its start in late February. Before the war, about 110 vessels crossed the strait every day on average.
In the months since, the strait has seen intense GPS spoofing — a form of navigation systems interference that causes vessels’ broadcast positions to appear in the wrong locations. Spoofing has subsided noticeably in recent days.
