Here's the latest
• Threat delayed: President Donald Trump said the US will hold off on targeting Iranian energy sites another 10 days as “talks are ongoing” with Tehran. The pause on strikes had been set to expire Friday.
• Fraught negotiations: Trump has insisted that it’s up to Iranian leaders to convince him to halt the war, saying he doesn’t care about making a deal. Iranian state media has said the regime has “complete doubt” about Washington’s willingness to negotiate.
• Ongoing fighting: Attacks are continuing across the region, with Iran reporting overnight strikes in multiple cities, including in Tehran and Urmia.
• Fuel protests: In the Philippines, protesters hit the streets over rising fuel prices after it became the first country to declare a state of emergency due to the energy crisis. Oil prices edged up slightly after Trump announced the pause on strikes.
Iran conflict is a boon for Russia’s "war machine" and it’s not just about oil
The Iran war has handed Russia’s beleaguered economy a much-needed lifeline.
High oil prices are boosting the Kremlin’s coffers, helping plug a hole in its federal budget and sustain the war effort in Ukraine. But beyond oil, a global scramble for natural gas and fertilizer supplies — also choked off by the Iran conflict — could further boost Russia’s financial gains.
“The biggest winner of the (Iran) conflict is Russia,” said Ben Cahill, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a think tank in Washington, DC. The Kremlin can now sell previously discounted Russian crude “at full market prices,” marking “a pretty big turnaround” for the economy, he added.
The windfall for Russia’s public finances comes at a crucial moment. Before the Iran war, “Russia was heading toward a genuine budget crisis,” said Alexandra Prokopenko, a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, a Russia-focused research institute in Berlin. Although the latest Middle East conflict has not fundamentally changed the outlook for an economy structurally damaged by a drawn-out war, it has “bought time,” she told CNN.
Quite how much time depends on how long the Iran war lasts, but higher oil prices have already brought some relief. Russia’s finance ministry signaled that spending cuts previously expected for this year will now be pushed out to 2027, Prokopenko added.
As Iran appoints hardline new military-backed leaders, residents fear a repressive future
Nearly a month into the war, the US and Israel have steadily picked off Iran’s top leadership – allowing new hardline figures to take power, experts warn, and sowing fear and unease among the public.
“The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) has continued targeting senior Iranian commanders to disrupt Iranian command and control and operations broadly,” wrote the Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington, DC, in a Thursday report.
In this sudden power vacuum, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has “reportedly continued to consolidate power within the Iranian regime and play an increasingly central role in key leadership decisions,” it warned – citing newly appointed leaders with deep military ties and hardline stances.
That’s an unsettling thought for some Iranian residents, many of whom remain divided. Pro-regime supporters mourned the killing of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, while others have long wished for an end to the repressive regime he led.
One resident within Iran told CNN there was widespread concern about what could happen if Trump left the war “unfinished”–- fearing the new regime could crack down on the populace. Things would be “hell,” they said – adding that the war could go on for a long time, though everyone hopes it will end soon.
CNN is not naming the resident for their security.
For context: Besides Khamenei, Israeli attacks have also killed top national security official Ali Larijani, intelligence minister Esmail Khatib, paramilitary force chief Gholamreza Soleimani – and on Thursday, Iranian naval chief Alireza Tangsiri.
Oil prices rise slightly after Trump extends pause on Iran energy strikes
Oil prices edged up slightly early Friday after US President Donald Trump said he would hold off strikes against Iranian energy sites, citing ongoing talks with the country.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1% to $109.1 a barrel at 3:20 am ET on Friday. WTI, the US benchmark, was up 0.4% to $94.9 a barrel.
Oil prices have been volatile this week after Trump threatened to carry out military strikes on Iran’s power plants if Tehran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz — a critical oil and gas shipping route which has been effectively closed since the war began. Trump had said on Thursday that the US would hold off on the strikes for another 10 days. The pause was set to expire on Friday.
Protests in the Philippines as fuel prices soar
Hundreds of people are marching through Manila to protest rising fuel prices as the Philippines reels from the energy crisis triggered by the conflict in the Middle East.
Friday’s protest is part of a two-day nationwide strike, organized by the country’s transport unions. Since the start of the war, the cost of diesel and petrol has more than doubled.
“My earnings of 500 pesos ($8.28) a day now goes mostly to my children’s school allowance. That’s not enough for food on the table,” said jeepney driver Michael Llabore, a father of five. “The president needs to address why they let the oil companies increase their prices almost everyday.”
Protesters are expected to march through the city toward the Presidential Palace, where barricades and a heavy police presence is expected.
Earlier this week, the Philippines became the first country in the world to announce a state of emergency due to the energy shortages, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. warning that there was an “imminent danger” to the “availability and stability of the country’s energy supply.”
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that the country had 40-45 days’ worth of petroleum supply left and outlined the “cascading effects” of higher energy prices on the economy.
Measures include introducing fuel subsidies and other initiatives to reduce transport costs, taking action against hoarding, profiteering and manipulation of the supply of petroleum products.
Jeepney drivers and other public transport operators have been struggling to stay afloat amid the soaring cost of oil.
Allan Las Pinas, 46, also a jeepney driver, said the oil price increase has reduced his daily income.
“Before, I could give part of my earnings everyday to my kids, but now I ask them to be patient because I can’t anymore,” he said. “Because I earn less now, my earnings go to food. So they don’t have their school allowance now.”
About 98% of the Philippines’ oil imports come from the Middle East, making the country – and much of Asia – especially vulnerable to supply disruptions.
Search and rescue operations underway in Tehran following overnight strikes
Rescue workers were busy combing for survivors and helping the injured after overnight strikes on Tehran, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said on Friday.
“A residential area in Tehran was targeted by an airstrike, and the Red Crescent’s operational teams were immediately dispatched to the scene and provided relief to the affected citizens,” the IRCS said in a statement.
Photos from the scene show a multi-story building heavily damaged and rubble on the streets around dawn as emergency responders used ladders to reach the upper floors.
The IRCS said civilians were trapped under the rubble, with video showing emergency workers going up the damaged stairs of a building in search of survivors, with a child’s bike covered in dust visible in the background.
The Israeli military said Friday it had launched “a wide-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran, targeting what it described as Iranian regime infrastructure. In a statement, an IDF spokesperson said they attacked sites being used by Iran to “produce weapons, primarily ballistic missiles.” The spokesperson added that the air force also struck firepower arrays in western Iran, hitting missile launchers and missile storage sites.
The IRCS says airstrikes have damaged more than 87,000 civilian units across the country since the war began on February 28, about 66,000 of which are residential buildings.
Israeli and US strikes on Iran have so far killed at least 1,492 civilians – including 221 children – and 1,167 military personnel, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said on Thursday, adding that hundreds of other fatalities are yet to be recorded.
Many of Trump’s remaining options risk heavy casualties with dubious chances of success
President Donald Trump is weighing several options for dramatically escalating the war against Iran should his latest push for diplomacy fail.
While the military campaign has heavily focused on bombing the country so far, Pentagon officials preparing for a next phase of war have drawn up scenarios for deploying troops to seize various targets within Iran, according to more than half a dozen people familiar with the discussions.
Yet not only would those scenarios risk heavy casualties, there’s also little guarantee they would successfully end the conflict.
There are only so many options left both to secure the strait and advance US interests in Iran enough for Trump to convincingly declare victory. And officials are increasingly convinced that nearly all of them would likely require troops, according to multiple people familiar with the discussions.
Administration officials have debated separate ideas for extracting the enriched uranium that remains buried within Iran’s nuclear facilities, a mission that some believe could provide Trump with the clear win he needs to end the war, sources familiar with the discussions said.
Officials have also developed options for capturing Kharg Island, which handles roughly 90% of Iran’s crude exports, or authorizing a bombing raid aimed at effectively wiping out its oil infrastructure. And the administration has examined the potential for taking over other strategically placed islands near the strait that might weaken Iran’s ability to threaten tankers trying to traverse the waterway.
Deadly overnight attacks on Iran's Urmia and Qom, state media report
Iran’s state media and authorities on Friday reported deadly overnight attacks in the cities of Urmia and Qom.
Qom’s deputy governor said via Telegram Friday that at least 15 people were killed and 10 injured following strikes. Earlier in the day, Iran’s Tasnim and ISNA news agency, citing a local official, reported that at least six people had been killed after three homes were struck. The Iranian Red Crescent said aid workers carried out search and rescue operations in the city early Friday.
In Urmia, rescuers from the Iranian Red Crescent Society were seen searching through damaged buildings, in a video by the aid agency.
Four residential units were destroyed and “a number of our fellow citizens were killed and injured,” state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported, citing a local official in Urmia.
Emergency responders were combing damaged buildings, climbing over debris while a teddy bear covered in dirt could be seen among a pile of broken concrete.
“Early Friday, after a residential area in Urmia was hit by an airstrike, aid workers arrived at the scene and are carrying out search and rescue operations,” the Red Crescent said in a statement.
Also on Friday, it said rescue workers were busy in Tehran after overnight strikes.
Thai ship that was attacked in Strait of Hormuz runs aground on Iranian island
The Thai cargo vessel that was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month has run aground on an Iranian island in the narrow waterway, according to Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim.
The Mayuree Naree ran aground near Ramchah village on Qeshm Island, according to Tasnim. Qeshm Island sits in the strait, just off the Iranian mainland.
It then relocated to the nearby Larak Island, according to state-run media outlet Press TV on Friday, which did not give further details on the status of the ship or how it moved locations.
On March 11, the ship was fired upon while traveling through the strait with 23 crew members on board. Afterward, at least three crew members were reported missing, while the remaining 20 were rescued and returned safely to Bangkok.
As war drives mortgage rates higher, here's what it means for home buyers
With uncertainty from the war in Iran and the weakening job market causing higher mortgage rates in the United States, CNN’s Vanessa Yurkevich breaks down what that means for potential home buyers.
With uncertainty from the war in Iran and the weakening job market causing higher mortgage rates in the United States, CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich breaks down what that means for potential home buyers.
How Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed for almost four weeks – throwing global oil markets into chaos – and there is no clear end in sight.
Iran’s threats and attacks on vessels in the Gulf have raised the risk of transit enough to stop almost all traffic through the narrow waterway, which is the main conduit for about 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas, plus fertilizers that help grow crops the world relies on.
As the energy crisis deepens, US President Donald Trump has touted diplomatic efforts to end the blockade, while also moving to deploy thousands more troops to the Middle East and looking into possible US Navy escorts for oil tankers.
But Iran still has the upper hand in many ways – in part because of its unconventional warfare methods, including cheap drones and sea mines, and in part because of its geography. Taken together, these two realities make it harder for the United States or others to defend vessels or to secure the strait militarily.
And it’s lucrative for Iran to retain control. Iranian officials have said they will continue charging fees for the safe passage of some tankers through the strait, after Lloyd’s List Intelligence released a report on March 23 saying at least two vessels had paid large sums to cross.
Read how the geography favors Iran and the threats vessels face in the strait.
Trump extends deadline, but status of talks with Iran remain unclear. Here's the latest
Citing ongoing peace talks, US President Donald Trump has for a second time extended his deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz – or face its power plants being “obliterated.”
The status of the talks remains unclear, with both sides giving mixed signals. Iran has expressed deep distrust toward Washington, while Trump is growing frustrated with the pace of progress.
Here’s what to know on Day 28 of the conflict:
- Deadline extended: Trump said the US will hold off on targeting Iranian energy sites another 10 days as “talks are ongoing” with Tehran. The pause on strikes had been set to expire Friday.
- Fraught negotiations: Trump has insisted that it’s up to Iranian leaders to “get serious” and convince him to halt the war, saying he doesn’t care about making a deal. He voiced frustration with Tehran’s approach on Thursday, warning that time was running out for negotiations. Meanwhile, Iranian officials have said they are in “complete doubt” about Washington’s willingness to engage in ceasefire discussions.
- Iran navy chief dead: Alireza Tangsiri, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy, has been killed, according to Israel’s defense minister. Tangsiri oversaw the near-total shutdown of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the US and Israel said. Iranian authorities have not commented on the claims of Tangsiri’s death.
- Cascading effect of war: Countries around the world are feeling the fallout of the war, with several resorting to austerity measures. South Korea has declared an emergency economic response to the energy crisis; Japan has begun releasing oil from its state-owned reserves; and the Philippines has announced a state of emergency, with only about 40 to 45 days’ worth of petroleum supply left.
- Ongoing fighting: Deadly overnight strikes were reported by state media in Iranian cities Qom and Urmia. In Kuwait, authorities said Friday that Shuwaikh Port was attacked by drones, resulting in “material damage but no casualties.”
Asian markets fall after US markets have biggest drop since start of war
Investors across Asia are deeply worried about when the war will end.
Shares in the region are falling after markets in the US had their biggest drop since the start of the conflict.
Investors are continuing to sift through the contradictory messaging from Iran and US President Donald Trump, and are not seeing a de-escalation in the conflict which is disrupting energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Also weighing on the markets is a fresh warning on inflation from the OECD.
It has sharply raised its inflation forecasts for major economies and now sees the average rate for the G20 economies soaring this year to 4%. The OECD has also downgraded its global growth forecast from 3.3% last year to 2.9%.
Countries across Asia are set to be among the hardest hit. The region relies more heavily on crude, gas, and fuel from the Middle East than other parts of the world.
In the Philippines, transport workers are protesting over rising fuel costs, and the president has declared a state of “national energy emergency” – becoming the first country to do so.
The country’s foreign secretary told CNN it only has 40 to 45 days of petroleum supply left.
Philippines has 40-45 days of petroleum supply left, foreign secretary tells CNN
The Philippines became the first country in the world to announce a state of emergency in response to energy shortages triggered by the war in the Middle East.
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of national energy emergency on Tuesday, warning that there was an “imminent danger” to the “availability and stability of the country’s energy supply.”
Measures include enforcing energy conservation measures, introducing fuel subsidies and other initiatives to reduce transport costs, taking action against hoarding, profiteering and manipulation of the supply of petroleum products.
Trump says Iran asked for a 7-day pause on energy site strikes and he gave 10
President Donald Trump told Fox News on Thursday that Iran initially asked him to pause US strikes on the country’s energy sites for seven days, but he decided to give them 10, making the deadline April 6.
President Donald Trump said the US will hold off on targeting Iranian energy sites for another 10 days as “talks are ongoing” with Tehran. The pause on strikes had been set to expire Friday. CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports.
“They said to me very nicely, through my people, ‘Could we have more time?’ Because we’re talking about tomorrow night, which is pretty quick, and if they don’t do what they have to do, I will knock out their power plants,” Trump said.
“They asked for seven, and I said, ‘I’m going to give you 10,’ because they gave me ships,” he added.
Trump said that Iranian officials were “very thankful” about that.
When Trump first threatened to strike Iranian energy sites, he said the country had just 48 hours to open up the Strait of Hormuz. He then pushed that deadline back five days, to Friday, before pushing it back again today.
