Here's the latest
• US-Iran war talks: Vice President JD Vance and top US officials are expected to leave for Pakistan today ahead of a potential second round of negotiations on the war with Iran, according to sources.
• Ceasefire deadline looms: US President Donald Trump shifted the deadline and projected confidence Tehran would come to the table, although Iranian officials have insisted otherwise.
• US boards vessel: The US Defense Department says it boarded a vessel, sanctioned for transporting Iranian oil, overnight in the Indo-Pacific. It came after Iran called for the release of a cargo ship seized by the US Navy on Sunday, vowing to retaliate.
The US and Iran's conflicting statements about potential peace talks in recent days
President Donald Trump announced last weekend that US representatives would be traveling to Islamabad, Pakistan, for a second round of negotiations with Iran this week.
Though Iranian sources familiar with the negotiations told CNN that a delegation representing Tehran would also be traveling to Pakistan for the talks, Iranian officials have since denied negotiations will be going ahead.
Here’s a look at what both sides have said since Trump’s announcement on Sunday:
- In a lengthy Truth Social post Sunday, Trump said a US delegation was traveling to Islamabad for the talks. “We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran,” the president said.
- Iranian sources familiar with the negotiations told CNN that an Iranian delegation would be traveling to Islamabad today. The sources expected the team to be the same as in the last round of talks.
- Iranian state media reported that Iran’s presence in Islamabad was not confirmed, with some outlets saying that as long as a US blockade of Iranian ports continued, a second round of talks would not take place.
- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said yesterday that his country has “no plans for the next round of negotiations,” adding, “We don’t believe in deadlines or ultimatums to secure Iran’s national interests.”
- Iran is “taking all aspects into consideration” and “will decide on how to proceed,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Pakistani counterpart in a phone call yesterday, according to Iran’s foreign ministry.
- Trump insisted yesterday that Iran is “going to negotiate” ahead of the anticipated talks in Pakistan, adding that “if they don’t, they’re going to see problems like they’ve never seen before.”
- Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf said yesterday that Trump “seeks to turn this negotiating table — in his own imagination — into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering.”
CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo, Sophia Saifi, Julia Benbrook, Alayna Treene, Ivana Kottasová, Max Saltman, Nadeen Ebrahim and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this reporting.
US boards sanctioned vessel in Indian Ocean
The US Defense Department announced today that it boarded a “stateless sanctioned” vessel overnight in the Indo-Pacific.
The vessel, M/T Tifani, is sanctioned for transporting Iranian oil, according to the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The incident appeared to have occured in the Indian Ocean, according to Marine Traffic.
The overnight incident comes after the US Navy fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Oman on Sunday as the US blockade of Iran’s ports continues.
The leader of Iran's delegation is a war veteran with a record of suppressing dissent
Iranian officials have repeatedly said in recent days that they will not be negotiating with the US in Pakistan this week, despite US President Donald Trump’s insistence that talks will be taking place.
However, on Sunday, Iranian sources familiar with the negotiations told CNN that an Iranian delegation would arrive in Pakistan today for talks.
The sources said they expected the team to be the same as in the last round, which included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Ghalibaf, who is leading the Iranian team, is a regime insider with a reputation for suppressing dissent.
As a teenager, he joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, and later commanded the IRGC’s air force.
Ghalibaf was involved in crushing pro-reform student protests in 1999. He oversaw the suppression of further student demonstrations in 2003 as police chief and held a senior security role during the widespread protests that followed the disputed 2009 election.
He was also the mayor of Tehran for 12 years, during which he modernized the capital’s infrastructure and oversaw ambitious housing programs as well as the creation of green spaces.
Speaking at the weekend, Ghalibaf said that both military action and diplomacy are key to achieving Iran’s national interests, warning that if the US makes “even the smallest mistake, we will respond with strength.”
While the last round of negotiations with the US led to “a more realistic understanding of each other,” he told state media, both sides “are still far from a final agreement.”
CNN’s Sophia Saifi and Nadeen Ebrahim contributed to this reporting.
Tracking traffic through the Strait of Hormuz
Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively halted by Iran since the start of the war.
The tracker below shows the limited movement through the vital waterway, as captains and ships’ owners remain cautious in the face of the shaky US-Iran ceasefire. Only 16 vessels used it on Monday, data suggests.
CNN cannot independently verify the data shown on sites like MarineTraffic.com, and shipping data does not always provide a full picture of the number of ships sailing through the strait – some ships might turn their transponders off, and others may be subject to spoofing, changing their signals to mask their location.
Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy set to participate in Iran peace talks
Among the US officials expected to leave today for a potential second round of peace talks in Pakistan is Steve Witkoff, a US special envoy and decades-long friend of President Donald Trump.
Witkoff helped negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza and has also attempted to achieve an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, sitting down with Russian President Vladimir Putin on multiple occasions, without success.
Witkoff sees the US president almost daily, texts with Trump’s family members, has walk-in privileges to the Oval Office, and enjoys a longer leash than nearly anyone else in the Trump administration, sources told CNN last year.
The special envoy takes no salary from the US government and pays for travel on his personal plane without reimbursement from the federal government, according to an administration official.
A Middle Eastern official who has worked with Witkoff praised him as a “smart negotiator” and said his go-it-alone approach can result in “efficient and effective execution of deals.”
Donald Trump Jr., who has become close personal friends with Witkoff and a key advocate of his role in his father’s administration, was effusive in his praise for Witkoff when talking to CNN last year.
Iranian media outlets cast doubt on reports that officials are in Pakistan
Several Iranian state news outlets dismissed reports that negotiators have arrived in Islamabad for peace talks – after sources told CNN a US delegation was expected to travel to Pakistan to iron out sticking points.
One state-affiliated news agency accused US media of constructing a “narrative” that talks were imminent. “So far, no delegation from Iran has entered Pakistan,” state-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported on Tuesday.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) added that Iranian officials “do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats and breaches of commitments.”
Iranian government ministers, military officials and state media outlets have voiced mixed messages over Tehran’s willingness to come to the table and extend a fragile truce in the fighting – revealing shards of disunity.
On Tuesday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned “unconstructive and contradictory signals from American officials,” citing a “deep historical mistrust” with the White House. The country’s top negotiator, Mohammed Ghalibaf, echoed those criticisms. However, one Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran was “positively reviewing” its participation.
The US-Israeli assassination of the former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in February split power structures within the highest echelons of Tehran. In early March Mojtaba Khamenei was named as his father’s predecessor – but he has not been seen in public since his inauguration.
US and Iran should talk "quietly away" from headlines to reach deal, former US adviser says
US President Donald Trump’s public statements and social media posts could be affecting negotiations with Iran, according to a Middle East expert — with round two of talks set to take place in Pakistan.
Her comments follow a series of social media posts from the US President, which CNN has reported to be detrimental to talks.
El-Gamal told Rosemary Church she believes the president’s online activity is a “public display of superiority” that doesn’t reflect reality on the ground between the two countries.
Trump says Iran is “going to negotiate,” ahead of potential talks
US President Donald Trump insisted yesterday that Iran is “going to negotiate” ahead of anticipated talks in Pakistan.
Speaking in a short phone interview on “The John Fredericks Show,” a conservative radio program, Trump projected confidence that Tehran would come to the table, while warning of consequences if it does not.
“Hopefully they’ll make a fair deal, and they’ll build their country back up,” Trump continued, adding that when they do so, “they will not have a nuclear weapon.”
Before ending the call, Trump returned to his justification for military action. “And I have to say we had no choice in Iran,” he said. “It wasn’t like we had a choice. We had to do it.”
Oil prices dip ahead of potential US-Iran talks, stocks rise
Oil prices are drifting lower today, reflecting tentative hopes for a new round of negotiations on the war with Iran.
US Vice President JD Vance is expected to leave Washington today to travel to Pakistan with top US officials to take part in talks on the war, people familiar with the plans have told CNN. The negotiations between the US and Iranian delegations are currently planned for Wednesday in Islamabad, they said, but noted that the situation remained fluid.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, is 0.4% down on the day at $95.1 a barrel. WTI, the US benchmark, has inched down by 0.6% to $86.9 a barrel.
“Markets are in a wait-and-watch mode for US-Iran talks,” Mohit Kumar, an economist at investment bank Jefferies, said in a note today.
“Our view remains that it is in the interest of both parties to come to some form of an agreement,” he added, noting, however, that the agreement was unlikely to be “perfect or present a long-term solution for the region.”
Stock markets in Asia rose, with South Korea’s KOSPI index up as much as 2.72%. The index’s rise was driven by “optimism surrounding AI-related chip manufacturers,” Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a note, adding that Japanese stocks were also boosted by technology shares.
Europe’s leading indexes were marginally stronger in morning trade, and US futures pointed to a slightly higher open.
The US delegation expected in Pakistan for peace talks, as sources say Vance to depart later
Vice President JD Vance and top US officials are expected to leave for Pakistan today ahead of a potential second round of negotiations on the war with Iran, according to sources.
Here’s a look at the delegation expected to participate in the talks, should they happen, on behalf of the US.
- JD Vance: The US vice president, a one-time Iran war skeptic, was involved in securing the current two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, as well as the recent ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, a senior administration official told CNN. Last month, we reported that Iranian representatives preferred to engage with Vance over other US officials.
- Steve Witkoff: A wealthy real estate developer, Witkoff has been friends with US President Donald Trump for decades. Alongside Kushner, he helped negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza, and has also sat down for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine.
- Jared Kushner: Kushner is the husband of Trump’s daughter Ivanka. He served as a chief Middle East negotiator in Trump’s first term and built deep relationships with leaders in the region, having informally advised administration officials on negotiations with Arab leaders, Trump administration officials and people close to Kushner told CNN last year.
CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Kylie Atwood, Stephen Collinson and Alayna Treene contributed to this reporting.
3 key sticking points in any US deal with Iran
As we’ve been reporting, Vice President JD Vance is expected to leave Washington today with top US officials to travel to Pakistan ahead of the latest round of talks on the war with Iran, sources have told CNN.
A second round of negotiations between US and Iranian delegations is currently planned for Wednesday in Islamabad, they said. They noted that the situation remains fluid due to continued heated public rhetoric by both the US and Iranians.
All indications point to a number of hurdles that still need to be resolved. Here are the main sticking points:
The fate of Iran’s uranium stockpiles: Trump suggested last week that Iran agreed to ship its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the US, a claim that was quickly rebuked by a senior Iranian official who said the demand was a “non-starter.”
Iran has about 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium — a significant amount. One proposal that has been floated involves unfreezing Iranian assets in exchange for Tehran turning over its stockpile.
Iran has asked for major sanctions relief and unfreezing of assets north of $20 billion, a source familiar with the negotiations told CNN.
Curbs on uranium enrichment: The length of any suspension to Iran’s enrichment program remains another point of contention. The Iranian official who spoke to CNN rejected Trump’s assertion that Tehran agreed to halt the program indefinitely, saying Iran “will never accept” being an “exception from international law.”
During talks the weekend before last, American negotiators proposed a 20-year pause on Iran enriching uranium, a source familiar with the discussions told CNN. Iran responded with a proposal for a five-year suspension, which the US has rejected, according to a US official.
Reopening the Strait of Hormuz: The world breathed a sigh of relief last Friday when Iran announced it would reopen the key shipping route, which has been effectively shuttered for almost two months.
But the reprieve was short-lived. Iran then reimposed strict limits on shipping in response to Trump saying a US blockade on Iranian ports will continue until a deal is reached. Two vessels reported attacks on Saturday while trying to pass through the strait.
CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen, Alayna Treene and Kevin Liptak contributed reporting.
"No easy path toward success" for US in war, expert says
The US has “no easy path toward success” in the war with Iran, said Malcolm Davis, Senior Analyst in Defence Strategy with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra.
Davis told CNN’s Polo Sandoval that he’s not hopeful that the US and Iran will come to a deal during a possible second round of negotiations in Islamabad this week, because the divide between what both countries want is too great.
“It’s not a good likelihood that we will see something come out of this that will actually resolve this (conflict),” Davies said. If talks are inconclusive, the US has two main options, Davies said: either the US will continue its naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, or it will “go back to war fighting mode.”
There is “no guarantee that simply bombing Iran will achieve US strategic objectives,” he said, adding that “there’s a real risk that this war spins out of control and it doesn’t really achieve anything.”
If US President Donald Trump were to walk away from the war and declare victory without achieving his aims, such as dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, adversaries such as China and Russia will see the US as weak, Davies added.
“The Iranians have essentially been a more resilient adversary than I think the US thought they were,” Davies said.
Iran must be prepared for more attacks, its head of judiciary says
Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, Head of Iran’s judiciary, said Tehran must “maintain 100% readiness” in case the US launches new attacks, according to a video posted by Iranian state-affiliated media Fars.
There is a “strong possibility” of more attacks, Ejei said, adding the US has not yet achieved its war objectives, despite killing many of Iran’s top officials.
In a separate video posted by Fars, Ejei said Iran will respond to the US seizure of the Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman Sunday, calling it a “violation” of the ceasefire.
Why China is withstanding the oil shock
For more than a decade, leader Xi Jinping has overseen a transformation within the Chinese economy with one aim: making it energy-secure.
Under that vision, China has unleashed a renewable energy revolution of wind, solar and hydropower, drilled ever deeper into oilfields offshore and on, and forged pacts with partners for more supply – all in a bid to cut the country’s reliance on imported fuel and insulate it against “external shocks.”
Now, the historic oil crisis triggered by the United States and Israel’s war on Iran is posing the sternest test to date of China’s Promethean effort toward energy self-sufficiency. It’s a test that China appears to be passing.
While fuel-strapped countries across Asia have scrambled for supplies, China – the world’s largest energy importer – has been sitting on vast stockpiles of oil, an industrial sector largely run on domestic energy and a fleet of cars increasingly powered by electricity, not gas.
Read more about China’s multipronged push for energy security.
Iran intensifies crackdown on dissent
Many Iranians are being arrested, tortured and executed as authorities aim to crush any sign of dissent against the regime months after anti-government protests, according to rights groups. CNN’s Jomana Karadsheh reports:
As the governments of US and Iran try to negotiate a peace deal, many Iranians are still being arrested, tortured and executed according to rights groups. Those who protested against the regime say they fear what will happen next if they are allowed to remain in power. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh reports.
Tehran calls for release of cargo ship and crew seized by US
Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the seizure of Iranian cargo ship Touska by US forces and called for the “immediate release of the Iranian vessel, its sailors, crew and their families” in a statement published Tuesday.
The US Navy fired on and seized the Iranian-flagged ship Sunday after it tried to get past the US naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman, according to President Donald Trump. Footage released by the military showed a guided-missile destroyer firing on the vessel and Marines rappelling from helicopters onto its deck.
Iran previously vowed to retaliate for the seizure of the ship, which the Foreign Ministry called “extremely dangerous” and “criminal” in its Tuesday statement.
“It is also clear that full responsibility for any further escalation in the region lies with the United States.”
It is not clear how many people were aboard the ship and whether they are Iranian. CNN has reached out to US Central Command for comment on the nationality of the crew and the status of the cargo ship.
Analysts say that what happens to the crew depends on their nationality. Here’s what we know about the seizure:
Iranian state media claims to show ships transiting Strait of Hormuz with Tehran's permission
Iranian state media says new video from the Strait of Hormuz confirms that the strategic waterway remains under strict Iranian control.
Video posted to Telegram by Iran’s Fars News Agency show ships passing through what it claims is the Strait of Hormuz after acquiring permission from Tehran to transit into the Persian Gulf.
Fars says entry into this “safe corridor,” designed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, passes between Larak and Qeshm islands and exits south of Larak, close to the Iranian coastline.
CNN is unable to independently verify the claims about the ships’ passage.
The US has imposed a blockade order that applies to all Iranian ports, both inside and outside of the strait.
After Iran’s foreign minister declared the waterway open on Friday, the IRGC reversed the decision and reimposed the chokehold it has held on the critical passage for the global energy trade since the war broke out.
Tehran has now “returned the Strait of Hormuz to a wartime footing,” completely closing it to all vessels without Iranian authorisation and prohibiting the passage of military vessels, Fars reports.
What the US and Iran are saying ahead of potential second round of peace talks
Vice President JD Vance and top US officials are expected to travel to Pakistan Tuesday for a second round of negotiations with Iran, according to sources. Iran’s Foreign Ministry, however, insists there are no plans to re-engage with the US.
Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Ghalibaf said Monday that US President Donald Trump seeks to turn this negotiating table “into a table of surrender.”
Still, Trump seemed confident that Iran would come to the table. “They’re going to negotiate, and if they don’t, they’re going to see problems like they’ve never seen before,” he said in an interview late Monday night.
Here’s what else you need to know:
- Ceasefire deadline shifts: Trump pushed the expiration of the truce with Iran to Wednesday evening ET and said it’s “highly unlikely” he will extend it further if a deal is not reached.
- US extends life of ground-attack jets: The US Air Force is extending the life of its A-10 Thunderbolt ground-attack jet until at least 2030, the office of the Secretary of the Air Force said Monday. The A-10s played a key role in the rescue of the downed airman.
- Slow traffic: Only 16 ships traversed the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, as captains and ships’ owners remain cautious in the face of the shaky ceasefire. The closure is putting pressure on airlines, which are facing jet fuel shortages.
- Israel-Lebanon talks: A second round of direct negotiations between the two countries is scheduled for Thursday in Washington, DC.
CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo, Max Saltman, Aileen Graef, Kevin Liptak, Elise Hammond, Avery Schmitz, Dana Karni. Jennifer Hansler, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Brad Lendon contributed reporting.
Global jet fuel shortage to impact summer travel
On top of higher airfares and fees because of the war with Iran, airlines in Europe and Asia, many of which depend on imported jet fuel, are facing a potential shortage.
This raises the odds of flight cancellations and schedule cuts, spelling trouble for the summer travel season. Airlines and passengers likely won’t see any relief untl deep into the summer months, if that.
Higher fuel prices have proved catastrophic for some airlines, including budget carrier Spirit Airlines. The airline has filed for bankruptcy twice in the last 18 months.
Subscribers can read the full story here.
Strait of Hormuz more useful to Iran "than a nuclear weapon," retired general says
Retired Gen. Wesley Clark told CNN that reopening the Strait of Hormuz by force is “a much, much tougher problem” for the US than keeping Iran’s ports closed, adding that the waterway is more useful to Iran “than a nuclear weapon.”
“I don’t know if we have a military option really to do it,” he told CNN’s Pamela Brown.
Clark, a former NATO Supreme Allied commander, outlined an array of obstacles the US military is facing:
He noted that the Iranians also have Chinese technology and have “real-time observation of our fleet as we’re moving in” the strait.
He said that if the US were to use force to attempt to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, “this would be a real dogfight if we went in there.”
“This is not the late 1980s. This is not the tanker war. This is something entirely different,” Clark added.
Clark also said that Iran is aware of the strategic value of the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations: “More useful than a nuclear weapon. And they’ve used it,” he said. “And they don’t believe we have an answer for it.”
