Here's the latest
• Trump teases more talks: US President Donald Trump said that “something could be happening” over the next two days in Pakistan, where previous talks between Iran and the US faltered.
• Sticking points: Both sides have proposed a suspension in Iranian uranium enrichment, but cannot settle on a timeframe, officials said. The US also wants the dismantling of Iran’s major nuclear enrichment facilities and the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
• US blockade: Multiple Iran-linked ships have transited the Strait of Hormuz after the US-declared marine blockade began yesterday, data shows, but overall activity at Iranian ports appears to be lower.
• Israel-Lebanon talks conclude: After the first direct talks in decades, Israel and Lebanon agreed to hold further negotiations “at a mutually agreed time and venue,” the US State Department said. Israel refused to commit to a ceasefire in southern Lebanon.
Lebanese ambassador says details for next Israel talks "will be announced in due course"
Lebanon’s ambassador to the United States said the “date and location” for the next direct talks with Israel “will be announced in due course” and said Tuesday’s “preliminary meeting was constructive.”
The ambassador said she “reaffirmed the urgent need for the full implementation of the cessation of hostilities announcement of November 2024.”
“I underscored the need to preserve our territorial integrity and state sovereignty,” she said.
Hamadeh Moawad thanked the US for hosting the meeting.
US says Israel and Lebanon have agreed to hold further negotiations
Israel and Lebanon agreed to hold further direct negotiations “at a mutually agreed time and venue,” according to a statement from the US State Department deputy spokesperson after direct talks took place in Washington on Tuesday.
During the discussions, the first held between the two sides in decades, “the United States expressed its hope that talks can exceed the scope of the 2024 agreement and bring about a comprehensive peace deal,” the statement said.
Trump urges GOP to extend surveillance law, citing Iran war
President Donald Trump urged Republicans to vote for a clean extension of a powerful surveillance law, stressing how critical it is to supporting US military operations, including against Iran.
“Our Military desperately needs FISA 702, and it is one of the reasons we have had such tremendous SUCCESS on the battlefield, both in Venezuela and Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.
The president said he is putting aside his concerns about any risks to him as a citizen. (Trump and his supporters have previously conflated the law with other legal methods used to investigate Russian interference in US elections and allegations that people associated with the Trump campaign in 2016 were connected to those Russian efforts.)
“The fact is, whether you like FISA or not, it is extremely important to our Military. I have spoken to many Generals about this, and they consider it VITAL. Not one said, even tacitly, that they can do without it — especially right now with our brilliant Military Operation in Iran,” Trump wrote.
US national security officials have been scrambling to prepare for potential blind spots in intelligence collection if the law lapses on April 20. But civil liberties groups on the left and the right argue the surveillance authority risks infringing on Americans’ privacy.
Israeli ambassador hails meeting with Lebanese, but refuses to commit to a ceasefire
Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter refused to commit to a ceasefire in southern Lebanon after what he described as a “wonderful two-hour exchange” with Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh in Washington, DC.
“As for a ceasefire, we are dealing with only one thing—and I made this very clear—we are focused on the security of the residents of the State of Israel,” Leiter said.
The Israeli ambassador said that the Lebanese government and Israel are on the “same side of the equation” when it comes to Hezbollah and hinted at a possible day when Lebanon and Israel might have formal, friendly relations.
But Israel does not intend to stop its offensive against the militant group, which Leiter said is “as weakened as they’ve never been.”
Leiter said that there were “several proposals and recommendations” that emerged from the meeting, and that after presenting them to their respective governments the two sides will likely “reconvene in the coming weeks to continue the discussions” in Washington.
"Iran will continue participating in talks to expose US behavior,” Iranian lawmaker says
Tehran will continue to take part in talks with the US despite believing Washington is “not trustworthy,” according to an Iranian lawmaker.
“Iran will continue participating in talks to expose US behavior, while remaining fully prepared – under the leadership’s wise guidance – to defeat any self-serving American schemes,” Esmaeil Kowsari said, as reported by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency on Tuesday.
“Ultimately, such actions will only push the US deeper into a quagmire and damage its global standing,” added Kowsari, a member of Iran’s parliament and the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission.
Earlier today, US President Donald Trump said “something could be happening” over the next two days in Pakistan as the US and Iran try to come back to the negotiating table.
Kowsari claimed the US had suffered a “humiliating defeat” and said Trump was trying to secure a face-saving exit from the war. He added that Trump’s character was a key obstacle to reaching any meaningful agreement, according to IRNA.
US officials appear to be discussing more Iran talks. Here's how they went this weekend
Today, we’ve brought you reporting that Trump administration officials are internally discussing details for another potential in-person meeting with Iran before the US-Iran ceasefire expires on April 21, according to a source familiar with the talks.
US President Donald Trump also said today that “something could be happening” over the next two days in Pakistan, as the US and Iran try to come back to the negotiating table.
Officials from both countries met in Islamabad this weekend, but after a marathon 21 hours of discussions, the delegations were unable to reach an agreement on ending the war.
Here’s an overview of what happened during those talks:
- Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Vice President JD Vance met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif before beginning the face-to-face talks on Saturday afternoon.
- A few hours into the talks, experts in economic, military, legal and nuclear issues from both sides met with each other, Iran’s government said.
- In the early hours of Sunday morning local time, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that the delegations had begun a new round of trilateral talks, also saying that significant challenges remained.
- Hours later, Vance held a news conference, where he announced that the sides had “not reached an agreement.” The primary sticking point was Iran’s refusal to abandon its nuclear program, he said.
- Meanwhile, Iran’s Tasnim blamed “US overreach and ambitions” for preventing “a common framework and agreement.”
- A short while after his news conference, Vance departed Islamabad on Air Force Two.
- The leader of the Iranian negotiators, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, posted on X that the US failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation at the talks in Islamabad.
CNN’s Aileen Graef, Laura Sharman, Lex Harvey, Betsy Klein, Sophia Saifi, Sophie Tanno, Issy Ronald, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Kevin Liptak, Tim Lister and Aida Karimi contributed to this reporting.
"Highly probable" there will be more talks between US and Iran, UN chief says
It is “highly probable” that peace talks between the United States and Iran will restart before the ceasefire ends next week, UN Secretary General António Guterres said.
“The indication we have is that it is highly probable that these talks will restart,” Guterres said.
It comes after US President Donald Trump said “something could be happening” over the next two days in Pakistan as US and Iran try to come back to the negotiating table.
Trump says "something could be happening" over next 2 days in Pakistan
President Donald Trump said “something could be happening” over the next two days in Pakistan as US and Iran try to come back to the negotiating table.
“You should stay there, really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we’re more inclined to go there,” Trump told a New York Post reporter on assignment in Islamabad. “It’s more likely, you know why? Because the field marshal is doing a great job.”
Trump was referring to Pakistan Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir, calling him “fantastic.” Geneva has also been floated as another potential location for peace talks, but Trump seemed to downplay that possibility.
“Why should we go to some country that has nothing to do with it?” Trump said.
Trump declined to say who from the United States would be participating in the potential next round of talks. Vice President JD Vance led the US side of negotiations in Pakistan over the weekend, which ended without an agreement.
The president also said he wasn’t keen on the idea of Iran pausing its uranium enrichment for 20 years, something CNN reported the US negotiators proposed.
“I’ve been saying they can’t have nuclear weapons,” Trump told the New York Post. “So I don’t like the 20 years.”
Lebanon-Israel talks offer "glimmer of hope" for no more wars, analyst says
Talks today in Washington between Israel and Lebanon — which just wrapped up — are a “glimmer of hope” for the Lebanese people after decades of conflict, said Saleh Machnouk, a nonresident fellow at the Middle East Institute and lecturer at a university in Lebanon.
The interests of the Lebanese people have been “held as a hostage by Hezbollah,” he said, and by engaging in these talks, Lebanon is “reclaiming its diplomatic sovereignty.”
Israel began attacks on what it says are Iran-backed Hezbollah targets in the country just over six weeks ago. At least 2,100 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the conflict began, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
The Lebanese government also needs to “assert its military and security sovereignty” with the help of the international community, according to Machnouk.
“Lebanon needs a permanent ceasefire,” Machnouk said, adding that there should also be a security agreement with Israel to make sure there are not future rounds of fighting.
CNN’s Charbel Mallo and Catherine Nicholls contributed reporting to this post.
Journalist detained in Kuwait after posting video of crashed US fighter jet
Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, a journalist known for his past work at VICE, HuffPost, Al Jazeera and other outlets, is apparently behind bars in Kuwait, six weeks after posting a video of a US Air Force fighter jet crash west of Kuwait City.
Shihab-Eldin’s friends and allies went public about his case on Tuesday, hoping publicity would help win his release.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said “it is understood that authorities have charged him with spreading false information, harming national security, and misusing his mobile phone – vague and overly broad accusations that are routinely used to silence independent journalists.”
Since the Iran war began, Kuwait and other Gulf states have cracked down on individuals posting videos of Iranian missile strikes and other sensitive subject matter.
The Gulf Centre for Human Rights said in an early April report that the war “is being used as a pretext to stifle free speech, confiscate citizens’ public freedoms, and target journalists, bloggers, and online activists who express opinions that do not align with government policies.”
Shihab-Eldin, who is Kuwaiti-American, was visiting family in Kuwait in early March when he was apparently detained.
CNN has reached out to the Kuwait government for comment.
At least 35 people killed in Lebanon in 24 hours, according to health ministry
At least 35 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon in 24 hours, the Lebanese health ministry said in its daily update, as officials from both Lebanon and Israel meet in Washington, DC.
Israel began attacks on what it says are Iran-backed Hezbollah targets in the country just over six weeks ago, and it has continued to conduct strikes following the current ceasefire between Iran and the US.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military noted several injuries in its ranks on Tuesday, including in Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, where Israel has intensified its offensive this week and an Israeli strike over the weekend killed a Lebanese paramedic.
Three Israeli soldiers were severely injured in Bint Jbeil, according to the Israeli military. Later that day, the military said a battalion commander was severely wounded in southern Lebanon and evacuated to a hospital via helicopter.
Christopher Stokes, MSF emergency coordinator in Beirut, described the humanitarian impact of Israel’s attacks in Lebanon:
This post was updated with details on Israel injuries in southern Lebanon.
What to know about Israel-Lebanon talks and other key headlines
Further talks between the United States and Iran could be on the horizon before the ceasefire expires next week.
In the meantime, Lebanese and Israeli diplomats participated in negotiations in Washington, DC, today, amid fears that continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon could threaten the truce.
US-Iran talks:
- Trump told the New York Post that “something could be happening” over the next two days in Pakistan as US and Iran try to come back to the negotiating table. He declined to say who from the US could be participating. UN Secretary General António Guterres said it is “highly probable” that peace talks will restart.
- Despite believing Washington is “not trustworthy,” Tehran will continue to participate in talks with the US in order to “expose US behavior,” said Esmaeil Kowsari, Iranian member of parliament, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.
- In the latest comments amid his back-and-forth criticism with Pope Leo XIV, Trump told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera the pontiff doesn’t understand Iran’s nuclear threat.
Israel-Lebanon talks:
- Talks between Lebanon and Israel today marked the first public meeting between senior officials from the two countries in more than 40 years. Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter described a “wonderful two-hour exchange” with Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh, but refused to commit to a ceasefire in southern Lebanon.
- Lebanon was demanding a ceasefire as a precondition for talks, while Israel said it is targeting Hezbollah and insisted that military operations against the Iran-backed group will continue. At least 35 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon within 24 hours, the Lebanese health ministry said earlier.
- Israel and Lebanon agreed to hold further direct negotiations “at a mutually agreed time and venue,” US State Department said.
- The incoming director of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, Roman Gofman, told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in planning discussions that a war could topple the Iranian regime, three Israeli sources said.
In other news:
- Little traffic is entering and leaving Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman on the first full day of the US-declared blockade, according to ship-tracking data. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz also remains severely curtailed, but several Iran-linked vessels have passed through the strait today, data shows. Six merchant ships also turned around, US Central Command said.
- Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, a journalist known for his past work at various outlets, was apparently detained in Kuwait, six weeks after posting a video of a US Air Force fighter jet crash west of Kuwait City.
CNN’s Tim Lister, Kristi Lu Stout, Tal Shalev, Haley Britzky, Natasha Bertrand, Aileen Graef, Kit Maher, Jennifer Hansler, Sharon Braithwaite, Charbel Mallo, Catherine Nicholls, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Max Saltman, Dana Karni and Brian Stelter contributed reporting to this post.
Multiple Iran-linked ships have transited strait since US blockade, tracking data shows
Several more vessels have passed through the crucial Strait of Hormuz since our update earlier today, tracking data appears to show, on the first full day of the US-declared marine blockade.
As US Central Command said Sunday, the blockade only applies to traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas. Ships traveling to or from elsewhere are permitted to pass through the waterway, CENTCOM said. It added today that no ships made it past the US blockade during the first 24 hours.
At least nine commercial vessels have crossed the strait since yesterday, according to Kpler, a data intelligence and analytics platform. This includes Rich Starry, an oil tanker which has been sanctioned by the United States since 2023 due to its Iran ties, and another sanctioned Iran-linked tanker, the Elpis.
Data from MarineTraffic, a ship tracking and maritime intelligence provider, appears to show several other vessels crossing the waterway today, including a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier – the Christianna – and a tanker called Murlikishan, which is owned by a company in the Marshall Islands and has been sanctioned by the US under the Iran sanctions program.
The latest crossings listed by MarineTraffic also include an oil tanker owned by a Chinese company and a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tanker.
CNN cannot independently verify these journeys as shipping data can sometimes show irregularities due to signal gaps and spoofing – the transmission of false signals to mislead tracking systems.
Before the conflict erupted more than 100 vessels would typically cross the strait every day. Now, traffic is less than 10% of that.
A blockade is "never the answer,” European Council President tells CNN
European Council President António Costa has criticized the US naval blockade of Iranian ports today, telling CNN that a “blockade is never the answer.”
Costa pointed to this week’s French and British-led conference of a coalition of countries willing to take defensive action in the Strait of Hormuz as the most viable path forward.
“We are doing by the right way, and the right way is to address this issue in the full respect of international law,” he said.
When pressed on the fact that the UN Security Council resolution to authorize such a coalition was blocked by China and Russia last week, Costa insisted that it is still not “impossible” to make progress.
Costa said he is “crossing his fingers” for progress in today’s direct talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington, while also condemning Israel for flouting international law in its attacks on its neighbor.
Trump says pope doesn't understand Iran's nuclear threat
President Donald Trump said Pope Leo XIV doesn’t understand Iran’s nuclear threat.
“He doesn’t understand and shouldn’t be talking about war, because he has no idea what’s happening,” he told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in a brief phone interview Tuesday.
Trump also criticized Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for calling his comments about the pope “unacceptable.”
“It’s her who’s unacceptable, because she doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if they had the chance,” the president said.
Trump, who’s previously complimented Meloni, said he was “shocked” by the prime minister. “I thought she was brave, but I was wrong,” he said, going on to lament Italy’s lack of support in the US war with Iran and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Meloni defended her disagreements with the Trump administration on Tuesday.
“When you’re friends and have allies, especially if they’re strategic, you also have to have the courage to say when you disagree, which is what I do every day, because I believe this is beneficial for Europe, the United States, and the West in general,” she said.
And Italy’s foreign minister defended Meloni’s defense of the pope.
“Until today, President Trump considered Giorgia Meloni a courageous person. He was not mistaken because she is a woman who never shies away from saying what she thinks. And on Pope Leo XIV, she said exactly what all of us Italian citizens think,” Antonio Tajani wrote on X.
Rubio says he's hopeful for "very positive" progress as Israel-Lebanon talks start
High-stakes direct talks between Israel and Lebanon are underway at the US State Department, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing hope that the sides can “being to move forward with a framework” where something “very positive” and “very permanent” can happen.
Rubio, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, State Department counselor Mike Needham, Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter posed for a photo.
They did not speak or answer shouted questions in the photo opportunity, but Rubio gave brief remarks in a second photo spray with the delegations seated at the table.
“All of the complexities of this matter are not going to be resolved in the next six hours, but we can begin to move forward and create the framework for something can happen, something very positive, something very permanent, so the people of Lebanon can have the kind of future they deserve, and so that the people of Israel can live without fear,” Rubio said.
Israel must withdraw from southern Lebanon to ensure stability, says Lebanese president
Israel must withdraw from southern Lebanon for the area to become stable again, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said today, ahead of talks between representatives from both countries in the US.
“The only solution lies in the Lebanese Army redeploying up to the internationally recognized borders, thereby becoming the sole party responsible for the security of the area and the safety of the residents,” Aoun said during a meeting with Italy’s Chief of the Defense Staff Luciano Portolano.
These talks are the highest-level direct talks between the two countries in more than 40 years. Still, Beirut expects negotiations to be a “long, complicated process,” a Lebanese official told CNN.
Even as Lebanese officials like Aoun call for Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces have sought to establish a buffer zone there.
There have been reports of cross-border fire ahead of the talks.
US military says 6 ships have turned around due to Strait of Hormuz blockade
Six merchant ships have turned around and returned to Iranian ports after encountering the US naval blockade limiting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, US Central Command said on Tuesday.
More than 10,000 US service members and 12 US Navy ships are engaged in the blockade of Iranian ports that is being enforced “against vessels of all nations” coming in or out of Iranian ports, the command said.
“During the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the US blockade and 6 merchant vessels complied with direction from US forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman,” a release from US Central Command said.
CNN reported Monday that there were at least 15 US ships in the region that could participate in the blockade, though it was unclear where specifically the ships were.
Central Command’s release also said the US military is “supporting freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
A US official told CNN that the Navy is not escorting any ships through the strait, but has been communicating to merchant vessels that have not entered or exited Iranian ports that it is safe to pass and encouraging them to do so.
The official said the US is not enforcing a full blockade of the strait — only a blockade of ships entering and exiting Iranian ports along the entire Iranian coastline.
The US also sent destroyers through the Strait of Hormuz last weekend to demonstrate that there is a safe path through the waterway, the official said.
Reports of cross-border fire as Israel-Lebanon talks began
As talks between Lebanese and Israeli diplomats began in Washington, DC, Hezbollah said it shot rockets toward northern Israel and Lebanese media reported fresh Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon.
Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah said in two statements just before talks began that it had targeted the northern Israeli towns of Karmiel, Kiryat Shmona and Manara. The Israeli military told CNN that it detected 15 rocket and drone launches over the border from Lebanon, and Israel’s Fire and Rescue Service said it is attending to several fires in “open areas” after projectile interceptions.
Soon after diplomats began convening, the militant group announced new rocket barrages toward nearly a dozen other towns in northern Israel, where residents heard sirens ringing out to alert of incoming fire.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese state-owned National News Agency reported that Israeli shelling, airstrikes and drones targeted vehicles and towns in southern Lebanon this morning. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment on the reports.
This post has been updated with additional reporting.
Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors arrive at State Department in DC for talks
Israel’s ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh have arrived at the State Department in Washington, DC, for direct talks mediated by the US.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to meet with the diplomats beforehand.
