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What we know
• Potential talks: Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead a potential second round of negotiations with Iranian officials should a meeting happen before the ceasefire expires next week, sources told CNN. US President Donald Trump had suggested earlier that talks could resume in the next two days in Pakistan.
• 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.
• Israel-Lebanon talks conclude: Meanwhile, 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.
Satellite imagery shows remains of US aircraft at remote airstrip in Iran following airman rescue operation
Newly released satellite imagery shows the burnt out remains of US aircraft at a remote Iranian airstrip used in the daring rescue of the weapons systems officer whose F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down inside Iran earlier this month.
In the Airbus image taken on April 10th, large black marks consistent with the burnt out remains of aircraft can be seen at the eastern end of the 1200-meter (4000ft) runway. Several cars can also be seen near the end of the runway.
Iranian state media videos shot shortly after the rescue operation and geolocated by CNN to the same location showed the smoldering US aircraft on the runway.
The airstrip is located in central Esfahan province around 50 kilometers south of the city of Esfahan.
CNN previously reported that two MC-130J special operations transport aircraft had been waiting at the remote airstrip to take the commandos and the rescued airman out of Iran. However, they were damaged during the operation forcing the US to blow them up to avoid the risk of them falling into the hands of Iranian forces.
Images show Iran digging for trapped missile launchers. Here’s why that’s significant
CNN’s Erin Burnett talks to CNN Global Affairs Analyst Karim Sadjadpour about new satellite images showing Iran digging for missile launchers trapped underground amid the ceasefire.
Watch here:
Lebanon and Israel have agreed to hold more talks, officials say. Catch up on the latest
After the first direct talks in three decades, Israel and Lebanon have 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.
Israel and Lebanon have agreed to meet again, officials said, after a first round of talks were held Tuesday in Washington, DC. It was the first direct negotiations between the two countries in decades.
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead a potential second round of talks with Iranian officials should negotiations lead to another sitdown before the ceasefire expires next week, sources told CNN. US President Donald Trump had suggested talks could resume in the next two days in Pakistan.
Here’s what else you should know:
- Peace talks: Lebanon’s ambassador to the US 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.”
- Attacks on Lebanon: At least 35 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon in 24 hours, the Lebanese health ministry said in its daily update. 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.
- Removing debris: Iran has been working to remove debris blocking the entrances to its underground missile bases during the ceasefire, according to satellite images reviewed by CNN.
- More from Vance: The vice president said he believed the Iranians sitting across the table during talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, “wanted to make a deal,” despite decades of US-Iran mistrust. He also said he’s going to continue fighting for the “grand bargain” that he said Trump wants to make with Tehran. And while he’s been “frustrated” to see some Catholic clergy criticize US policies, Vance said he still likes and admires the pontiff.
- Strait shipping traffic: An additional tanker departed from an Iranian port before passing through the Strait of Hormuz today, according to MarineTraffic data, despite the claimed US blockade.
CNN’s Charbel Mallo, Catherine Nicholls, Avery Schmitz, Thomas Bordeaux, Donald Judd, Kit Maher and Alayna Treene contributed reporting.
Iran carried out most executions since 1989 last year, rights groups say
Iran carried out its highest number of executions in more than three decades last year, according to a joint report by Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty (EPCM) and by Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR).
At least 1,639 people were executed in 2025, the report found, marking the highest annual total since 1989 and a sharp rise from 975 executions the previous year. Due to a lack of transparency within the judicial system, the true number could be much higher, the report said.
The groups say Iran’s surge in use of capital punishment, with executions averaging more than four per day, could intensify further amid an ongoing conflict with Israel and the United States. The report warns that authorities may exploit the wartime conditions to silence dissent with Tehran using the situation as cover to target critics and opposition figures.
Many of the 2025 death sentences were linked to drug-related offenses and murder charges, but at least 57 of those executed were convicted of security-related charges, including two protesters.
Rights groups say the combination of the conflict, reduced scrutiny and tightened internal security in the country risks accelerating executions particularly of those linked to the huge anti-government protests that roiled the country in January.
The report said half the convictions were handed down by Iran’s Revolutionary Courts, highlighting concerns of “grossly unfair trials and without due process.”
How blocked shipping traffic in Middle East will have ripple effects
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, data shows. This will impact inventories of things like shoes, furniture and electronics, according to Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.
Vance says he's fighting for "grand bargain" Trump wants with Iran
Vice President JD Vance said he’s going to continue fighting for the “grand bargain” that he says President Donald Trump wants to make with Iran.
Vance — who led negotiations with the Iranians in Pakistan over the weekend and is expected to lead a potential second round of talks if they materialize — said he believed those across the table in Islamabad “wanted to make a deal,” despite decades of US-Iran “mistrust.”
“I feel very good about where we are,” he said at a Turning Point USA event in Athens, Georgia, on Tuesday.
Vance praised Trump’s ambitions for a deal. “He doesn’t want to make like a small deal. He wants to make the grand bargain,” the vice president said.
“The reason why the deal is not yet done is because, the president, he really wants a deal where Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon, Iran is not state sponsoring terrorism, but also the people of Iran can thrive and prosper, prosper and join the world economy. And that’s that’s the trade that he’s offering,” Vance added.
“We’re going to keep on negotiating and try to make it happen,” he said. “So I’m gonna keep on fighting to make it happen.”
Vance praises pope as "advocate for peace,” but pushes back against Iran war criticism
Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that while he’s been “frustrated” to see some Catholic clergy criticize US policies, he still likes and admires the pontiff.
The vice president pointed to Pope Leo XIV’s social post last week that said alluded to the Iran war. “Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs,” the pope wrote.
Vance’s remarks were interrupted briefly by a member of the audience, who shouted that Jesus would not have supported genocide.
“When we came in, the humanitarian situation in Gaza was an absolute catastrophe,” Vance responded. “You know, who’s the person who got a peace agreement in Gaza? Donald J. Trump.”
Vance again expected to lead potential second round of talks
Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead a potential second round of talks with Iranian officials should negotiations lead to another face-to-face sit down before the ceasefire expires next week, sources familiar with the talks told CNN.
President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who headed diplomatic talks since before the war began, are also expected to attend any possible second meeting, the sources said.
Trump put his three top advisers in charge of finding a diplomatic off-ramp to the war and continues to trust them to carry that out, the sources said. Vance, Witkoff and Kushner have engaged with the Iranians and intermediaries in the days since Saturday’s marathon 21-hour session as they work toward a deal.
CNN previously reported that Trump officials are internally discussing details for a potential second meeting, though as of Tuesday evening it remained unclear whether such a meeting would materialize.
The president told The New York Post earlier Tuesday that “something could be happening” over the next two days in Pakistan as US and Iran try to come back to the negotiating table.
“Future talks are under discussion, but nothing has been scheduled at this time,” a US official told CNN.
Amid ceasefire, Iran digs for missile launchers trapped underground
Iran has been working to remove debris blocking the entrances to its underground missile bases during the ceasefire, according to satellite images reviewed by CNN. In the images, front-end loaders can be seen scooping up rubble from the blocked tunnels and loading it into nearby dump trucks.
A previous CNN investigation found that the United States and Israel had been striking entrances to the bases to block missile launchers from driving out and firing or returning to base to reload. US intelligence assessed that roughly half of Iran’s missile launchers were still intact after a month of fighting, according to sources who spoke with CNN. Many of those launchers may have been buried underground by the strikes on tunnel entrances.
The efforts to restore access to the bases, commonly known as missile cities, would have been expected, according to Sam Lair, a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
“[A ceasefire] requires you to accept that your adversary is going to reconstitute some of their military capacity that you just spent a bunch of time and effort and money destroying.”
Lair added that this was part of Iran’s design for the bases working. “This aligns with the overall concept of operations for the missile city, which was, you eat the first attack, dig yourself out, and then launch again.”
Another tanker passes through Strait of Hormuz after departing Iranian port
An additional tanker departed from an Iranian port before passing through the Strait of Hormuz today, according to MarineTraffic data, despite the claimed US blockade.
The tanker, named the Argo Maris (IMO 9041643) and built to transport heated asphalt or bitumen, departed from the port of Bandar Abbas early Tuesday and briefly disappeared from public tracking dashboards while transiting the channel, reappearing at 1:54pm ET.
The ship is operated by an Emirati company and is currently sailing under the Curaçaoan flag. It is unclear whether the vessel is partially laden or empty.
While ongoing GPS interference affecting shipping across the region may lead to the transmission of inaccurate or misleading data, at least two vessels have exited the Persian Gulf under threat of the US blockade. The Argo Maris did not exhibit signs of spoofing, the manipulation of a ship’s position data to transmit a false location or identity.
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.
Since the conflict erupted, daily shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has decreased by more than 90%, according to observation figures released by the Joint Maritime Information Center in Bahrain.
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.
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.
