Here's the latest
• Blasts reported: The US military carried out new strikes in Iran, targeting a site that posed a threat to US forces and commercial traffic, according to a US official. Separately, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported that three explosions were heard to the east of Bandar Abbas, a strategic port city.
• Trump on negotiations: Earlier, 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.”
• Draft memo: According to Iranian state television, the 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 said the report is untrue.
• In Lebanon: Israel carried out strikes against what it described as over 150 infrastructure sites for Iran-backed Hezbollah across southern Lebanon.
Iran fired 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 have claimed.
“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), earlier reported that the IRGC Navy had fired a warning shot at “American oil tanker” forcing it to turn around.
“In response,” the Tasnim report said, the US military “fired at a barren area near Bandar Abbas,” a strategic post city where explosions had been reported early on Thursday morning local time.
A US official earlier told CNN earlier 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.
The maritime authority with responsibility for the waterway, UKMTO, has not yet notified any incidents regarding ships reporting being fired upon on Thursday.
Earlier this week: The US also launched “self-defense strikes” targeting Iranian missile launch sites and boats around the Strait of Hormuz in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The US has cast both sets of strikes this week 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 what it views as 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 on Wednesday, 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.
What to know about the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed for months
Iranian state television reports the memorandum of understanding currently being negotiated between Iran and the US will call for an end to the US blockade of Iranian ports in return for an Iranian pledge to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels.
The strait has remained a major flashpoint since the start of the conflict, after it was effectively closed by Tehran following airstrikes by the US and Israel on February 28, all but halting traffic through the world’s most important oil chokepoint.
A narrow waterway between 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.
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.
While some Middle East producers, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have found alternative routes for their exports, around 10 million to 12 million barrels of crude remain choked off from global markets, according to analysts.
The strait also carries about one-fifth of global trade in liquefied natural gas, largely from Qatar, which has no alternative exit route.
US to end blockade and Iran to restore shipping in strait in draft memo, claims Iranian TV
The memorandum of understanding being negotiated between Iran and the United States will call for US military forces to withdraw from the vicinity of Iran and lift the blockade of Iranian ports, according to a report on Iranian state television.
“In return, Iran has committed to restoring the number of commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within one month,” the report said.
The management and route of marine traffic through the strait will be controlled by Iran in cooperation with Oman, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said. Military vessels are excluded from this arrangement, it added.
IRIB is regarded as led by hardline elements in the Iranian regime.
The report added that the framework of the deal is not yet finalized, and no step will be taken by Tehran without “tangible verification.” Negotiations were “currently moving back and forth, with both sides refining the wording of the draft text.”
If a final deal is reached within 60 days, the memorandum will be approved in the form of a binding United Nations Security Council resolution, it said.
There has been no comment from the US on the Iranian report.
The memorandum, seen as a roadmap for future negotiations on issues such as Iran’s nuclear program and international sanctions against Iran, is being negotiated with Pakistani mediation.
Israel says it killed senior Hamas commander in Gaza, days after killing predecessor
Israel says it killed the newly appointed commander of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Odeh, in a strike in northern Gaza on Monday, just days after his predecessor was slain in similar attack.
Odeh, who Israel considered a key planner of the October 7, 2023, massacre, had been monitored by Israeli intelligence for months and died in an operation targeting sites in Gaza City, which he “used to hideout,” Israel’s military and security agency said in a joint statement.
“His elimination constitutes a significant blow to the Hamas terrorist organization’s rehabilitation efforts,” said the statement.
Odeh was a member of the military council of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades and the head of intelligence for the Hamas military wing. He was considered by Israel to be the leader of the military wing of Hamas after former leader Izz al-Din al-Haddad was assassinated earlier this month.
“Hamas’ intelligence headquarters, under Odeh’s command, aided and advanced Hamas’ terrorist activities and operations, posing a threat to IDF troops and Israeli civilians,” said the Israeli statement.
Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, acknowledged Oudeh’s death on social media and described him as “heroic martyr.”
Odeh’s family mourned his death, referring to his nom de guerre Abu Amro, in a post on the family’s official Facebook page. Five members of the Odeh family were killed in the attack, the post said.
Israel has also assassinated other senior Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, his brother Mohammed Sinwar, and Mohammed Deif.
This post has been updated with additional developments.
Iran’s bid to restore internet faces renewed hardline sabotage
Iran’s decision to restore internet access has exposed fresh signs of internal division, driven by the country’s hardline factions — the same elements opposed to the current agreement with the United States.
When President Masoud Pezeshkian won a vote this week in the designated internet committee and ordered the restoration of access for millions of Iranians, a group of hardline politicians reportedly filed a legal complaint demanding the panel’s disbandment.
Some of these hardline politicians even sit on the Supreme Council of Cyberspace – the body that sets policy on what Iranians can see and access online – including Rasoul Jalili, who is pushing to ban international messaging apps and social media platforms, likening them to US military weapons.
The entrenched influence of hardline elements in Iran’s decision-making circles is obvious, including some who reportedly voted against reopening the internet, including: Peyman Jebelli, the head of the country’s state broadcaster IRIB, and even Mohammad-Amin Aghamiri, the secretary of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace — the highest-level body overseeing internet governance in Iran — according to Iranian outlet Faraz Daily.
Even as an administrative court ordered a temporary suspension of the internet restoration while it reviews the hardliners legal challenge, access was already returning to parts of Iran, NetBlocks reported.
Despite easing blackout, Iran has implemented new internet restrictions, watchdog says
After partially easing an internet blackout that lasted nearly 90 days yesterday, the Iranian regime has imposed new restrictions on messaging and app stores in the country, the internet monitoring group NetBlocks said a short while ago.
“Iran’s internet connectivity has now been in a state of restoration for 24 hours,” NetBlocks wrote in a post on X.
Some context: Iran began restricting internet access in late December, according to NetBlocks and other monitoring groups, following mass anti-government demonstrations initially driven by surging inflation, currency collapse and a deepening economic crisis.
After those demonstrations, the Iranian regime eased those restrictions slightly to allow a subset of people with security clearance to access the international web, experts said, but Iran again entered a near-total internet blackout after the US and Israel’s strikes on the country on February 28.
Earlier this week, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered authorities to restore internet access to the country, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency said, citing a source in the Ministry of Communications.
