Here's the latest
• Where negotiations stand: Tehran has responded to Washington’s latest proposal for ending the war, in which the US laid out a “very clear red line” for peace terms, according to Ambassador Mike Waltz. Mediators have been trying to build momentum toward an elusive long-term peace deal.
• In Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there is still “work to be done” in the joint US-Israeli offensive against Iran, emphasizing that Tehran has not given up its enriched uranium or dismantled its nuclear sites.
• Strait of Hormuz: Iran’s military warned that countries enforcing sanctions against Iran will “face problems” when their vessels use the key waterway. Tehran earlier said it would launch a “heavy assault” on US assets in the Middle East if its ships face further attacks surrounding the strait.
• Energy crisis: As gas prices surge due to the conflict, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright left the door open Sunday to suspending the federal gas tax.
Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi transferred to hospital in Tehran
Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi was granted bail and transferred to a hospital in Tehran on Sunday, according to a statement from her family-run foundation.
The Narges Foundation said that Mohammadi was “granted a sentence suspension on heavy bail” after 10 days in the hospital in Zanjan.
“Her transfer via ambulance has been completed,” the statement said, “and she is now at Tehran Pars Hospital to be treated by her own medical team.”
“Narges Mohammadi’s life hangs in the balance. While she is currently hospitalized following a catastrophic health failure, a temporary transfer is not enough,” Mohammadi’s husband, Taghi Rahmani, added in the statement. “Narges must never be returned to the conditions that broke her health.”
Mohammadi, who has been a political prisoner for much of the last two decades, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 for her pro-democracy activism. She has faced serious health issues behind bars, suffering multiple heart attacks while in detention and receiving emergency surgery in 2022.
Last week, the Narges Foundation reported that Mohammadi has “repeatedly experienced severe pain in her chest, back, and arms” and warned that any delay in care could result in serious consequences for her health.
Trump renews criticism against Tehran as negotiations continue
President Donald Trump today offered renewed criticism against Iran, shortly after the country submitted its response to the US peace proposal via a Pakistani mediator.
“Iran has been playing games with the United States, and the rest of the World, for 47 years (DELAY, DELAY, DELAY!),” Trump said in a post on social media.
It’s not clear if the US has been able to review Iran’s latest proposal, and president did not directly reference it in his post. Trump went on to say that Iran “will be laughing no longer!”
The US laid out a “very clear red line” in its latest proposal, US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said earlier today. “President (Donald) Trump has been clear they will never have a nuclear weapon and they cannot hold the world’s economies hostage,” Waltz told “Fox News Sunday.”
Iran has responded to a US proposal for ending the war. Here's what you need to know today
Iran has responded to a US peace proposal, delivering its message through a Pakistani mediator, according to Iranian news agency IRNA, which did not provide any details on the terms being considered.
The US laid out a “very clear red line” in its latest proposal, according to Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations. “President (Donald) Trump has been clear they will never have a nuclear weapon and they cannot hold the world’s economies hostage,” Waltz said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian took a defiant tone, even as the negotiations progressed Sunday. “We will never bow our heads before the enemy, and if talk of dialogue or negotiation arises, it does not mean surrender or retreat,” he wrote on X.
Here’s what else we’re covering:
- Internet blackout: An internet blackout imposed by the Iranian government has entered its third month, according to NetBlocks — and there is no indication as to when it will end. The blackout has now surpassed 1704 hours, the monitoring group said.
- Netanyahu on Iran: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there is still “work to be done” in Iran, emphasizing that Tehran retains many of the capabilities it had when the US and Israel first launched their joint attacks. He said Iran has not given up its enriched uranium or dismantled its nuclear sites, nor has it stopped supporting its regional proxies or agreed to any limits to its ballistic missile program.
- Regional attacks: The United Arab Emirates said its air defenses dealt with two drones that had been launched from Iran earlier Sunday, reporting no casualties. Earlier, Kuwait also said a number of “hostile drones” had entered its airspace.
- In Lebanon: Meanwhile, the Israeli military announced new strikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday, saying it struck targets belonging to the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah.
CNN’s Aida Karimi, Max Saltman, Eugenia Yosef, Ibrahim Dahman, Oren Liebermann, Julia Benbrook, Tim Lister and Charlotte Reck contributed to this report.
China could guarantee any agreement with US, Iranian ambassador to Beijing says
China can be a guarantor for any potential agreement between Iran and the United States, Tehran’s ambassador to Beijing said in a post on social media on Sunday.
“Any potential agreement must necessarily be accompanied by guarantees from the great powers and raised in the United Nations Security Council as well,” Ambassador Abdolreza Rahman Fazli wrote on X.
“China and Russia are two major and influential powers, and given the position that China holds for Iran and other countries in the Persian Gulf region, Beijing can serve as the guarantor for any agreement,” Fazli added. Both Russia and China retain permanent seats on the UN Security Council.
It isn’t the first time that officials have floated China as a possible guarantor in a peace agreement. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar visited China ahead of US-Iran talks in Islamabad in early April. At the time, official Pakistani sources told CNN that Dar would likely discuss China acting as a guarantor while in Beijing.
In April, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs told CNN that China “supports mediation efforts by Pakistan and other countries,” and is willing to “maintain communication and coordination with all parties to continue playing a constructive role in pursuing peace.”
Israel announces new strikes in southern Lebanon
The Israeli military announced new strikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday, saying in a statement that it had struck “infrastructure” belonging to the pro-Iranian militant group Hezbollah.
Israeli strikes yesterday killed at least 22 people, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA), which reported that the dead included a 12-year-old girl. Hezbollah, meanwhile, claimed that it launched 22 attacks on Israeli military forces on Saturday.
Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has remained steady despite a declared ceasefire in Lebanon brokered by the United States. Both sides have accused each other of violating the truce.
UAE says air defenses responded to two drones from Iran
The United Arab Emirates said that its air defenses dealt with two drones that had been launched from Iran earlier Sunday.
In a statement, the Defense Ministry said there were no casualties, but that it remained “ready to deal with any threats” it faces.
The UAE has said it was attacked multiple times in the past days after about a month of calm since the United States announced a ceasefire in the Iran war.
Since Iran started attacking its neighbors in response to the US-Israeli assault in February, the UAE said its air defenses have engaged 550 ballistic missiles, nearly 30 cruise missiles, and more than 2,200 drones.
Earlier, Kuwait also said that a number of “hostile drones” had entered its airspace.
White House economic adviser predicts "gusher of oil" once Strait of Hormuz opens
Consumers and businesses will face higher costs “in the short run” as the war in Iran drives up the price of oil and gas, US National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett acknowledged Sunday.
But once the Strait of Hormuz is fully opened, “a gusher of oil” will be released into the market and bring prices down, Hassett said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Securing safe passage for ships through the vital waterway has been a key aspect of negotiations on an elusive long-term peace deal with Iran.
Reopening the strait “could take a month or two,” Hassett said. “But once, basically, the gusher opens, then we expect that oil prices could drop relatively quickly, and certainly ahead of the (midterm) election.”
Some context: Oil prices have surged since the war began in late February, in large part due to ships being unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for about 20% of oil flow.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, closed at about $100 per barrel on Friday, up from $73.21 a day before the war started. Goldman Sachs said last month that it expects Brent crude to remain above $90 a barrel through at least the end of the year.
The oil disruption has increased the national average for gas prices in the US to $4.52 a gallon, according to AAA.
Trump administration officials have repeatedly positioned the Iran war as short-term pain for long-term gain, as consumer sentiment reaches record lows.
Keep in mind: Lower oil prices will also depend on restarting oil production in the Middle East, after companies shut down some wells during the war. That process could take several weeks to restart. And strikes targeting energy and oil facilities in the Middle East could take years to repair, oil companies have warned.
“There’s work to be done” in Iran, Netanyahu says
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there is “work to be done” in Iran as he acknowledged that Tehran retains many of the capabilities it had at the start of the war.
In an interview with CBS “60 Minutes,” he said the joint US-Israeli war on Iran “accomplished a great deal, but it’s not over.”
He said Iran has not given up its enriched uranium or dismantled its nuclear sites, nor has it stopped supporting its regional proxies or agreed to any limits to its ballistic missile program.
“Now, we’ve degraded a lot of it, but all of that is still there. and there’s work to be done,” Netanyahu said in a preview of the full interview.
When pressed on how to handle the highly enriched uranium that remains a key goal of negotiations, Netanyahu said it can be removed from Iran physically.
“I’m not going to talk about military means, but what President Trump has said to me – ‘I want to go in there’ – and I think it can be done physically,” he said. “That’s not the problem. If you have an agreement, and you go in and you take it out. Why not? That’s the best way.”
Netanyahu declined to lay out any timeline for removing the enriched uranium, calling it a “terrifically important mission.”
UN ambassador says US will evaluate Iran’s response to “very clear red line”
The US ambassador to the United Nations said Sunday the world’s economy can’t continue to be held hostage by Iran, as the US is set to weigh the latest peace proposal from its adversary.
“The world should not tolerate an Iranian regime that is trying to choke off the entire world’s economy,” US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said in an interview with “Fox News Sunday.”
“It cannot start just throwing sea mines indiscriminately out into the ocean, attacking shipping,” he said. “They’ve even now started talking about on Iranian state TV of taking the undersea cables that move financial data, cloud information and all kinds of important economic information in and out of the Gulf.”
Waltz’s comments come as Iran has sent its response to the latest US proposal for ending the war through a Pakistani mediator, according to Iranian state media.
“We’ll see what the Iranians just came back with overnight in terms of their response to our very clear red line,” Waltz said. “President (Donald) Trump has been clear they will never have a nuclear weapon and they cannot hold the world’s economies hostage.”
But as the tension continues, Waltz made clear that while the US is prepared for the resumption of military hostilities, Trump wants to focus on diplomacy.
“He is giving diplomacy every chance that he can before going back to hostilities,” Waltz said on ABC’s “This Week”
US energy secretary leaves door open to suspending federal gas tax
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright today suggested the administration may consider suspending the federal gas tax, saying the administration supports “all measures” to try and lower gas prices.
“Yeah, all measures that can be taken to lower the price of at the pump and lower the prices for Americans this administration is in support of,” Wright told NBC’s “Meet the Press” when asked whether the administration would support suspending the tax to help give Americans relief.
Wright said the administration has already delved into the strategic petroleum reserve, revised Environmental Protection Agency regulations on gasoline blends and asked refiners to shorten their maintenance work so they can keep pumping more gas.
Wright said he would not make predictions about when gas prices would drop with the busy summer travel season approaching, but said it is dependent on the Strait of Hormuz opening.
“I can’t make predictions about that. I can say that when we start to get free flow of traffic through the Straits of Hormuz, energy prices will come down.”
Wright last month told CNN’s “State of the Union” Americans might not see gas prices fall below $3 per gallon until 2027, even if the Strait of Hormuz reopened earlier than that. Trump told The Hill in a phone interview a day later he thought Wright’s assessment was “totally wrong.”
Iran's president says dialogue is not surrender
While Iran says it has responded to the latest US proposal for ending the conflict, leading officials have issued defiant statements about the prospects for negotiations.
“We will never bow our heads before the enemy, and if talk of dialogue or negotiation arises, it does not mean surrender or retreat,” Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said in a post on X.
“Rather, the goal is to uphold the rights of the Iranian nation and to defend national interests with resolute strength,” he added.
“Time is moving against the Americans. It is in their interest not to act recklessly and sink themselves deeper into the quagmire they have fallen into,” posted a member of the Iranian parliament’s security committee, Ebrahim Rezaie.
“The best option is to surrender and make concessions. You must adapt to the new regional order,” Rezaie said.
The hardline deputy speaker of parliament, Ali Niksad, said the United States had chosen to test its “luck against a great and powerful Iran, and now you must accept the consequences.”
Iranian state media has given few details of the response sent through a Pakistani mediator, beyond saying that “according to the proposed framework, negotiations at this stage will focus on the issue of ending the war in the region.”
Iranian regime-imposed internet blackout enters day 72, Netblocks says
Iran’s internet blackout has entered its third month, according to NetBlocks — and there is no indication as to when it will end.
The blackout has now surpassed 1704 hours, the monitoring group said.
“The unprecedented measure is well into its third month with no indication of a wider restoration as authorities bar the general public from international access,” Netblocks added.
The ongoing restrictions have been in place since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, following a shorter, separate internet shutdown enforced in January amid anti-government protests. These sparked a brutal crackdown by Iranian authorities.
Iran has repeatedly used internet shutdowns during periods of unrest, where access to the global internet is severely restricted or completely cut, making foreign websites and apps unreachable.
During major shutdowns, authorities often keep parts of the domestic internet running, allowing access to local banking and government services while cutting off communication with the outside world.
Iran says it has responded to US proposal for ending war
Iran has sent its response to the latest US proposal for ending the conflict that began at the end of February, according to state media.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s response to the latest proposed U.S. draft aimed at ending the war was delivered today through a Pakistani mediator,” the state news agency IRNA reported Sunday.
It gave no details of the Iranian response beyond saying that: “according to the proposed framework, negotiations at this stage will focus on the issue of ending the war in the region.”
Iran warns ships using Strait of Hormuz, as Rubio meets with Qatar's prime minister
A senior Iranian military figure has warned countries enforcing sanctions on Iran that they will “face problems” when their vessels pass through the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported.
If you’re just joining us, here are some of the other latest developments from around the region:
- Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has met with a senior military commander. It is the second in-person meeting he has had within the last few days, according to Iranian state media.
- Qatar’s Prime Minister told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a meeting in Miami on Saturday that the roots of the crisis in the Gulf had to be tackled “through peaceful means and dialogue.”
- Elsewhere, a bulk carrier in the Persian Gulf reported being struck by an unknown projectile on Sunday morning local time, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) said.
- In Lebanon, Israeli attacks killed at least 22 people on Saturday, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA). The Israeli military said it killed 10 members of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and struck 40 of the group’s infrastructure sites in southern Lebanon
- Satellite imagery of one of two Iranian-flagged tankers attacked by a US fighter jet taken on Saturday showed smoke still billowing from the vessel. They were the second and third Iranian ships hit by a US F/A-18 in recent days.
- And a number of “hostile drones” crossed into Kuwaiti airspace early today, according to the Kuwaiti Defense Ministry, before being “dealt with in accordance with approved procedures,” the government added.
CNN’s Kareem El Damanhoury, Tim Lister, Chris Lau and Yong Xiong contributed to this post.
Iran's supreme leader reported to have met military commander
Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has met with a senior military commander – the second in-person meeting Khamenei has had within the last few days, according to Iranian state media.
Khamenei met with Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, the commander of military headquarters, according to the semi-official Fars news agency, and received a report “on the readiness of Iran’s armed forces.”
No photographs or video of the meeting were published. No images of Khamenei have been published by Iranian media since he was inaugurated in March after US-Israeli strikes killed his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leading to speculation about his health and whereabouts.
Abdollahi said that Iranian forces were in a state of high readiness, with “the necessary equipment and weapons to counter hostile actions by the American-Zionist enemies.”
“In the event of any strategic mistake, aggression, or attack by them, they will respond swiftly, intensely, and powerfully,” Abdollahi was quoted as saying.
Khamenei said that Iran had “thwarted the enemies from achieving their evil goals” and issued new instructions to powerfully confront the enemies, according to the Fars account.
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said on Thursday he had held a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Khamenei, marking the first reported in-person meeting between a top Iranian official and the country’s new supreme leader.
Pezeshkian did not specify when it took place.
CNN reported Friday that US intelligence assesses Khamenei is playing a critical role in shaping war strategy alongside senior Iranian officials, citing multiple sources familiar with the intelligence.
The reports found that precise authority within a now-fractured regime remains unclear, but that Mojtaba Khamenei is likely helping direct how Iran is managing negotiations with the US to end the war.
Kuwait says hostile drones "dealt with" Sunday
A number of “hostile drones” crossed into Kuwaiti airspace early Sunday, according to the Kuwaiti Defense Ministry.
The drones were “dealt with in accordance with approved procedures,” a government statement said.
The origin of the drones is not known.
Last month, the Kuwaiti military said that two drones coming from the direction of neighboring Iraq struck border posts on its northern frontier with the country, causing damage but no casualties.
Iranian-backed militia in Iraq have claimed more than 750 strikes on US targets in Iraq and the Gulf region.
Before the ceasefire took effect on April 8, Kuwait said that over 1,000 missiles and drones had been fired toward Kuwaiti territory, the vast majority apparently from Iran. According to a ministry statement, the tally included 336 ballistic missiles, 13 cruise missiles, and 740 drones.
How important is the Strait of Hormuz?
A narrow waterway that bypasses Iran and Oman, the Strait of Hormuz is the main route for shipping crude from oil-rich countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to the rest of the world.
The strait has remained a crucial factor since the start of the conflict after it was effectively closed by Tehran. In recent days, it has seen just a handful of crossings, according to Kpler and other shipping data sources.
This video shows a timelapse of marine traffic in the Strait of Hormuz from May 3 to May 4. Marine Traffic
Iran controls the strait’s northern side. About 20 million barrels of oil, or about one-fifth of daily global production, used to flow through the strait every day, according to the US Energy Information Administration, which calls the channel a “critical oil chokepoint.”
According to the EIA, “very few alternative options exist to move oil out of the strait if it is closed.”
The strait also carries about one-fifth of global trade in liquefied natural gas.
Qatar urges resolution of Gulf crisis through dialogue
Qatar’s Prime Minister told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a meeting on Saturday that the roots of the crisis in the Gulf had to be tackled “through peaceful means and dialogue,” according to a Qatari statement Sunday.
Rubio and US special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Saturday in Miami.
Qatar said the two sides discussed Pakistani mediation “aimed at de-escalation to contribute to strengthening security and stability in the region.”
The United States is awaiting a response from Tehran to its latest proposal for ending the conflict.
“The Secretary expressed appreciation for Qatar’s partnership on a range of issues,” the US State Department said. “The Secretary and the Foreign Minister also discussed U.S. support for Qatar’s defense, and the importance of continued close coordination to deter threats and promote stability and security across the Middle East.”
In pictures: Strikes continue in Lebanon despite ceasefire
These are the latest images we’re seeing from Lebanon, after Israeli strikes killed at least 22 people on Saturday, state-run National News Agency reported.
Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah have continued to trade strikes despite a ceasefire in Lebanon announced by US President Donald Trump on April 16.
First Qatari tanker crosses Hormuz since conflict began
A Qatari tanker loaded with liquid natural gas has crossed the Strait of Hormuz on its way to Pakistan, according to ship tracking data.
The ship - Al Kharaitiyat – is the first Qatari owned and operated tanker to have crossed the strait since the conflict between Iran and the United States began at the end of February, according to shipping analysts.
At 4 a.m. ET Sunday it was in the Gulf of Oman.
The vessel’s track shows that it transited Hormuz using the Iran-approved northern route near Qeshm island, according to the MarineTraffic tracking site.
“The passage of this Qatari oil tanker indicates that Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz continues,” the semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim reported Sunday.
Al Kharaitiyat, which can carry more than 200,000 cubic meters of liquid gas, loaded at Qatar’s Ras Laffan export hub earlier this month.
Qatar normally supplies nearly 20% of the world’s LNG, but its production has been shut in and its main facility damaged during the conflict.
