Where things stand
• Peace talks: US President Donald Trump plans to meet with top national security officials today, according to two sources, to discuss a new Iranian proposal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
• Canceled trip: It comes after peace talks with Iran stalled over the weekend. Trump on Sunday defended his decision to cancel his envoys’ trip to Pakistan, saying Iranian authorities “can call” if they want. He reiterated that the war with Iran could “come to an end very soon.”
• Iran’s diplomatic tour: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to Russia and met with President Vladimir Putin, following meetings in Pakistan and Oman. Araghchi said he and Putin discussed the war in detail. Earlier, he gave Pakistani officials a list of “red lines” to be conveyed to the US, including “nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz.”
• Oil at a three-week high: Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, is still well above $100 a barrel and hovering around a three-week high.
Iran's Araghchi says talks with Putin covered war with US “in detail”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin included detailed discussions on “the war and the aggression” by the United States and Israel.
Araghchi, in a statement Monday, described the meeting as “very good.” It lasted “more than an hour and a half,” he said, and covered a wide range of issues, including bilateral relations, regional developments and opportunities for expanded cooperation.
He said cooperation between Tehran and Moscow received significant attention, with “very good ideas” raised and “very good grounds” now in place for future work.
Araghchi’s trip to Russia follows recent visits to Oman and Pakistan. Earlier, he gave Pakistani officials a list of “red lines” to convey to the US, including on “nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz.”
Expert casts doubt on US-Iran peace prospects as Tehran presents new proposal
The chances of a breakthrough between the US and Iran are slim unless Washington shifts its stance on the war, an expert said after reports emerged of a new Iranian proposal to end the conflict.
“The two sides are presenting very maximalist positions, and I don’t think that there will be a breakthrough right now unless the US will change its mind,” Danny Citrinowicz, from Israel’s Institute of National Security Studies, told CNN’s Becky Anderson.
Iran’s proposal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz but leave the state of talks on key US demands unclear.
“I have serious doubts the US will accept this offer, because then the US will lose leverage on the nuclear file,” he said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says US is “being humiliated” by Iran
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said today that the United States is “being humiliated” by Iran as he criticized Washington’s attempts to extricate itself from a war it entered without laying out clear objectives.
“The Iranians are obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skilful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result,” Merz said during a visit to a school in Marsberg, central Germany.
He criticized what he called a lack of American strategy, pointing to Iraq and Afghanistan as warnings for entering wars without exit strategies.
“The whole affair is ill-considered to say the least,” Merz said. “At the moment, I cannot see what strategic exit the Americans are now opting for.”
He reiterated Berlin’s desire for the war to end as soon as possible to avoid further damage to the world’s economy.
Germany has been part of a coalition, led by Britain and France, which is seeking to secure safe passage for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz after a permanent ceasefire is reached.
“We offered to send in minesweeper boats from Germany to help free the passage from mines, as it has clearly been, at least partially, mined,” he said, according to a Reuters translation.
“We can help there, but first the fighting needs to end. And at the moment I do not see how this can be realized in the near future because the Iranians are clearly stronger than one thought, and the Americans clearly don’t seem to have a convincing negotiating strategy.”
Bahrain strips dozens of citizenship over Iran support
Bahrain has stripped dozens of people of their citizenship for expressing sympathy for Iran, “glorifying” its actions, or “engaging in espionage with foreign entities,” according to the state news agency.
A total of 69 people, including those accused of supporting Iran as well as their families, were named by the Bahrain News Agency as having lost their citizenship. The agency added that all of them were of “non-Bahraini origin.”
Bahrain, which has a majority Shiite population, has witnessed protests in support of Iran during the conflict. On April 19, Bahraini King Hamad bin Eissa Al Khalifa told senior officials to “immediately” take measures against those who have “betrayed the homeland and start “considering who deserves Bahraini citizenship and who does not.”
The government has banned protests and has arrested and charged dozens of individuals for showing support for Iran.
Some of the Gulf Arab countries that came under attack from Iran during the war have arrested dozens of people accused of supporting Tehran.
This month, Kuwait arrested 24 people accused of “financing of terrorist entities.” And last week, the United Arab Emirates arrested 27 people accused of “establishing and operating a secret organization within the country, pledging allegiance to foreign entities, and harming national unity and social peace.”
The Iran war might be paused, but things are heating up in Lebanon. Here's why that matters
As the ceasefire in Iran holds, with Tehran and Washington looking for a resolution to the deadlock, fighting between the Israeli military and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon is only escalating.
The Lebanese government – which has called on Hezbollah to disarm – has said that peace talks with Israel should be separate from the Iran war.
But Tehran has linked the two conflicts, insisting on a halt to Israeli strikes on Lebanon as a condition for an end to the war with the US and Israel.
Meanwhile, the death toll in Lebanon is mounting, with fourteen people – including two children – killed by Israeli strikes on Sunday, according to the Lebanese health ministry, despite an Israel-Lebanon ceasefire brokered by Washington.
The Israeli military told CNN on Sunday that it is targeting “terrorists and military infrastructure sites” belonging to Hezbollah, but rights groups argue that the military offensive is mirroring tactics used in Gaza – from heavy strikes on critical infrastructure and healthcare facilities, to the targeting of journalists.
The conflict in Lebanon has exposed deep structural cracks in the country’s governance.
On Monday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun slammed Hezbollah for rejecting negotiations with Israel, accusing it of “treason,” and saying it has dragged Lebanon into a war that is against its interests.
Hezbollah has doubled down on its position. Its media spokesperson told CNN on Monday that the group is prepared to use 1980s tactics in its war with Israel, activating “martyrdom squads” – referencing suicide attacks – to prevent Israel from gaining a foothold in the south.
This post has been updated.
Iranians put forward new proposal to US, source says
The Iranians have put forward a new proposal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz but leaves the state of talks on key US demands unclear, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Iran’s proposal would reportedly require Washington to first end the war and provide guarantees that it would not resume, according to a report in Lebanon’s Iran-aligned Al Mayadeen TV that was cited by Iran’s state-linked Tasnim News Agency. Negotiations over navigation through the strait and Iran’s nuclear program — key priorities for the Trump administration — would come only in later stages.
“If an agreement is reached, the process will move to the second phase to discuss how to manage the Strait of Hormuz after the end of the war,” Al Mayadeen reported. Discussions on Iran’s nuclear program would start only once those conditions are met.
Axios first reported that the White House has received a proposal under which Iran is demanding an end to the war before discussing the nuclear program. The report also claimed Iranian leadership is divided about what nuclear concessions should be considered.
The White House reiterated that President Donald Trump, who plans to gather his national security team on Monday to discuss the proposal and options moving forward, “holds the cards.”
“These are sensitive diplomatic discussions and the US will not negotiate through the press. As the president has said, the United States holds the cards and will only make a deal that puts the American people first, never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” assistant press secretary Olivia Wales said in a statement to CNN.
Iran's foreign minister meets Putin, discusses "strategic relationship"
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Moscow today.
The pair discussed Moscow’s commitment to its strategic relationship with Tehran, Russian state news agency TASS and Iranian media reported.
The meeting comes after peace talks between the US and Iran failed to materialize over the weekend.
Putin outlined his support for Iran during the meeting and said: “We see how courageously and heroically the Iranian people are fighting for their independence, for their sovereignty,” TASS reported.
Putin also said he had received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, according to TASS.
Khamenei has not been seen or heard from in public since becoming Iran’s leader, and only written messages have been released in his name.
The two countries have previously cooperated on some military matters. During the war, Russia has provided Iran with intelligence about the locations and movements of American troops, ships and aircraft, according to multiple sources familiar with US intelligence reporting. And Iran has provided Russia with Shahed drones and short-range ballistic missiles to target Ukraine.
Trump to meet with security officials as Iran's foreign minister meets Putin. Here's the latest.
Iran talks
- After US-Iran talks stalled over the weekend, there has been some diplomatic signaling by both countries today. President Donald Trump plans to discuss options for the war going forward, including whether the US will resume its bombing campaign, with top national security officials today, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
- Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi passed a list of Tehran’s “red lines” to intermediary Pakistan, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency. Those red lines included “nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz.” Araghchi is visiting Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin and discuss the war.
Strait of Hormuz
- Araghchi also stopped in Oman on a whirlwind diplomatic tour and said Monday that the two countries reached some agreements in their talks, which focused on the crucial strait.
- Iranian cargo is still transiting the strait, according to the latest shipping data, in defiance of a US blockade against Iranian ports. It’s unclear whether any of the ships leaving Iran have been intercepted. Still, most ships that have transited the waterway in recent days have followed a route designated by Iranian authorities, and about half of them loaded at Iranian ports, shipping data shows.
Global economic fallout
- Oil prices rose today to a three-week high after peace talks stalled over the weekend, while US gas prices nudged up a penny to $4.11 a gallon.
- Stock markets seemed less fazed by the possibility of a prolonged war. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closed at record highs Friday, as investors were buoyed by optimism over artificial intelligence. But consumer confidence in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, is at a three-year low.
CNN’s Tim Lister, Eleni Giokos, Nadeen Ebrahim, Mustafa Qadri, Hanna Ziady and Eugenia Yosef contributed reporting.
Saudi Arabia welcomes Iranian pilgrims with flowers, video shows
Iranian pilgrims were welcomed by authorities in Saudi Arabia with flowers and gift bags as the Hajj season began, a video carried by Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency showed.
The first flight carrying Iranian pilgrims bound for the Saudi city of Medina departed on Monday, Fars said, adding that more Iranians will head to the kingdom for the annual pilgrimage in the coming days.
Around 30,000 Iranian pilgrims are expected to participate in this year’s Hajj, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said, citing Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization.
The Hajj has long been a flashpoint in Saudi-Iranian relations, reflecting the larger geopolitical rivalry between the two countries. Tensions over the Hajj have periodically turned deadly, from clashes involving Iranian pilgrims in the late 1980s to disputes following the 2015 stampede.
This year’s Hajj comes just weeks after Iran targeted Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes against its own territory, bringing the two into rare direct confrontation.
Israel begins striking Lebanon in latest test for ceasefire
The Israeli military said on Monday it had begun striking “Hezbollah infrastructure” in southern Lebanon, testing an already fragile ceasefire.
Strikes are taking place in the Beqaa Valley and in additional areas across southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
Yesterday was the deadliest day since Washington announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah on April 16, which has been extended by three weeks. Israeli strikes killed 14 people – including two children – in southern Lebanon on Sunday, according to Lebanese health officials.
The fragile ceasefire in Lebanon is under growing pressure as Israel and Hezbollah have increased attacks on each other despite the US-brokered extension.
Trump to huddle with team on Iran amid stalemate in talks
President Donald Trump plans to meet today with top national security officials to discuss the ongoing stalemate in discussions with Iran, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The meeting comes after the president abruptly canceled plans for his top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to travel to Pakistan for another round of negotiations over the weekend.
Officials will discuss Trump’s options for moving ahead, including whether or not to resume the US bombing campaign that’s on hold after the president extended a ceasefire last week. Trump has appeared hesitant in public on reviving the conflict.
Trump said he decided to call off the trip because Iran hadn’t provided a satisfactory negotiating proposal and claimed they returned after the cancellation with an updated document.
But he still sounded skeptical of dispatching his team on a lengthy flight to Islamabad without a clearer picture of which concessions Iran could agree to or who precisely was in charge in Tehran.
Iran reaches agreements with Oman during Hormuz talks, FM says
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that “some agreements have been reached” with Oman during his meeting with officials in Muscat, citing the Strait of Hormuz as a key area of common interest.
“Iran and Oman are both coastal countries along the Strait of Hormuz, and it was necessary to consult on this matter,” Araghchi said in a statement, adding that “as the two countries overlooking this strait, Iran and Oman must maintain close coordination to ensure our common interests.”
Consultations will continue between both countries at the expert level, he said.
Araghchi added that his trip to Pakistan over the weekend – where Islamabad is racing to save negotiations between Tehran and Washington – was “very successful.”
Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on X that he had a “good discussion” with Iran on the Strait of Hormuz, adding that “much diplomacy” and “practical solutions” are required to ensure freedom of navigation in the waterway. He made no mention of any agreements being signed.
Goldman Sachs raises oil price forecast, sees $90 a barrel at year-end
Goldman Sachs has raised its crude oil price forecasts for the rest of this year because of lower supply from the Middle East, highlighting the risk of longer-lasting energy market disruption from the Iran war.
The bank now estimates that Brent crude prices will average $90 a barrel in the fourth quarter, from $80 previously. It sees WTI, the US benchmark, at $83 a barrel, versus $75 previously. Crude oil prices have risen around 40% since the war started, with the price of Brent trading at a three-week high Monday.
In a note Sunday, Goldman Sachs analysts warned of “larger” economic risks because of “upside risks to oil prices, unusually high refined product prices, products shortages risks, and the unprecedented scale of the shock.”
Goldman’s base forecast assumes that Gulf oil exports will normalize by the end of June, later than its previous estimate of mid-May. Gulf oil production is also expected to take longer to recover.
In an “adverse scenario” in which Gulf exports normalize only by the end of July, Goldman sees Brent averaging just over $100 a barrel in the fourth quarter.
Oil traders also think higher prices will be with us for some time yet. Futures contracts show Brent hovering between $86 and $90 a barrel in the final quarter of the year — up significantly from $73 a barrel, where it was trading just before the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.
Investment bank Citi has also raised its Brent oil price outlook for the remainder of 2026, with its base case forecast at $80 a barrel for the fourth quarter, Reuters reported.
US gas prices rise to $4.11 a gallon
US gas prices edged up another penny to $4.11 for a gallon of regular, according to the latest reading from AAA.
The rise marked the fifth straight day of price increases, following a two-week stretch of falling prices earlier this month that had taken prices down to $4.02. But prices are still below the recent peak of $4.17 that had been reached on April 9.
That peak came two days after President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire in the war in Iran. But the Strait of Hormuz has sinced remained essentially closed to tanker traffic.
Global oil futures were higher in trading Monday after Iran said over the weekend that “under no circumstances” will the strait be open to traffic as it was before the war.
US-Iran talks stalled over the weekend. Catch up on where that leaves the conflict now
Talks between the US and Iran stalled once again over the weekend, a stalemate confirmed when President Donald Trump canceled his negotiating team’s tentatively planned trip to Islamabad, about an hour after Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi left the Pakistani capital.
Araghchi was visiting Islamabad for meetings with Pakistan’s top leadership and there was, briefly, a window when it seemed as if the US negotiating team – the familiar duo of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner – might be in the same city.
Why was the trip canceled? Trump cited “infighting and confusion” within the Iranian leadership for calling off Witkoff and Kushner’s trip to Islamabad. His envoys would have “too much time wasted on traveling,” he added, with little chance of a breakthrough to show for it.
Were Iran and the US even scheduled to talk? While the White House claimed the Iranians had requested an in-person meeting, semi-official Iranian state media denied any reports that Araghchi would speak with his American counterparts. Iran’s leadership has repeatedly said it will not negotiate while a blockade on its ports remains in place. A further complication is that Witkoff is perceived as untrustworthy by Iranian negotiations, according to sources familiar with the talks. So it isn’t exactly clear if any talks were ever scheduled in the first place.
What comes next? Trump has said that canceling this trip does not signal a return to fighting. Instead, it seems a standoff of sorts will persist for now as the US continues blockading Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed. As for any future talks, Trump said the Iranians “can come to us, or they can call us.” Araghchi, meanwhile, has embarked on an intensive diplomatic push, traveling to Oman, returning to Islamabad, holding phone calls with several regional counterparts and meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
CNN’s Kit Maher, Nic Robertson, Sophia Saifi, Sana Noor Haq, Ibrahim Dahman, Dalia Abdelwahab, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Riane Lumer, Jonny Hallam and Mounira Elsamra contributed reporting.
Iranian cargo still transiting Hormuz despite US blockade
Most ships that have transited the Strait of Hormuz in recent days have taken a route designated by Iranian authorities, and about half of them loaded at Iranian ports, according to the latest shipping data.
That’s in defiance of a US blockade designed to prevent ships from using Iranian ports. US interceptions of Iranian shipping have occurred beyond the strait. It remains unclear whether any of the ships leaving Iran have been intercepted.
Seventeen ships were identified as crossing through the strait between Friday and Sunday, according to marine intelligence firm Kpler – among them four large loaded tankers. Two of those tankers had left Iranian ports and two had departed from the United Arab Emirates.
The largest, according to Kpler, was the Greek-owned Jiaolong, which left the UAE Friday and arrived Monday at the Indian port of Sikka.
Traffic through Hormuz over the past two months has run at about 5% of the pre-war daily average, causing shortages of refined products, especially in Asia.
Iran has said it will maintain control over the Strait, while the US announced a blockade of shipping to and from Iranian ports on April 13.
Since then, the US military has boarded at least two ships and says it has intercepted 38.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week that Iran would soon have to stop producing crude for lack of storage and export routes.
Iranian state media has denied the country lacks storage for its oil.
As the paralysis of the Strait continues, analyst Goldman Sachs raised its price forecast for the fourth quarter of this year to $90 a barrel for Brent crude.
German consumer confidence at three-year low as Iran war takes toll
Consumer confidence in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, has fallen to a three-year low, as households brace for price increases because of a rise in energy costs.
The consumer sentiment index, published by the GfK market research institute and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions, dropped further in May from the previous month. A similar survey of British consumer morale last week also showed confidence at its lowest since 2023.
“Income expectations are literally collapsing because of rising inflation. And in this context, people also currently believe that the timing for major purchases is less favorable,” the NIM’s Rolf Bürkl, who oversees the survey, said in a statement.
Germany’s inflation rate rose to 2.7% in March due to rising energy prices because of the Iran war, “leading the majority of consumers to once again expect price increases,” the survey noted. “The war in Iran continues to dampen economic prospects,” it added.
A survey from the European Central Bank earlier on Monday showed companies in the bloc expect to raise prices significantly over the coming year as a result of higher input costs.
The German Chemical Industry Association told CNN last week that the Iran war had dealt a “significant blow” to hopes for an improvement this year in Germany’s economic fortunes.
The European Union has spent an additional an additional €24 billion ($28 billion) on energy imports since the start of the war – or more than $587 million a day – “without receiving a single extra molecule of energy,” the European Commission said last week.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon kill 14 people, marking deadliest day since truce
Israeli strikes killed 14 people – including two children – in southern Lebanon on Sunday, according to Lebanese health officials. It marks the deadliest day since Washington announced a ten-day ceasefire between Israel and the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah on April 16, which has been extended by three weeks.
Seven people were killed on Saturday, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
In total, 47 people have been killed by Israeli fire since the truce came into effect midnight local time on April 17, according to a CNN tally of daily figures released by Lebanon’s health ministry.
Hezbollah said it launched five attacks on the Israeli military in Lebanon Sunday, including one that killed an Israeli soldier in the southern town of Taybeh. Earlier Sunday, the Israeli military said it intercepted three drones before they crossed the border.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN in a Sunday statement that forces “conducted artillery and aerial strikes targeting terrorists and military infrastructure sites” belonging to Hezbollah.
Rights groups say Israel’s military offensive in Lebanon is mirroring tactics used in Gaza – from heavy strikes on critical infrastructure and healthcare facilities, to the targeting of journalists and psychological warfare.
The Israeli military raided the northern town of Zawtar al-Sharqiya on Sunday, attacking and destroying a mosque, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported. Along a belt of neighborhoods below the Litani River, the military targeted homes and infrastructure up to the town of Yaroun, about 23 kilometers (14 miles) south, near the border with Israel, NNA added.
CNN’s Eugenia Yosef contributed reporting.
Oil at a three-week high after US-Iran peace talks stall
Oil prices are climbing today, after US officials cancelled a planned trip to Pakistan over the weekend for peace talks, dimming hopes for a swift end to a conflict that has choked off much of the Middle East’s vast oil and natural gas supplies from global markets.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, is up 2.5% to nearly $108 a barrel — it’s highest level in three weeks, when the current ceasefire between the United States and Iran started. WTI, the US benchmark, is up 2.2% to $96.4 a barrel.
As the conflict nears the two-month mark, Goldman Sachs raised its oil price forecasts for the fourth quarter of this year to $90 a barrel for Brent, from $80 previously. The bank sees WTI at $83 a barrel, versus $75 previously.
In a note Sunday, the bank’s analysts warned of “larger” economic risks because of “upside risks to oil prices, unusually high refined product prices, products shortages risks, and the unprecedented scale of the shock.”
Iran warned Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz, ordinarily a conduit for around a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supply, will not return to its pre-war state. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump reiterated that the war could “come to an end very soon.”
Equity investors appear to be betting on that outcome, buoyed too by optimism over artificial intelligence, with a raft of major tech companies reporting earnings this week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closed at record highs Friday, although US futures are flat this morning.
In Asia, most major stock indexes closed strongly higher today, although Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished slightly lower. Stock markets in Europe are modestly higher in morning trade.
“The lack of progress on talks has failed to dent investor optimism,” said Neil Wilson, an investor strategist at Saxo Bank.
Maritime authorities warn of increased piracy threat in further disruption to global shipping
Maritime authorities have warned of an increased threat of piracy after a second cargo vessel was hijacked off Somalia this week, marking further disruptions to global commercial shipping.
“It has been reported that unauthorized persons have taken control of a cargo vessel which has been re-directed to within territorial waters,” the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Sunday.
The incident occurred six nautical miles off the coast of Garacad, Somalia, the UKMTO added.
The advisory came after a separate tanker was seized off Somali waters on Tuesday, according to the UKMTO. The vessel was boarded by “unauthorized persons” about 45 nautical miles northeast of Somalia’s Mareeyo and maneuvered into the country’s territorial waters, the UKMTO said in a statement Saturday.
The UKMTO has reported an “increased threat” of pirate activity off Somalia and warned vessels to “transit with caution.”
The Joint Maritime Information Center has also updated its piracy threat level to “substantial” around the Somali Coast and Somali Basin and warned vessels to “maintain heightened vigilance.”
“An oil-products tanker is reported to be held by pirates on the northeastern Somali coast. No injuries have been reported. Separately, a Pirate Action Group is reported to be active in the Somali Basin,” the JMIC said in a statement Sunday.
