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Key developments
• Fresh strikes: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched an attack targeting an American air base they say was the source of US strikes on Iranian targets hours before. The US strikes targeted Iranian drones and a launch site around the Strait of Hormuz, according to a US official.
• War talks: US President Donald Trump said he won’t be rushed into a deal, warning that Iran’s efforts to outlast him won’t work because he doesn’t “care about the midterms.” The White House dismissed Iranian state media reports that a memorandum of understanding being negotiated would lift the US blockade of Iranian ports in exchange for the reopening of the strait.
• In Lebanon: The Israeli military said it is striking Hezbollah targets in Tyre, north of the zone occupied by Israeli forces. Israel has intensified its operations in Lebanon, including strikes against over 150 sites in 24 hours.
Iran's new authority to manage Strait of Hormuz added to US sanctions list
Iran’s newly created body to force shippers to comply with its rules around the Strait of Hormuz has been added to a US Treasury sanctions list.
The Persian Gulf Strait Authority has been placed on the Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals list, which will generally prohibit US persons from dealing with it.
Iran has been trying to implement a new protocol for transiting the Strait of Hormuz since effectively closing the critical waterway after the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28.
The organization was established on May 5 as a “legal body and official representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran responsible for issuing permits and regulating maritime traffic” through the strait, the Iranian state-linked Nour News outlet said.
Earlier this month, Tehran laid out a set of new rules for vessels seeking to transit the strait, according to a document seen by CNN, pressing ahead with efforts to formalize control over the waterway in defiance of US warnings.
Entitled “Vessel Information Declaration,” the document is an application form issued by the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) and must be completed by all transiting vessels to ensure safe passage. It was shared with CNN by Lloyd’s List and another shipping industry source who wished to remain anonymous.
CNN’s Eleni Giokos and Tim Lister contributed to this report.
Iran's revolutionary guards say they targeted a US air base
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said they launched an attack targeting an American air base which they say was the source of US strikes on Iranian targets early Thursday local time, state-linked Iranian media reported.
The IRGC did not specify which air base it targeted. The US has air bases in a number of nations in the Middle East region.
The IRGC said its response was “a serious warning” to the US, saying its “aggression will not go unanswered.”
Around the same time Iran said the attack was launched, Kuwait’s Army reported its air defenses were intercepting “hostile” drones and missiles, though did not state the origin of the attacks.
In the early hours of Thursday morning local time, three explosions were heard to the east of Bandar Abbas, a strategic Iranian port city and naval base near the Strait of Hormuz. A US official confirmed the US military had shot down four Iranian drones and struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.
CNN has sought comment from US Central Command.
Israeli military launches strikes on southern Lebanese city Tyre
The Israeli military said it is striking what it called was “Hezbollah infrastructure” in Tyre, an ancient coastal city in southern Lebanon.
It comes after Israel issued what appeared to be its largest evacuation warning for the city, which sits on the Mediterranean coast, north of the zone occupied by Israeli forces.
Israel has intensified its operations in Lebanon in recent days. On Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had carried out strikes against over 150 sites targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah across southern Lebanon.
Lebanon’s state-run NNA news agency also reported a deadly missile strike in the early hours of Thursday morning on an apartment building in Sidon, Lebanon’s third largest city.
Mounting casualties: Lebanon has been struck repeatedly by Israel since the latest conflict with Iran erupted in late February. Lebanese health authorities say at least 3,269 people have been killed in that period with at least 9,840 wounded.
Kuwait air defenses activated after "hostile" missile and drone attacks
Kuwaiti air defenses have been activated to confront “hostile” missile and drone attacks, the Gulf nation’s army said early Thursday local time.
The statement did not say where the attacks were coming from.
State news agency KUNA also reported sirens blasted in the country.
Iran fires warning shots at ships trying to transit Strait of Hormuz, state-linked media reports
Four vessels that tried to transit the Strait of Hormuz were fired upon by Iran’s military and forced to turn around early Thursday morning local time, Iranian state-linked media outlets reported.
“Four vessels attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and enter the Persian Gulf without coordinating with the security forces responsible for the strait,” multiple Iranian state-affiliated media reported on Thursday, citing a military source.
The Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), reported that the IRGC Navy had fired a warning shot at “American oil tanker” forcing it to turn around.
“In response,” Tasnim said, the US military “fired at a barren area near Bandar Abbas,” a strategic port city where explosions were reported early on Thursday morning local time.
A US official earlier told CNN that the US military shot down four Iranian drones and struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.
CNN has sought comment from US Central Command about the Iranian media reports that the US strikes were in response to the Iranian action.
A maritime agency that monitors shipping in the waterway, UKMTO, has not yet notified any incidents regarding ships reporting being fired upon Thursday.
Earlier this week: The US also launched strikes targeting Iranian missile launch sites and boats around the Strait of Hormuz.
The US has cast both sets of strikes as being within the bounds of the ceasefire agreement, but Iran condemned the earlier attacks as a violation of the ceasefire and the IRGC warned that it will retaliate against any violations.
US and Iranian forces have previously exchanged fire during the ceasefire.
CNN’s Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.
US military carries out new strikes in Iran
The US military carried out new strikes in Iran, targeting a site around the Strait of Hormuz that posed a threat to US forces and commercial traffic, according to a US official.
The US also shot down four Iranian attack drones that posed a threat, the official said.
US forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone. These actions were measured, purely defensive and intended to maintain the ceasefire, they added.
Reuters first reported the strikes.
This post has been updated with additional details.
Explosions heard near Iranian port close to Strait of Hormuz, IRGC-linked media reports
Three explosions were heard to the east of Bandar Abbas, a strategic Iranian port city and naval base near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported in the early hours of Thursday.
The blasts were reported at around 1:30 a.m. local time and caused the air defense systems of Bandar Abbas to be briefly activated, according to Fars, a media outlet with links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“The exact location and source of these sounds are still unknown, and follow-ups are continuing to determine them,” Fars reported.
Oman joins the list of countries Trump threatened and at times acted against as president
President Donald Trump has racked up an astonishing list of countries he’s both threatened to attack and actually attacked.
Trump added a new entry to that list on Wednesday, threatening to strike Oman if it tries to control the Strait of Hormuz along with Iran. “Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow ‘em up,” he said.
He’s launched strikes in seven countries so far this term — Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen — after also attacking some of those countries in his first term. That doesn’t even count the strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.
Trump has also threatened or left open the possibility of strikes against seven others this term: Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Greenland (which is part of Denmark), Mexico, Panama and now Oman.
Here are some stats that show how militant Trump has been:
- 1 out of 13 countries: That’s how many Trump has threatened or attacked so far: 15 out of the nearly 200 countries in the world.
- 1 out of 11 people: Those countries account for one out of every 11 people in the world. That means one out of every 11 people on the planet has been at least somewhat worried that Trump could initiate a military strike on their country.
- 5 countries in the Middle East: Trump has now threatened or targeted five countries in the Middle East alone. That’s five out of fewer than 20 total countries in the Middle East.
- 4 continents: Trump’s threats and strikes have included countries on four of the world’s six populous continents: Africa, Asia, North America and South America.
- 5 potential targets for imperialism: Of the 15 countries he’s struck or threatened, he’s identified five of them as possible additions to the United States: Canada, Cuba, Greenland, Panama (specifically, the Panama Canal) and Venezuela.
Iran says 23 vessels pass the Strait of Hormuz, but ships of "hostile countries" still blocked
Iran said 23 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz under its “security protection” over the past 24 hours, but it warned earlier Wednesday that ships belonging to “hostile countries” are blocked from traversing the vital waterway, according to state-sponsored media.
“Over the past 24 hours, 23 vessels — including oil tankers, container ships and other commercial vessels — passed through the Strait of Hormuz after obtaining authorization, in coordination with and under the security protection of the IRGC Navy,” the Mehr News Agency reported Wednesday.
However, ship-tracking services could not confirm that number, partly because vessels that currently transit the strait invariably turn off their automatic identification system (AIS) transponders, which show their location.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy said: “The Persian Gulf is a body of water belonging to the Muslim nations of the region, and the aggression and provocations of the terrorist U.S. military are the main cause of insecurity in these days.”
Earlier Wednesday it said “vessels belonging to ‘hostile countries’ are prohibited from passing through the Strait of Hormuz,” adding that Tehran will continue its “cooperation” with countries that comply with the “Iranian order,” according to a report by the official Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
Despite optimism that a proposed US-Iran deal could increase the flow of commercial traffic through the strait, Tehran still appears to want to maintain a greater degree of control over the waterway than existed before the conflict.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz will be “open to everybody” and that the US will “watch over it,” adding that those terms are a part of negotiations with Iran.
Catch up on key headlines from Trump's Cabinet meeting amid fluid war negotiations
President Trump in a Cabinet meeting Wednesday vowed to strike a favorable deal to end the war with Iran, warning that the regime’s efforts to outlast him won’t work because “I don’t care about the midterms.”
US President Donald Trump held a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday amid reports from Iranian state television that a tentative memorandum of understanding being negotiated between Iran and the US would lift the US blockade of Iranian ports in return for the reopening of the strait to pre-war levels.
The White House described the reports as a “complete fabrication.”
During the meeting, Trump said he won’t be rushed into a deal, warning that Iran’s efforts to outlast him won’t work because he doesn’t “care about the midterms.” He also discussed certain terms that would need to be met, saying that the administration is willing to resume fighting to secure its demands.
Here’s what else we covered:
- Terms of a deal: Trump said the Strait of Hormuz will be “open to everybody” and that the US will “watch over it,” adding that those terms are a part of negotiations with Iran. He also suggested that a deal could hinge upon a host of Middle Eastern nations agreeing to join his Abraham Accords framework, which is aimed at normalizing ties with Israel.
- Strait control: The navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said “vessels belonging to ‘hostile countries’ are prohibited from passing through the Strait of Hormuz,” IRIB reported, adding that Tehran will continue its “cooperation” with countries that comply with the “Iranian order.”
- Iran’s evolving blackout: Iran partially eased an internet blackout that lasted nearly 90 days on Tuesday, but the regime imposed new restrictions on messaging and app stores in the country early on Wednesday, according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks.
- Israeli strikes: Meanwhile, Israel issued an evacuation warning for the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, which sits on the coast north of the zone occupied by Israeli forces. On Tuesday, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Israeli strikes killed 31 people, including at least four children in one of the deadliest days since the ceasefire began. One airstrike in the city of Tyre killed at least 14 people, the ministry said.
CNN’s Tim Lister, Frederik Pleitgen, Aida Karimi, Aileen Graef, Kevin Liptak, Adam Cancryn, Maureen Chowdhury, Billy Stockwell, Catherine Nicholls, Ibrahim Dahman, Oren Liebermann, Kathleen Magramo and Dana Karni contributed to this report.
Trump says US will “watch over” the Strait of Hormuz and warns Oman not to interfere
President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz will be “open to everybody” and that the US will “watch over it,” adding that those terms are a part of negotiations with Iran.
Trump also warned Oman not to interfere. “Oman will behave just like everybody else or we’ll have to blow ‘em up,” the president said.
Asked if he would accept a short-term deal that would allow Iran and Oman to control the critical waterway, Trump said, “No, the strait’s going to be open to everybody.”
“It’s international waters. Nobody’s going to control it. We’re going to watch over it. We’ll watch over it, but nobody’s going to control it,” Trump said. “That’s part of the negotiation that we have.”
Remember: Iran has insisted that management of the strait has nothing to do with the US but would be coordinated with Oman, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday. That’s a condition other Iranian officials have repeated.
Trump suggests Iran deal could hinge on more nations joining Abraham Accords
President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that he may refuse to make a deal with Iran until a host of Middle Eastern nations agree to join his Abraham Accords framework aimed at normalizing ties with Israel.
“That really would be a tremendous sign, and I think those countries owe it to us,” he said during a Cabinet meeting. “I’m not sure we should make the deal if they don’t sign, you want to know the truth.”
Trump earlier this week pressed several nations including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan to join the Abraham Accords, which were established during his first term, though there’s been little indication since that any of the countries are eager.
On Wednesday, he added he now wanted those discussions to be part of the broader negotiations toward a peace deal between the US and Iran, though when pressed on the matter, he declined to say that any agreement would be contingent on adding nations to the Abraham Accords.
“We can make a good deal right now, but maybe not a great deal,” Trump said. “And if it’s not a great deal, we’re not making it.”
Trump offers positions on uranium and financial relief as Iran talks continue
US President Donald Trump said he wouldn’t be content to see Russia or China take shipment of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and insisted there was no discussion of financial relief for the country before it fulfills its commitments.
The remarks offer harder-line positions on two key points that are central to the ongoing negotiations with Iran.
“No I wouldn’t be comfortable,” he said when asked about the prospect of Moscow or Beijing taking the near-bomb-grade uranium, which is currently believed to be buried deep underground.
Earlier this week, Trump said he would be open to the uranium being “destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location,” though didn’t specify any options.
Trump appeared unwilling today to ease any of the economic pressure on Iran that the country has been seeking as part of a deal.
Trump jokes Hegseth "loves war" during Cabinet meeting
While introducing members of his Cabinet during a meeting at the White House, President Donald Trump jested that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth “loves war.”
“We have great people, and the secretary of war, Pete Hegseth — central casting — he loves war … he’s a good man,” Trump said while introducing his Cabinet.
Hegseth has faced heightened scrutiny since the start of the war with Iran, with critics accusing him of taking an aggressive approach to both military strategy and public messaging.
The president’s 12th Cabinet meeting of his second term comes at a pivotal moment in negotiations with Iran and amid growing questions over the administration’s next steps in the conflict.
Trump says he won't be rushed into a deal with Iran because "I don't care about the midterms"
President Trump in a Cabinet meeting Wednesday vowed to strike a favorable deal to end the war with Iran, warning that the regime’s efforts to outlast him won’t work because “I don’t care about the midterms.”
President Donald Trump on Wednesday vowed to strike a favorable deal to end the war with Iran, warning that the regime’s efforts to outlast him won’t work because “I don’t care about the midterms.”
“They thought they were going to outwait me, you know? We’ll outwait him, he’s got the midterms,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting, dismissing concerns about the war’s political toll at home.
“I don’t care about the midterms. Look what happened last night, that was a prelude to the midterms. People understand it,” he said, alluding to his endorsed candidate winning a Texas GOP Senate primary runoff.
The president expressed confidence that the US would soon reach an agreement to end the conflict, though he cautioned that his administration is not yet satisfied with the terms — and is willing to resume fighting if it can’t secure its demands.
“We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be,” Trump said. “Either that, or we’ll have to just finish the job.”
He also touted the resumption of internet access in Iran as a sign the regime’s hardline stance was weakening, arguing that “their whole economic system is broken down.”
“They want to just make a deal,” he said. “I don’t think they have a choice.”
Trump says no sanctions relief for Iran if it hands over uranium
President Donald Trump said Iran would not get sanctions relief if it gives up its stock of highly enriched uranium.
“No, no, not at all. Not sanctions relief, no,” Trump told PBS News in a phone interview Wednesday when asked if the current framework would mean Iran giving up its highly enriched uranium in exchange for sanctions relief.
“They’re gonna give up their highly enriched uranium not for sanctions, relief. No, no, not at all,” he added.
White House pushes back on Iranian narrative of latest MOU draft
The White House on Wednesday pushed back on Iranian state media reports about a draft of the memorandum of understanding, calling it a “complete fabrication.”
“This report from Iranian controlled media is not true and the MOU they ‘released’ is a complete fabrication. Nobody should believe what Iranian state media is putting out. FACTS MATTER,” the White House’s Rapid Response account posted on X.
Iranian state media reported the MOU would call for US military forces to withdraw from the vicinity of Iran and lift the blockade of Iranian ports.
Some of the details are similar to how US officials have described the emerging deal. American officials have said President Donald Trump would be willing to lift the blockade as long as Iran allows commercial vessels to transit the Strait or Hormuz.
“As President Trump has said, negotiations are proceeding nicely and he has made his redlines clear. President Trump will only make a good deal for the American people, which must ensure that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” said Olivia Wales, a White House spokeswoman, in response to the Iran state TV report.
A look at Iran's nuclear program, a key sticking point in talks to end the war
Though US President Donald Trump has offered various justifications for starting the war with Iran, he has repeatedly cited its nuclear program, which has also been a key sticking point in negotiations to end the conflict.
Washington was in talks with Tehran about its nuclear program before the US and Israel struck Iran. Trump was determined to ensure Iran would “never have a nuclear weapon,” despite Iran’s insistence that it was not pursuing this.
A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on Iran and nuclear weapons says that there were concerns about Iran’s uranium enrichment since the early 2000s.
In 2015, Tehran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which capped uranium enrichment for 15 years and facilitated UN-led inspections to ensure adherence to the deal.
Trump abandoned the JCPOA in 2018, during his first term.
A US assessment of Iran’s nuclear weapons capability published in 2024 said that while “Iran (was) not building a nuclear weapon,” it had, however, “undertaken activities that better position it to produce one, if it so chooses.”
Just days after the US and Israel’s strikes on Iran, the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, told CNN that Tehran was not days or weeks away from having a nuclear weapon.
There were “many elements” in Iran that were “of serious concern,” Grossi said, including the “unjustified accumulation of huge amounts of almost military-grade material” and a “lack of transparency in inspections.”
But despite this, “we never had information indicating that there was a structured systematic program to build or to construct a nuclear weapon,” he said.
Israel issues evacuation warning for Tyre in southern Lebanon
Israel issued an evacuation warning for the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, which sits on the coast north of the zone occupied by Israeli forces.
The warning appears to be the largest ever issued for the city. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it had carried out strikes against what it described as more than 150 Hezbollah infrastructure sites across the Beqaa Valley and southern Lebanon, including Tyre, over the previous 24 hours.
Earlier Wednesday, the IDF had issued an evacuation warning for the city of Nabatieh, which is north of the Litani River. It appears to be the first evacuation warning for the city itself, as Israel has expanded its operations in Lebanon north of the so-called Yellow Line, which is the northern boundary of the territory occupied by Israel.
