Here's the latest
• US-Iran truce uncertain: President Donald Trump said he believes the Memorandum of Understanding with Tehran “is over,” but that negotiators can “keep talking if they want,” after the US and Iran exchanged strikes across the Middle East — casting doubt on the status of ongoing talks. Oil prices jumped after his comments, made at the NATO summit in Turkey.
• Surge of attacks: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said they attacked American military targets in Bahrain and Kuwait after the US launched strikes and reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil sales, following attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz.
• NATO summit: In Ankara, NATO’s secretary general touted increased European and Canadian defense spending — a major focus for Trump. Denmark’s leader, meanwhile, reiterated that Greenland is “not for sale” after Trump again said the island “should be controlled by the United States.”
The US has reimposed Iran's oil sanctions. What does that mean for Tehran?
The United States’ decision to reimpose penalties on sales of Iranian oil is a serious knock to Tehran, which had hoped for an economic windfall following decades of American sanctions.
The temporary sanctions waiver removed penalties on foreign investors buying Iran’s oil. It was a key concession by the US, made in exchange for Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and the only provision in June’s 60-day Memorandum of Understanding that offered Tehran an almost immediate financial benefit.
The US’s decision could be a “significant blow to Tehran,” Simone Tagliapietra, a senior fellow at Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, told CNN.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, Iran collects about 50% of its revenue from oil sales. While China buys the vast majority of Tehran’s barrels, Iran was hoping to widen its customer base.
“It’s a bit of a shock to (Iran), simply because I think that the wheels were in motion for them to have a wide network of people who would buy their oil again,” Naveen Das, senior oil analyst at Kpler, told CNN.
While reintroduced sanctions are unlikely to seriously impact the global oil market, the bigger concern is what happens next in the all-important Strait of Hormuz.
Das called the blockade the “strongest card” that the US has played to exert pressure on Iran during the war.
Global oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday after strikes by Iran on commercial vessels near the strait signalled that the channel — which, before the war, facilitated 20% of the world’s oil trade — may be locking up once again.
Abbas Al Lawati contributed reporting.
Strikes between US and Iran mark a major escalation — here's how we got here
It was only last month that the US and Iran signed a long awaited Memorandum of Understanding, under which, they agreed to cease hostilities in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and easing certain financial restrictions on Iran.
While the two sides have traded limited strikes over the past month, the renewed hostilities mark a major escalation. Iran and the US blaming each other for the crisis and US President Donald Trump going as far as saying the ceasefire is “over.”
The US said its new strikes against Iran and the reimposition of sanctions on Iranian oil sales were in retaliation for a series of attacks on commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran fired on three commercial vessels on Tuesday in Oman’s territorial waters near the Strait of Hormuz, according to a US official.
Tehran has said that ships must gain permission to traverse the strait along routes approved by its officials and warned against using a route closer to the Omani coast.
Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency, citing claims from unidentified sources, reported on Tuesday that a Qatari oil tanker was attacked while attempting to transit through the Strait of Hormuz “after ignoring repeated warnings.”
Kuwait slams “heinous Iranian aggressions” after Tehran strikes US allies in the Gulf
The Kuwaiti foreign ministry said Iranian strikes on its territory marked a “red line” and breached international law, after Tehran launched a fresh salvo on US allies in the Gulf.
“The continuation of these brazen aggressions, at a time when regional and international efforts aimed at de-escalation are underway, constitutes a systematic undermining of efforts to reduce tensions,” the Foreign Ministry statement said.
Over the past 24 hours, Kuwait’s air defenses intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles and 13 UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), according to the state-run Kuwait News Agency.
Officials were working to repair electricity infrastructure after shrapnel from defense systems put several overhead power transmission lines out of service, the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said.
Iran’s military said it launched missiles and drones on 85 military sites across Bahrain and Kuwait early Wednesday – after the US military unleashed strikes on Iran following a series of attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
CNN’s Sarah Tamimi contributed reporting.
Iranian president says Tehran will stand "firmly for our rights"
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian lashed out at the United States on Wednesday, mockingly comparing its foreign policy to its conduct as the host of the soccer World Cup.
“The U.S. government’s conduct as World Cup host follows its familiar foreign policy: bending rules, bullying rivals, creating obstacles, and cheating. This is their MAGA playbook. Iran rejects such games. We stand firmly for our rights,” Pezeshkian said on X.
The comments came following an exchange of strikes in the Gulf overnight. Iran said it struck US military targets across Bahrain and Kuwait in response to a wave of US attacks. The US said its military actions and reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil were “punishment” for attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz, according to a US official.
After the strikes, US President Donald Trump said he believes the MOU “is over,” though he added that he will let his negotiators “keep talking if they want.”
A furious Trump dashes hopes for a friendly NATO summit
Any hope that a more conciliatory President Donald Trump might appear at this year’s NATO summit has evaporated.
It was always a long-shot that a leader who spent the last five months castigating US allies for not helping more with Iran would arrive in Ankara in a pleasant mood.
He had already said he was coming here only begrudgingly, as a show of respect to Turkey’s authoritarian leader.
Yet even with those low expectations, Trump’s fury stood out on Wednesday as the summit was getting underway.
He was enraged that Iran has, in his mind, been dishonest in its dealings with the United States.
He was upset that NATO allies rebuffed his ambitions to annex Greenland.
And he was furious at Spain for not allowing US planes to its bases in the war with Iran.
And he was incredulous that his Oval Office predecessors — Republican and Democrats alike — had allowed all of this to pile up on his plate.
“It should have happened years ago and it couldn’t. But Obama didn’t do it and Biden didn’t do it. And frankly, Bush didn’t do it either,” he said of trying to get European countries to pay more for defense.
Mark Rutte, the NATO secretary general, had tried to avoid this. He visited the White House last month in an attempt to smooth over any rifts, including through the use of charts.
As he was watching the very scenario he was hoping to prevent play out before his eyes, Rutte made light attempts at pushback.
“It’s your win, your win,” Rutte said of getting NATO to boost defense spending. “Grab the win,” he said encouragingly.
The flattery did not seem to work.
“Any questions?” Trump asked, moving swiftly on.
US and Iran trade strikes, as Trump declares ceasefire "over." Here's the latest
US President Donald Trump said at the NATO summit this morning that the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran “is over,” after launching a series of strikes at the country overnight.
US Central Command said the attacks were carried out in retaliation for a series of Iranian strikes on commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran said today that it would deliver a “crushing response,” claiming that it has launched missiles and drones at 85 US military targets across Bahrain and Kuwait in response to the latest wave of strikes.
Here’s the latest:
- Trump spent part of his time in Turkey yesterday conferring with top advisers about a response to Iran’s targeting of commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, according to people familiar with the discussions.
- Iran’s army said it launched a drone attack on Bahrain’s Isa Air base, which hosts US forces, early today following the latest wave of US strikes, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported.
- The responsibility for the latest escalation in hostilities lies with the United States, Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement, which also accused Washington of “treaty-breaking.”
- NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte backed the latest US strikes on Iran, telling reporters ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara that the military action was “absolutely necessary.”
- US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has canceled a planned visit to Israel today, according to two Israeli sources, following the latest escalation.
- Oil prices jumped more than 6% and stock markets around the world fell after the exchange of fire and Trump’s comments this morning.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Aditi Sangal, Jessie Yeung, Lex Harvey, Helen Regan, James Frater, Tal Shalev and Hanna Ziady contributed to this reporting.
Strikes by Iran and the US threaten to overshadow key NATO summit
The sudden flare-up in the conflict between the US and Iran adds a new complication to an already tricky gathering of NATO leaders in Turkey.
The summit was always going to be challenging for NATO’s European members who are facing a US president who has threatened to walk away from Europe and take over a territory that belongs to one of the allies.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte spent a good portion of the summit’s first day on Tuesday touting the alliance’s increased defense spending – a major source of ire for Trump. He announced new defense deals worth tens of billions of dollars in an effort to show that the financial burden of defending Europe is shifting.
But the new escalation – arguably the biggest since the US and Iran signed their Memorandum of Understanding last month – is now threatening to make the NATO talk a side plot.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign representative, said on Wednesday that “the exchanges of fire between the US and Iran further complicate already fraught talks to end the war.”
Trump has criticized other NATO members for not helping the US in its war on Iran, personally attacking the leaders of several countries over the issue.
How US-Iran talks had been progressing before Trump declared ceasefire "over"
Talks between the US and Iran were paused for the funeral of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, before President Donald Trump said he believes the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran “is over.”
Last week, officials from Tehran and Washington traveled to Doha, Qatar, for indirect talks, which were expected to begin again after the funeral.
Here’s the latest on those talks:
- The separate indirect meetings between US and Iranian negotiators in Doha last week made “positive progress,” Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said last Wednesday.
- Al-Ansari also said that that the next meeting between negotiators would be scheduled “at the earliest possible time” after funeral processions for Iran’s former supreme leader.
- US Vice President JD Vance said last Wednesday that the talks were “going well,” though he added that it was “still pretty early.”
- Meanwhile, officials from Lebanon and Israel signed a US-brokered agreement late last month outlining an Israeli withdrawal from two areas in southern Lebanon. Despite this agreement, fighting has continued, and two days after signing it, Israel approved continued military operations in southern Lebanon. Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah denounced the agreement, demanding a complete Israeli withdrawal from the country.
- Also last week, Syria’s foreign minister visited Beirut for talks with Lebanese officials, marking his first official trip since Trump raised the possibility of Syrian intervention in Lebanon.
CNN’s Mostafa Salem, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Hira Humayun, Haley Britzky, Xiaoqian Lin, Tal Shalev, Charbel Mallo, Eugenia Yosef and Oren Liebermann contributed to this reporting.
Hegseth cancels Israel trip, sources say, as Gulf tensions escalate
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has canceled a planned visit to Israel on Wednesday, according to two Israeli sources, following the latest escalation between Iran and the US.
Hegseth was expected to make his first visit to Israel as secretary of defense to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, the sources said. He had also planned to visit Israeli air force bases. The visit, first reported on CNN, was canceled on Wednesday morning even as preparations were already underway.
One aim of Hegseth’s visit was to ease Israeli concerns over the potential sale of advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey, which President Donald Trump has floated during the NATO summit in Ankara.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the matter.
In an exclusive interview with CNN, Netanyahu said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is “not exactly a model ally of the United States.” Netanyahu said that Erdogan “threatens to destroy my country, the one and only Jewish state.”
Israel is the only country in the Middle East that currently operates the F-35, America’s most advanced fighter jet.
EU aviation agency advises airlines to avoid Iran, Iraq and Lebanon airspace
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on Wednesday directed airlines to avoid airspace over Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon, citing regional tensions.
The EASA said their directives were valid until August 31, “unless reviewed earlier.”
The agency said the implementation of the ceasefire was fragile and tensions are high. EASA said its flight advisory is based on “ongoing high level of tensions and the potential for further military action.”
“Should the existing truce break down, Iranian airspace is likely to be exposed to imminent threats,” it added.
Oil prices spike, stock markets slide after Trump says Iran ceasefire "over"
Oil prices jumped more than 6% and stock markets around the world fell on Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump said he believed the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran “is over,” following a series of strikes across the region.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed to $78.93 a barrel shortly after 5 a.m. ET, about 6.4% higher on the day. WTI, the US benchmark, rose 6.5% to $74.99 a barrel.
The moves upward follow weeks of falling prices, as it looked likely the United States and Iran could reach a deal to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz, which carried around a fifth of global oil supply before the war.
Oil prices still remain well below their war-time peaks of above $120 a barrel for Brent, but the increases could be enough to revive inflation fears.
Stock markets sold off sharply. Dow and Nasdaq futures were down 1.3% and 1.6% respectively, with S&P 500 futures 1% lower. Major equity indexes in Europe fell around 2%. In Asia, South Korea’s KOSPI finished 5.4% lower, with Japan’s Nikkei giving up 2.1.% at the close. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 3%.
“Equity market sentiment is under renewed pressure from a jump in oil prices,” Neil Wilson, a strategist at investment bank Saxo, wrote in a note. “Clearly higher oil prices raises stagflation fears and weighs on the growth outlook,” he added. “Stagflation” refers to a dreaded combination of high inflation and low economic growth.
Trump lashes out at Spain, calling it a "wasted cause" he doesn't want to trade with
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized European allies for not spending enough on defense, and on Wednesday, he lashed out in particular at Spain.
Spain is the only member of NATO that has refused to commit to the increased spending targets, securing an exemption to cap its military spending at 2.1% of GDP, instead of the higher 5% target that other nations plan to reach by 2035. Among NATO allies, Spain is tied for last place in terms of defense spending as a percentage of the country’s GDP.
It’s not the first time Trump has heavily criticized Spain, where left-wing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is one of the few leaders who was outspoken in his criticism of US war on Iran. Sánchez’s previous decision to forbid the use of American military facilities in southern Spain in support of the Iran strikes provoked anger from the White House.
“Don’t even talk to them. They’re hopeless, bad people,” Trump added. “They make so much money with us, and we’re going to see that they make a lot less. I want no business with them.”
Spain’s response: Sánchez office said it was approaching Trump’s latest calls to cutoff trade “calmly,” and it has no intention to change its excellent social and economic relationship with the US. A spokesperson noted that the US runs a trade surplus with Spain, meaning it technically benefits more from the bilateral trade relationship. And as a member of the European Union, it can’t be singled out in trade measures.
Trump says Iran agreement is "over." What that means in practice isn't clear
A furious President Donald Trump says the ceasefire agreement he signed with Iran exactly three weeks ago is “over.”
What that looks like in practice remains unclear.
Trump, who warned last month of “economic catastrophe” if the war continued, remains under the same political pressures to see the conflict end.
Already, the US and Iran had been engaged in tit-for-tat strikes: Iran on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and the US in retaliatory action on Iranian military sites. The attacks have caused oil prices to jump.
Trump had also already reversed a key provision contained in the agreement that allowed Iran to sell its oil on the global market.
In his fiery remarks in Ankara, Trump said he would allow his negotiators to continue pursuing a broader nuclear deal with Iran, but dismissed the exercise as a “waste of time.”
Responding to what he called an “interesting question” on the status of the deal, the president suggested there was little to gain from engaging with “cuckoos.”
A team led by Vice President JD Vance had been under a 60-day deadline to secure technical concessions from Tehran to curtain its nuclear ambitions.
Those talks had been slow-going, however, and mainly focused on implementing the Memorandum of Understanding, which Trump signed at the Palace of Versailles on June 17.
Mediators of the deal, led by Pakistan and Qatar, will almost certainly now be hurriedly trying to get the agreement back on the rails.
But another player — Israel — will have heard Trump’s comments with different ears. Deeply skeptical of his diplomatic attempts with Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could view the president’s comments as an opening to continue operations both in Lebanon, against Hezbollah, or in Iran itself.
Trump says Memorandum of Understanding with Iran "is over"
President Donald Trump said Wednesday morning that he believes the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran “is over,” following a series of strikes across the region.
It was the clearest indication yet that Trump’s deal has all but collapsed. The US president’s latest comments followed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps saying it had launched strikes on US military targets across Bahrain and Kuwait in response to US strikes on Iran.
Trump castigated Iran as “evil, sick people” and said “they’re scum,” as his preliminary deal with Tehran appears to be teetering on collapse.
Speaking at the start of a NATO summit in Turkey, Trump called the country “dirty players” for targeting commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, violating a ceasefire.
Trump said he’ll let his negotiators “keep talking if they want,” but added that the US was wasting time talking with Iran, and voiced a desire to “do our business” instead of trying to pursue diplomacy.
This post has been updated with additional comments from Trump.
US paying "billions of dollars too much" for European security, Trump says
US President Donald Trump said he would convey his grievances about NATO to members of the alliance during a meeting later on Wednesday.
“I’m going to relay my problems,” Trump said, speaking alongside the NATO chief Mark Rutte as the summit got underway.
He listed Greenland and Iran as areas of concern, suggesting the US was paying “billions of dollars too much” to ensure Europe’s security.
It was an auspicious start to the gathering, which has European officials on edge for how Trump will translate his fury toward the alliance into changes in US military posture.
Meanwhile, NATO members have been keen to emphasize their increases in defense spending ahead of the summit. Earlier today, Rutte praised an increase in defense spending from other nations, saying that the $258 billion in extra spending by Canada and Europe in 2025 and 2026 was “staggering.”
Top UAE official accuses Iran of inability to meet de-escalation commitments
A top official from the United Arab Emirates criticized Iranian attacks on Gulf neighbors, saying they show Tehran’s inability to meet its de-escalation commitments.
“Iran’s attacks on Qatari and Saudi commercial tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and the repeated aggression against our sisterly states, Bahrain and Kuwait, are a clear sign that Tehran remains unable to commit to de-escalation and turning the page of the war,” Anwar Gargash, the UAE president’s adviser, said in a statement on X.
Iran launched missiles and drones at 85 US military targets across Bahrain and Kuwait earlier today in response to the latest wave of US strikes on Iran.
Gargash said Gulf Arab states cannot continue to be targeted as Iran wavers between escalation and restraint.
What to expect at NATO summit as US-Iran strikes resume
On day one of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, President Donald Trump said he would soon decide whether to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, and put a spotlight back on Greenland after saying he’s still interested in US control over the territory. CNN’s Nic Robertson reports:
On day one of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, President Donald Trump said he would soon decide whether to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, and put a spotlight back on Greenland after saying he's still interested in US control over the territory.
US responsible for escalation, Iran's foreign ministry says
The responsibility for the latest escalation in hostilities lies with the United States, Iran’s foreign ministry said in a new statement, which also accused Washington of “treaty-breaking.”
The US attacks on southern Iran, its decision to reimpose sanctions on Iranian oil, and the ongoing fighting in Lebanon have “rendered important and fundamental parts of the (agreement to end the war) ineffective,” the Iranian statement said.
The US said the strikes early Wednesday local time and sanctions were “punishment” for recent Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said it launched missiles and drones at 85 US military targets across Bahrain and Kuwait.
Ukraine fails to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles, as Zelensky pleads for Patriot interceptors
Ukraine’s air defenses failed to shoot down any of the Russian ballistic missiles fired at it overnight into Wednesday, its military said, as the country’s leader continues urging allies to supply Ukraine with Patriot interceptors.
The overnight attack included five ballistic missiles, two anti-radar missiles and 169 drone attacks, said the Ukrainian Air Force – but for the second time this week none of the ballistics were intercepted. Earlier this week, 19 people died in the capital Kyiv in a major Russian attack that involved ballistic missiles.
Ukraine has been struggling to fend off Russia’s deadly mass aerial attacks due to Kyiv’s acute shortage of patriot missiles – something Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been highlighting in the lead to today’s NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Wednesday that the bloc will likely emerge from the summit with more “multi-year” commitments to supporting Ukraine, which remains “extremely important,” he said.
Sirens again sound in Bahrain as Iranian state media warns of new attack
Sirens are sounding again in Bahrain, the third time in recent hours. The country’s interior ministry again asked residents to head to the nearest safe place. It’s currently 9:30 a.m. local time in Bahrain.
The warning comes as Iranian state media IRIB said a new wave of missiles was headed toward the Gulf state. Earlier, the IRGC and the Iranian army both said they targeted US military sites in Bahrain. There have been no verified reports of damage so far.
