Here's the latest
• Lebanon ceasefire: A fragile truce in Lebanon has been extended by three weeks after Israeli and Lebanese representatives met at the White House. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is among the key sticking points in US-Iran peace efforts.
• Iran timeline uncertain: President Donald Trump again refused to give a timeline for resolving the Iran war, telling reporters: “Don’t rush me.” He blamed what he described as a lack of clear leadership for stalled talks, saying the US does not know who the leader is in Iran, as pressure grows from the global economic impacts.
• Maritime standoff: US military officials are developing new plans to target Iran’s capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz if the Iran ceasefire falls apart, sources told CNN.
EU warns Iran will be "more dangerous" if nuclear experts not included in talks
The EU’s top foreign policy official has warned that Iran could pose a greater threat if nuclear specialists are excluded from peace negotiations.
Speaking Friday morning at a gathering of EU leaders in Cyprus, Kaja Kallas cautioned that any future deal risks being weaker than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 agreement negotiated during the Obama administration, which US President Donald Trump later withdrew from.
That deal required Iran to scale back sensitive nuclear work and permit international inspections in exchange for relief from economic sanctions imposed by the UN, EU, and the US.
“If the talks are only about the nuclear (program) and there are no nuclear experts around the table, then we will end up with an agreement that is weaker than the JCPOA was,” Kallas said.
She also warned that failing to address broader concerns could worsen the situation.
“And (if) the problems in the region, missile programs, their support to proxies, also hybrid and cyber activities in Europe are not addressed, we will end up with a more dangerous Iran,” she said.
A 3rd US aircraft carrier has arrived in Middle East. Here's what experts are saying
The US military said a third aircraft carrier had arrived in the Middle East, the highest number of American carriers deployed to the region in more than 20 years, according to analysts.
The announcement on Thursday came around the same time US President Donald Trump declined to give a timeline on when the Iran war could end.
US Central Command, which coordinates American forces throughout the Middle East, announced in a social media post that the third aircraft carrier, the Nimitz-class USS George H.W. Bush, had transited into its area of responsibility.
The Bush, commissioned in 2009, is the newest of 10 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers in the US fleet. Almost 1,000 feet long and displacing more than 100,000 tons, it can carry more than 80 aircraft, is powered by two nuclear reactors and has more than 5,500 sailors and air crew aboard.
Asked about plans for the Bush, a defense official told CNN the military does not “discuss force disposition, ship movements, or locations to protect service members and operational security.”
But analysts note the arrival of the Bush sends a message without even firing a shot.
Analyst Peter Layton, a fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute, and others said the Bush might be coming on to relieve the USS Gerald R Ford, which has been deployed since last June, well past the normal seven or so months US carriers deploy under normal circumstances.
The carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, meanwhile, was shown in the Arabian Sea south of Iran, as it has been since the beginning of the war.
Read more about the growing US military presence in the Middle East.
What to know about mines in the Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump has ordered the US Navy to fire on any Iranian boats that are placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the critical energy chokepoint that carries about one-fifth of all global crude oil.
It’s not clear what prompted Trump’s warning, but fears are growing that mines in the strait could spark economic repercussions that outlive the war.
When did Iran start laying mines?
In early March, CNN reported that Iran had begun laying mines in the strait, according to two people familiar with US intelligence reporting on the issue. Trump warned at the time that if mines were placed and not removed, Tehran would face consequences “at a level never before seen.”
The sources said in March that Iran could feasibly lay hundreds of mines in the waterway. But it doesn’t take that many to effectively keep the strait shut as commercial captains and ship owners don’t want to take the risk.
Later that month, Iran’s military said Tehran had “no need” to mine the Persian Gulf to assert its power and would use “every possible means to ensure security as necessary.”
What are the potential impacts?
Aside from the obvious risks to vessels in the region, and the safety of crew members, the presence of mines could delay the reopening of the strait.
Pentagon officials briefed lawmakers this week on an intelligence assessment that found it could take up to six months to fully clear the strait of mines after the war with Iran ends, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. A Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday that a six-month closure would be “unacceptable.”
How easily can the mines be removed?
US Central Command chief Adm. Bradley Cooper said last week the number of mines in the strait is “well within our ability to remove,” adding that the US has already been conducting de-mining operations.
Trump repeated Thursday that US “mine ‘sweepers’ are clearing the Strait right now. I am hereby ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled up level!”
Iranian officials are some of the toughest negotiators, ex-hostage envoy says
Former US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Roger Carstens, told CNN that the Iranians are tougher negotiators than the Russians, the Chinese, and even the Taliban.
"Don't rush me": Trump snaps at reporters in Oval Office over Iran questions
President Donald Trump declined to give a timeline for resolving the Iran war on Thursday, telling reporters at the White House, “Don’t rush me.” CNN’s Kristen Holmes reports.
President Donald Trump declined to give a timeline for resolving the Iran war on Thursday, telling reporters at the White House, “Don’t rush me.” CNN's Kristen Holmes reports.
Trump announced a ceasefire extension in Lebanon. Here's how talks unfolded
A ceasefire in Lebanon has been extended by three weeks after Israeli and Lebanese representatives met at the White House, US President Donald Trump announced Thursday. Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel exchanged attacks as the talks were held, underscoring the fragility of the truce.
The agreement, first enacted on April 16 to pause fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, remains among the key factors discussed in US-Iran peace efforts.
Here’s the latest surrounding the extension:
- Trump’s role: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump’s involvement in Israel-Lebanon mediation “made it possible” for the ceasefire to be extended and expressed optimism about the prospects for peace. “The president wanted to be personally involved and glad he was, because it made it possible to get this extension, and it gives everybody time to continue to work on what’s going to be permanent peace between two countries that want to be in peace,” Rubio said.
- Peace is possible: Peace between Israel and Lebanon is not a “pipe dream,” Israeli ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter said during diplomatic talks at the White House. Leiter noted that the focus should be less on the Israeli troop presence in southern Lebanon and more on dismantling Hezbollah, a task, he added, the Lebanese government had fallen short on.
- Doubts cast: Later Thursday, after news of the ceasefire extension, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, expressed mistrust. The extension is “not 100%,” Danon told CNN, noting the Lebanese government lacks control over Hezbollah. “Hezbollah is sending rockets trying to sabotage the ceasefire. And Israel, we have to retaliate,” he added.
- Fighting continues: Hezbollah and Israel have both conducted military strikes during the truce, including an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon Wednesday that killed one journalist and seriously injured another. Lebanon’s prime minister accused Israel of war crimes after that attack.
Boarding tankers, US starts new phase of Iran war
The US is putting pressure on Iran with its blockade, as its forces have boarded vessels in the Arabian Sea and nearly 2,000 miles off the Persian Gulf in the Indian Ocean. CNN’s Haley Britzky reports.
The US is putting pressure on Iran with its blockade, as US forces have boarded vessels in the Arabian Sea and nearly 2,000 miles off the Persian Gulf in the Indian Ocean. CNN’s Haley Britzky reports.
US developing plans to target Iran’s Strait of Hormuz defenses if ceasefire collapses: sources
US military officials are developing new plans to target Iran’s capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz in the event the ceasefire with Iran falls apart, according to multiple sources.
The options, among several sets of target types under consideration, include strikes with a particular focus on “dynamic targeting” of Iran’s capabilities around the Strait of Hormuz, southern Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, the sources said, describing potential attacks against small fast attack boats, minelaying vessels and other asymmetric assets that have helped Tehran effectively shut down those key waterways and use them as leverage over the US.
While the military has targeted Iran’s Navy, much of the first month of bombing was focused on targets away from the strait that would allow the US military to strike further inside Iran itself. The new plans call for a much more concentrated bombing campaign around strategic waterways.
CNN has previously reported that a large percentage of the country’s coastal defense missiles remain intact. Iran also has numerous small boats that could be used as platforms to launch attacks on ships, complicating US efforts to open the strait.
The US military could also follow through on Trump’s previous threat to strike dual-use and infrastructure targets, including energy facilities, in an effort to compel Iran to the negotiating table, the sources told CNN.
Another option developed by military planners is to target individual Iranian military leaders and other “obstructionists” within the regime who US officials have recently suggested are actively undermining negotiations, one of the sources noted.
NYT reporter discusses Iranian supreme leader's "disfiguring" injuries
New York Times correspondent Farnaz Fassihi spoke to CNN about her reporting on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s “disfiguring” injuries, and more details on his physical condition after being hit by an airstrike at the start of the war.
Watch the conversation below:
Fassihi has covered the Iran region for three decades, and for her report interviewed 23 people in Iran, including senior officials with ties to the supreme leader.
Her reporting comes as US President Donald Trump said on Thursday his administration does not know who the new leader is in Iran.
US-Iran war timeline, Pope Leo's take and Israel-Lebanon truce. What to know today
The timeline for resolving the US-Iran conflict remains uncertain, almost two months since it began, with President Donald Trump refusing to set an end date and Iran maintaining its tight hold on the Strait of Hormuz amid a US naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Trump blamed what he described as a lack of clear leadership in Tehran for holding up talks, saying the US does not know who the leader is in Iran. Iran’s president and top negotiator hit back, issuing identical statements on Thursday.
Catch up on the latest headlines:
- No clear end: Trump declined to say Thursday how long he’d be willing to draw out the war with Iran, telling reporters at the White House, “don’t rush me,” when pressed on a timetable. He pointed to the ongoing ceasefire as a promising sign in negotiations, insisting: “We stopped a little early, because they wanted to have some peace.”
- Israel-Lebanon truce: Trump announced a three-week extension of the ceasefire on Thursday. This followed a meeting he hosted at the White House with Israeli and Lebanese representatives.
- Israel ready to resume fighting Iran: Israel is ready “to return Iran to the dark ages,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday. Katz said Israel is “awaiting a green light” from the United States to resume the war and “complete the elimination of the Khamenei dynasty.”
- Strait of Hormuz: US military officials are developing new plans to target Iran’s capabilities in the strait if the current ceasefire falls apart, sources told CNN. Trump ordered the US Navy to attack any Iranian boats placing mines in the waterway.
- Gas prices: When asked about the war’s impact on gas prices, Trump said Americans can anticipate spending more money “for a little while.”
- Economic crisis: More than 30 million people around the world will be pushed back into poverty even if the Iran war conflict were to end tomorrow, the United Nations warned.
- Nuclear weapons: Trump explicitly said he would not use nuclear weapons against Iran, dismissing the idea in response to a reporter’s question on Thursday.
- Top secret: Trump also said Thursday he could not disclose the specific materials found in a ship intercepted from China to Iran on Monday, calling it “top secret.”
- Pope Leo: A week after the pontiff exchanged barbs with Trump, Pope Leo told reporters he cannot support the US-Israeli war with Iran but also condemned the Iranian regime’s killing of protesters.
CNN’s Christian Sierra, Donald Judd, Elise Hammond and Tori B. Powell contributed reporting.
