Here's the latest
• Trump’s deadline looms: US President Donald Trump said Iran could be “taken out in one night,” which “might” be Tuesday — a deadline he set for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
• Attacks on infrastructure: Trump reiterated threats to hit Iran’s bridges and power plants, claiming the Iranian people would be “willing to suffer” if it eventually secured their freedom. Tehran warned the consequences of such attacks will stretch beyond the region.
• IDF warning: Ahead of Trump’s deadline, Israel’s military issued a warning to Iranians, telling them to not use trains and stay away from railway lines. The warning was issued on X which, like the rest of Western internet, is blocked across Iran.
• Supreme leader defiant: Mojtaba Khamenei has said in a statement that Iran’s forces will not be deterred by the assassinations of commanders. An Iranian minister urged youths to form human chains at power plants.
IDF says rescuers responding to sites hit by Iranian cluster munitions in Israel
Medical teams are on their way to several sites in the Sharon plain and central Israel following an Iranian cluster munitions attack, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
Earlier, the IDF said missiles had been launched from Iran to Israel.
Iran has increasingly used cluster munitions to evade Israeli air defenses. Cluster munitions are weapons that release dozens or hundreds of smaller explosives across a wide area.
They are prohibited by an international treaty because they can cause indiscriminate harm.
What we know about Trump's threat, Israel's warning and Iran's response
The clock is ticking down to US President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to strike a deal and open the Strait of Hormuz – or be heavily bombed and face “hell.”
Here’s what to know:
- Trump’s threat: Trump set 8 p.m. ET Tuesday (Wednesday 3:30 a.m Tehran time) as the deadline for a deal, after issuing a profane message on Sunday renewing threats to bomb key Iranian infrastructure if Tehran does not open the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking on Monday, Trump said the US has a plan under which every bridge and power plant in Iran could be destroyed by midnight Tuesday. He has previously threatened to hit Iran’s oil wells and water desalination plants.
- Tehran’s response: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has responded with defiance so far, calling Trump’s threats “baseless” on Tuesday. “If attacks on non-civilian targets are repeated, our retaliatory response will be carried out far more forcefully and on a much wider scale,” warned Ebrahim Zolfaqari, a spokesperson for the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.
- Israel’s warning: On Tuesday morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warned Iranians not to use trains and to stay away from railway lines for 12 hours. Going near those locations “endangers your life,” it warned.
- War crime: It’s considered a war crime to target civilian infrastructure critical to a population’s survival. Infrastructure might be considered a valid target if it has a dual use for Iran’s military – but Trump has threatened to blow up all of Iran’s power plants, not just some. Several countries have privately reached out to the Trump administration to warn against such attacks; publicly, the Trump administration has shrugged off these concerns.
Iran's ambassador says Pakistan's efforts to end war are approaching a "critical, sensitive stage"
Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan said Islamabad’s “positive and productive” efforts to end the war are “approaching a critical, sensitive stage.”
“Stay Tuned for more,” Reza Amiri Moghadam said in a post to X Tuesday.
Pakistan has positioned itself as a peace broker in the conflict, holding meetings with other leaders in the region and offering to host talks between Iran and the US, leveraging its stable ties to both countries.
CNN has reached out to Pakistan’s foreign affairs ministry for comment.
"Urgent warning": IDF tells Iranians to stay away from trains and railways
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has issued an “urgent warning” to Iranians to not use trains and to stay away from railway lines for the next 12 hours.
“Dear Citizens, for the sake of your security, we kindly request that from this moment until 21:00 Iran time, you refrain from using and traveling by train throughout Iran,” said the statement from the IDF.
“Your presence on trains and near railway lines endangers your life.”
The IDF issued the warning in its Farsi account on X, which, like the rest of Western internet, is blocked across Iran.
The warning provided by Israel ends six and a half hours before US President Donald Trump’s deadline for Tehran to re-open the Strait of Hormuz, set for 8 p.m. ET Tuesday.
Trump has threatened to destroy Iran’s civil infrastructure, including bridges and power plants, if it does not comply.
Targeting critical civilian infrastructure could be considered a war crime. Trump has declared and then modified deadlines for the opening of the strait multiple times.
Asian allies of US left to scramble for deals to save their economies
As President Donald Trump’s war against Iran sparked a historic global energy crisis, some key military allies of the United States have appealed directly to Tehran for help as they try to steady their economies.
Instead of counting on Trump’s efforts to reopen the critical crude oil shipping channel in the Strait of Hormuz, Japan and the Philippines –– nations heavily reliant on oil and gas supply from the Middle East –– have sought to strike agreements with Iran, while South Korea is seeing assistance from other regional players.
Oil and gas passing through the Strait of Hormuz accounts for 20% of the world’s consumption, according to the International Energy Agency, and the vast majority goes to Asia.
In a national address last week, Trump played down the United States’ reliance on the Strait of Hormuz, while suggesting that other countries that rely on oil transported through the strait to “take the lead” and “take care of that passage.”
A handful of Japan-linked ships have passed through the strait in recent days, said public broadcaster NHK. And Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Monday that work was underway to arrange talks with Iran’s president.
South Korea is also working on measures to ensure the safe passage of 26 South Korean-flagged vessels currently stranded in the Strait of Hormuz. Seoul said on Tuesday that it was dispatching a special envoy to Kazakhstan, Oman and Saudi Arabia to secure alternative crude oil and naphtha supplies amid disruptions.
Last week, the Philippines’ foreign secretary secured assurances from the Iranian Foreign Ministry to allow “the safe, unhindered, and expeditious passage” through the strait for Philippine-flagged vessels, energy sources, and all Filipino seafarers.
Other Asian nations including India and Pakistan have also secured deals with Iran for the safe passage of some vessels.
Iranian minister calls on young people to form human chains around power plants
Iran’s deputy minister of youth and sports called on young people to form a “human chain” around the country’s power plants, following threats by President Donald Trump that the US will bomb Iran’s public infrastructure if it doesn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“I invite all youth, cultural and artistic figures, athletes, and champions to the national campaign “Iranian Youth’s Human Chain for a Bright Tomorrow,”” Alireza Rahimi wrote on X.
“Tomorrow, Tuesday at 14:00, beside power plants across the country, with every belief and taste, we will stand hand in hand to say: Attacking public infrastructure is a war crime.”
Over the weekend, Trump said Iran had until Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET to make a deal.
Some context: Iranian authorities have a record of violating international humanitarian law by recruiting child soldiers, particularly during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war in which tens of thousand of children were killed.
Late last month, the country’s revolutionary guards issued a call for citizen “volunteers” as young as 12 to help support the war effort, including participating in patrols, according to human rights group Amnesty International.
Assassination of top commanders will not deter Iran's forces, supreme leader says
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has said Iran’s forces are not be deterred by the assassinations of commanders, following the killing of the revolutionary guards’ top spy, Maj. Gen. Majid Khademi, early Monday.
Khademi “spent decades in quiet and devoted service in the fields of security, intelligence and defense,” Khamenei said on Monday.
“Nonetheless, the unbroken ranks of the combatants and fighters on the path of truth in Islamic Iran, along with the self-sacrificing Armed Forces, form such a towering, deeply rooted front that terrorism and crime cannot even crack their resolve for jihadi ideals,” he said.
Khamenei’s comments came in a written statement. He has not been seen in public since he succeeded his father, Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated at the start of the war.
Israel has targeted dozens of senior political and military officials in Iran since the conflict began at the end of February.
Khademi’s assassination was confirmed by both Tehran and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who said he was “directly responsible” for the deaths of Israeli civilians “and one of the three most senior figures” in the revolutionary guards (IRGC)
Also on Monday, Israel’s military said its air force had “eliminated” Asghar Bagheri, Commander of the IRGC Quds Force’s Special Operations Unit since 2019. Tehran has not commented on the claim.
Iran's IRGC says "delusional" Trump threats are "baseless"
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said US President Donald Trump’s threats to blow up the country are “baseless” and vowed to continue fighting.
Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said “the rude rhetoric, arrogance and baseless threats of the delusional US president, arising from the deadlock he faces and aimed at justifying the repeated defeats of the US military” will not stop Iran from fighting.
“If attacks on non-civilian targets are repeated, our retaliatory response will be carried out far more forcefully and on a much wider scale,” he warned in a statement carried by state media on Tuesday.
Trump has repeatedly warned that the US could strike power plants, bridges and other infrastructure in Iran if Tehran fails to make a deal or reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil thoroughfare.
In a press conference on Monday, he said that Iran could be “taken out” in one night and said that “might” happen Tuesday evening. He had previously said Iran had until Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET to make a deal.
Rescuers on scene after attack on residential area in Tehran: Iranian Red Crescent
A video posted by the Iranian Red Crescent shows rescue workers in a residential area in Tehran which the organization says was targeted by an airstrike early Tuesday. Rescuers were searching through rubble of collapsed and damaged buildings. The Red Crescent did not disclose the exact location of the strike.
Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces said it conducted a wave of air strikes targeting Tehran and other parts of Iran.
Iran official says "shut up" isn’t the right response to Trump
Saeed Jalili, a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, says dismissing US President Donald Trump is not the best approach, arguing instead that Trump’s remarks reveal the nature of the United States.
“‘Shut up’ is not the appropriate response to Trump’s ramblings; let him speak more,” Jalili wrote in a post on X.
“Nothing is more effective in laying bare the true nature of the United States than Trump’s outbursts,” he added.
Trump said in a press conference Monday that Iran could be “taken out” in one night, which “might” be Tuesday evening.
Iran's foreign ministry urges Americans to hold US government accountable for "crimes"
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei urged Americans on Monday to hold their government responsible for what he described as an “aggressive war” against Iran.
“The American people must know that what their government is doing against Iran in West Asia is a great injustice and an unfair, aggressive war,” Baghaei told the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA).
“The American people must hold their government accountable for the actions and crimes carried out in their name,” Baghaei added, according to ISNA.
Iran says alleged US-Israeli strike hit country's nuclear fuel cycle
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization has condemned an alleged US-Israeli strike on a yellowcake production facility in central Iran, calling it a violation of protections for peaceful nuclear sites.
The plant, also known as the Shahid Rezayee Nejad facility, is a critical component of Iran’s nuclear fuel cycle and is located in Ardakan, Yazd Province.
The organization said Monday in a post on X that the strike was “a clear violation of the immunity of peaceful nuclear facilities” and a direct attack on Iran’s “reactor fuel supply chain,” as well as the development of nuclear medicine.
“Iran’s nuclear technology is in the service of peace and the health of humanity,” the statement said, adding that the country’s nuclear path “will never be stopped by dropping heavy bombs.”
The organization did not say when the strike happened or whether it damaged the facility, which processes uranium ore.
CNN has reached out to the US and Israel for comment.
Iran in late March also reported that US-Israeli strikes hit the same yellowcake facility. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed damage to the plant but found no increase in radiation levels outside the facility.
Main takeaways from Trump’s news conference on the Iran war
President Donald Trump said Monday at a White House news conference about the war that Iran could be “taken out in one night.”
Trump also said the US has a plan under which every bridge and power plant in Iran could be destroyed by midnight tomorrow.
Despite this, the president wouldn’t say whether the war is ramping up or winding down. Trump said that Iran is an “active, willing participant” in negotiations.
The president was joined by administration officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
If you’re just joining us, here are top headlines from the news conference:
- Trump recounted some of the harrowing ordeal faced by the service member the US military rescued from inside Iran. He and Hegseth invoked God while praising the successful missions that rescued two US airmen following the downing of a fighter jet in Iran last week.
- Trump said his administration is searching for the “leaker” behind initial reports that an Air Force officer was missing in Iran following the downing of his fighter jet. He also threatened jail time for the reporter who “did the story.”
- Locating and rescuing the service member hiding in Iran after his jet was downed was a “daunting challenge,” Ratcliffe said.
- Caine said that the US operation to rescue the downed American airman was successful because of the crew member’s “absolute commitment to surviving.”
- Trump said not all his military advisers supported an operation to rescue the crew of a downed F-15E fighter jet in Iran.
- Reopening the Strait of Hormuz must be part of a proposal to end the war with Iran, Trump said. The president later added that the US — rather than Iran — should impose a toll on ships passing through the critical waterway.
- Trump repeatedly railed against US allies who he claims “didn’t help us” with the war in Iran, calling them out by name. He also suggested that the US’ widening rift with NATO began when he first suggested taking over Greenland.
- Trump offered some insight into how he thinks about controlling oil in both Iran and Venezuela, as he’s said he would like to seize Iranian oil.
CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg, Kevin Liptak, Adam Cancryn, Elise Hammond, Aditi Sangal and Morgan Leason contributed to this report.
Qatar condemns Iranian strikes and urges diplomatic solution
Qatar has condemned Iran’s continued targeting of the emirate and other states in the region and urged a diplomatic solution to end the war in Middle East.
This came during a phone between Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to a Qatari Foreign Ministry statement on Monday.
Al Thani expressed to Araghchi “Qatar’s condemnation of the ongoing Iranian targeting of Qatar and the countries of the region.”
He affirmed that “this escalation toward countries that have distanced themselves from the war constitutes a reckless endangerment of the region’s security and a disregard for its stability.”
Al Thani also denounced attacks on civilian infrastructure and national assets by all parties to the conflict as “unacceptable and condemnable” under any circumstances. He urged them to respect international law and spare civilians from the consequences of the fighting.
“A comprehensive and lasting diplomatic solution remains the sole option for resolving the crisis, thereby ensuring security and stability and sparing the region from further tension and escalation,” Al Thani added in the statement.
