Here's the latest
• Iran warns of wider war: A potential peace deal between the United States and Iran hinges on the Trump administration agreeing to release $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, a top Iranian official told CNN on Friday, warning that the US would “enter into a dark corridor” should it resume fighting. Washington and Tehran have sent mixed messages on the status of ongoing talks.
• Lebanon’s leader speaks out: Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun slammed Iran in a rare, exclusive interview with CNN, accusing Tehran of using his war-torn country as a “bargaining chip” in its conflict with the US and Israel.
• On the ground in Lebanon: Aoun also said his country’s people are “fed up” with the war between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Israeli strikes on what it said were Hezbollah targets killed four people today in Lebanon despite a US-mediated truce extension in the country.
Witkoff and Kushner met experts at US nuclear lab amid Iran negotiations
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with a team of technical experts at a national laboratory in Tennessee on Thursday, a US official said, as the US works toward nuclear negotiations with Iran.
The visit to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, first reported by Axios, comes amid ongoing diplomatic negotiations with Tehran aimed, in large part, at constraining Iran’s nuclear program.
Scott Roecker, the vice president for the Nuclear Threat Initiative’s Nuclear Materials Security Program, explained that the lab has a history of removing highly enriched uranium around the world.
It has both the expertise and the capabilities, in the form of a Mobile Uranium Facility, to safely handle, convert, and ship the highly enriched uranium, Roecker told CNN. However, he noted that nobody in the US has experience in retrieving buried stockpiles of uranium.
The June 2025 US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, what the Pentagon termed Operation Midnight Hammer, were assessed by US intelligence to have buried much of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile at the Isfahan nuclear complex, but didn’t destroy it.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this week that negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program would be “highly technical” and could take months.
“Phase two is they have to commit to very specific negotiations on highly enriched, the disposition of the highly enriched uranium that still is buried deep in a mountain somewhere,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday. “They have to agree on negotiating severe and long-term limitations, and/or cancelation of enrichment activity in their country.”
“Obviously, these are highly technical matters, so I don’t think you could work those out in five days,” Rubio said. “That would require a team of experts to meet over a 30, 60, 90-day period and work out the details, but they have to commit to their willingness to do that.”
The top US diplomat said such a phase would be predicated on Iran re-opening the Strait of Hormuz.
Photos: Life in Lebanon amid Israeli strikes
Lebanese cities and towns have experienced a near-daily barrage of strikes since the start of Israel’s military offensive against Hezbollah.
Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, has launched rocket and drone attacks into northern Israel and targeted Israel forces inside southern Lebanon, where they have been slowly advancing and occupying territory.
A tenuous US-facilitated ceasefire is still in place between Lebanon and Israel, but Hezbollah was not party to the deal and has rejected the pact.
Meantime, the human toll keep rising. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that four people were killed Friday in Israeli strikes that hit the towns of Nabatieh and Bint Jbeil.
Overall, around 3,500 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since March 2, the Lebanese Health Ministry said last week.
Top headlines today as Iran warns it would widen war if US resumes fighting
In an exclusive interview with CNN, a top Iranian official is warning of a wider war if the United States resumes the conflict.
Plus, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun slammed Iran and said his country’s people are “fed up” with the war between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Here are the top headlines today:
- A potential peace deal between the US and Iran hinges on the Trump administration agreeing to release $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, told CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen.
- Rezaei said the US would “enter into a dark corridor” should it resume fighting and warned that Iran will “drag the war” beyond the Persian Gulf.
- He said peace “negotiations are at a deadlock,” and that the “ball is in Trump’s court.” Rezaei did not answer a question about Khamenei’s health and role in the country’s decision-making, but rejected prospects of him meeting Trump.
- The US military denied a claim by the Iranian navy that it had fired warning shots near two US destroyers in the Gulf of Oman, saying the action would be a “gross violation of the ceasefire.”
In an exclusive interview in Tehran, CNN’s Fred Pleitgen sat down with Mohsen Rezaei, the senior military advisor to Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei. The supreme leader, who has not been seen in public since his appointment, is known to have a small circle of trusted aides around him. General Rezaei is in that circle. The advisor shot down the possibility of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. He also said that a potential US-Iran deal hinges on the Trump administration agreeing to release $24 billion dollars in frozen Iranian assets. CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
In Lebanon:
- Four people were killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Friday, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA), despite a US-mediated ceasefire agreed by the Israeli and Lebanese governments earlier this week.
- Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hezbollah are waging a “futile war” and “military solutions” will never bring security and safety to Israelis living in the north of their country.
- Aoun told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem doesn’t represent the Lebanese people and delivered a searing rebuke to Iran, accusing it of exploiting his war-torn nation as a bargaining chip in its conflict with the US and Israel.
CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen, Claudia Otto, Aida Karimi, Mostafa Salem, Kareem El Damanhoury and Tim Lister contributed reporting to this post.
Here's a look at Israel's advancement into Lebanese territory
Israel’s military offensive against Hezbollah, a heavily armed Iranian-backed proxy, in Lebanon has killed more than 3,500 Lebanese people and displaced nearly a fifth of the population. Israeli forces have occupied dozens of villages in southern Lebanon to clear Hezbollah’s forces.
Take a look at the state of the offensive in Lebanese territory:
Exclusive: Iran supreme leader's adviser says talks deadlocked over $24 billion
A potential peace deal between the United States and Iran hinges on the Trump administration agreeing to release $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, a top Iranian official told CNN on Friday, warning that the US would “enter into a dark corridor” should it resume fighting.
“The negotiations are at a deadlock and (US President Donald) Trump must break this deadlock,” Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, told CNN in an exclusive interview in Tehran. “The ball is in Trump’s court.”
Iran has reportedly demanded the release of $12 billion in frozen funds as soon as an interim agreement is signed with the US, and another $12 billion at a later stage. US officials are concerned that any unfreezing of funds at this stage could remove a key leverage point over the regime.
In the rare interview with CNN, Rezaei shed light on the thinking inside Iran’s strategic decision-making circles about the country’s postwar vision, the fate of the Strait of Hormuz and how Iran may act if it is attacked again. Here’s what he said:
- Releasing frozen Iranian assets: He framed the demand as a trust-building measure, saying the Trump administration’s potential release of the funds would be “a new horizon for the future” of Iran and America: “If he (Trump) wants to reach an agreement with Iran, this $24 billion is a test of trust that Iran wants to have with Trump – this is a test that America must pass and the path will be opened.”
- Warning against return to war: Rezaei warned that Iran will “drag the war” beyond the Persian Gulf if the United States resumes the conflict, potentially expanding military operations from the Strait of Hormuz to the Indian Ocean, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. “We will give another dimension to the war by attacking these other American bases that we have been attacking so far.”
- On a potential meeting between Trump and Khamenei: He did not answer a question about Khamenei’s health and role in the country’s decision-making, but rejected prospects of him meeting Trump. “This will not happen, right now we are in the first stage of negotiations and Mr. Trump has brought the negotiations to a standstill. This will not happen.”
Editor’s note: CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
US military disputes claim that Iranian navy fired warning shots at its warships
The US military has denied a claim by the Iranian navy that it had fired warning shots near two US destroyers in the Gulf of Oman.
“Iranian forces did NOT attack or fire at U.S. Navy warships,” US Central Command said Friday in a post on X.
“Doing so would be a gross violation of the ceasefire. U.S. forces continue to operate freely in regional waters while fully enforcing the ongoing blockade against Iran,” CENTCOM added.
Iran’s navy had said earlier Friday that it had carried out warning launches of missiles and a new attack drone against the two US vessels, after which they “left the Gulf of Oman and headed toward the Indian Ocean.”
It did not say when the alleged incidents occurred.
It added that “although enemy vessels have moved farther away and beyond the range of the missiles used, longer-range missiles would be employed if necessary.”
The US navy has a substantial presence in the Gulf of Oman as part of an operation to prevent shipping from using Iranian ports.
Military solutions will never bring peace to northern Israel, Lebanese president says
“Military solutions” will never bring security and safety to Israelis living in the north of their country, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said, urging Israelis to solve disputes through negotiations instead.
In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Aoun asked Israeli people whether they “really want to live” in “perpetual war,” adding that the state of hostility between Israel and Lebanon must end “forever.”
Lebanon and Israel have technically been in a state of war since Israel’s establishment in 1948. The latest conflict – began after Hezbollah fired rockets on Israeli cities in retaliation for an assault by the US and Israel on Iran, which killed the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his senior military command.
In just three months, the Israeli military operation has killed more than 3,500 people, displaced a fifth of Lebanon’s population and established a buffer zone by occupying large areas of southern Lebanon, while 28 Israeli soldiers have been killed.
Aoun has not ruled out meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in what would be the first meeting between leaders of the two countries. But on the potential meeting, he added. “Not before reaching an agreement (to end the war).”
The president said earlier in the interview that Netanyahu and Hezbollah are waging a “futile war” that will never lead to their “desired outcome.”
The former military commander said the Lebanese and Israeli people have a “great opportunity” to live in safety and security.
“They are both fed up with war since 1948,” he said. “This is a huge opportunity (and) they both have to choose: war…or diplomacy.”
Lebanon's parliament speaker agrees to Hezbollah withdrawal in parallel to Israeli pullback
Lebanon’s parliament speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri said Friday that he would agree to the withdrawal of the Iran-backed group from south of the Litani River if Israel also withdrew its forces from occupied areas.
In a statement from his Amal Movement party, Berri criticized the US mediated ceasefire framework, and added that he would agree to a total ceasefire “without restrictions” and which is “unconditional by land, sea and air.”
Israeli strikes continued in southern Lebanon despite a US-mediated ceasefire agreed by the Israeli and Lebanese governments on Wednesday.
The ceasefire is contingent on a “complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives” from an area of Lebanon south of the Litani River, according to a US State Department document outlining the conditions of the agreement between Israel and Lebanon.
But Hezbollah secretary-general Naim Qassem rejected the truce, demanding a comprehensive ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
Previously, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to deepen its incursion into its neighbor’s territory.
Lebanon's president tells Hezbollah: "The Lebanese people are not your people"
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Friday that Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem doesn’t represent the Lebanese people, in a rare public criticism of the Iran-backed Shiite militant leader a day after he rejected a shaky ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel.
Directly addressing Qassem, he said in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, “the Lebanese people are not your people.”
In a statement on Thursday, Qassem slammed the Lebanon-Israel talks as a “surrender,” saying the resulting truce was rejected in its “entirety by broad segments of the Lebanese people.”
Aoun said he spoke to Lebanese people across different religious sects, including Shiites, who have told him they are “fed up” with Hezbollah’s war with Israel.
Weakened by decades of foreign meddling, sectarian strife, and regional wars, Lebanon under Aoun has pledged to tackle the daunting task of disarming Hezbollah in an effort to dismantle the group’s immense domestic influence and halt Israel’s military advances.
Yet, Aoun and the Lebanese military have so far failed to disarm Tehran’s powerful proxy. The group was formed in the 1980s with Iran’s backing and training to fight against Israeli presence in southern Lebanon, but has since grown into a formidable armed group with significant political power and domestic support.
Aoun said entire families have been “wiped out” from Israeli attacks, showing pictures of Lebanese civilians who have been killed during the war.
“They are Lebanese people. They are not Naim Qassem’s people,” he said.
"It's not your country": Lebanon’s president slams Iran in exclusive interview with CNN
Lebanon’s president delivered a searing rebuke to Iran on Friday, accusing it of exploiting his war-torn nation as a bargaining chip in its conflict with the United States and Israel and demanding that Tehran stops interfering in Lebanese affairs.
In a rare and exclusive interview at the presidential palace in Beirut, President Joseph Aoun told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that the Lebanese people are “fed up” of war between Israel and Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed militant group and political force seen as a state within a state in Lebanon.
The president spoke with CNN as the ceasefire with Israel hangs in the balance, with his small nation once again entangled in one of the most serious regional conflicts between Iran and Israel.
Addressing Iran, he said, “You are not trying to help us … the people of Lebanon are paying the price … for the sake of your own interest,” adding, “our interests … do not coincide with your interests.”
He also turned his fire on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran’s elite military force, saying, “It’s not your country, it’s our country.”
Aoun rejected a Wednesday statement by the Revolutionary Guards, demanding Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon as part of a US-Iranian ceasefire agreement. “They are using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with US,” he said. “It’s unacceptable.”
Israel and Lebanon reached an agreement on Wednesday to implement a ceasefire, but it remains contingent on a complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the full withdrawal of all Hezbollah operatives from southern Lebanon.
“It was a tough negotiation until we had a major breakthrough,” Aoun said, adding that the agreement could be a path forward to a “just and lasting peace.”
Hezbollah, which wasn’t part of the agreement, rejected the deal on Wednesday, saying it does not guarantee an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
Iran war is pushing millions toward acute hunger, new UN report finds
Millions of people are struggling to meet basic food needs and, in some cases, being pushed into acute hunger due to the Iran war, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said today.
In March, WFP predicted that 45 million people could fall into acute food insecurity if the Middle East conflict continued to spike oil prices. Now, WFP says, that scenario is unfolding.
A new WFP report released today, which explores the impact of the crisis on some of the world’s most vulnerable countries, found that an additional 2.5 million people in Somalia, 1.3 million in Sri Lanka and 2.3 million in Afghanistan are “struggling to meet basic food needs and, in some cases, being pushed into acute hunger due to the crisis.”
Jean-Martin Bauer, director of WFP’s food security and nutrition analysis service, said early warnings only matter “if the world acts on them.”
The devastating knock-on impacts of the war are projected to intensify over the coming months, even if the crisis in the Middle East deescalates, WFP said.
Four killed in Lebanon as new ceasefire frays
Four people were killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Friday, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).
The strikes, which took place in the towns of Nabatieh and Bint Jbeil, came despite a US-mediated ceasefire agreed by the Israeli and Lebanese governments on Wednesday.
The ceasefire is contingent on a “complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives” from an area of Lebanon south of the Litani River, according to a US State Department document outlining the conditions of the agreement between Israel and Lebanon.
But Hezbollah secretary-general Naim Qassem rejected the truce, demanding a comprehensive ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
As Israeli strikes and Hezbollah rocket fire continue, Israel’s military has warned residents of several villages north of the Litani River as well as of the coastal towns of Sarafand and Saksakiyeh to evacuate.
Addressing residents of three villages, the Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X: “For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move away from the villages and towns by at least 1,000 metres into open areas.”
Lebanon’s NNA reported a “mass displacement” of people after the order was issued.
An estimated 1.24 million people across Lebanon are projected to face acute food insecurity this year, the International Rescue Committee said Wednesday, “with conditions expected to be particularly severe in the south and worsening with every evacuation order being issued.”
Despite Hezbollah’s rejection of the ceasefire, US President Donald Trump said Thursday that “progress has been made” in ending the fighting in Lebanon.
Hezbollah “called us and they said, ‘How about stopping?’” Trump said Thursday.
The president also said he talked about the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hezbollah.
Israeli military warns residents in south Lebanon to evacuate
The Arabic spokesperson of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued warnings on Friday to residents in parts of southern Lebanon, saying it will take action on targets in the country, days after the Israeli and Lebanese governments agreed to implement a ceasefire.
Avichay Adraee said residents in affected towns and villages should immediately evacuate their homes “by a distance of at least 1000 meters to open areas.”
In a separate warning issued on Telegram more than an hour later to residents in more towns and villages, Adraee said they should evacuate and “move to the north of the Zahrani River.”
For context: Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, which was not party to the ceasefire agreement, rejected the pact between the Lebanese government and Israel. The deal was contingent on “a complete cessation” of Hezbollah fire and the removal of all Hezbollah operatives from southern Lebanon.
Previously, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered troops to deepen its incursion into its neighbor’s territory.
In pictures: Truce tested again as Israel and Hezbollah trade strikes
Israel and Hezbollah exchanged fire in south Lebanon yesterday, hours after the Israeli and Lebanese governments agreed to implement a ceasefire. The agreement was contingent on Hezbollah holding fire, but the Iran-backed militant group was not party to the deal and has rejected the pact.
Israel and Hezbollah traded fire as militant group rejected ceasefire. Where things stand
US President Donald Trump said “progress has been made” in ending the fighting in Lebanon. Iran-backed Hezbollah “called us and they said, ‘How about stopping?’” Trump said Thursday. Trump also said he talked to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump’s comments came after Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters launched attacks yesterday despite a fresh US-brokered truce agreement between Israel and Lebanon.
The ceasefire hinged on an end to Hezbollah attacks, but the group was not party to the talks and its leader rejected the pact.
Catch up on the latest:
On the ground: Hezbollah targeted Israeli troops operating in southern Lebanon on the first day of the ceasefire agreement, while attacks on northern Israel appeared to decline. An Israeli soldier was killed by a Hezbollah anti-tank missile in southern Lebanon. And in the southeast, one peacekeeper with the United Nations Interim Force died and two others were injured after a mortar shell struck their position.
Hezbollah defiant: The group’s leader Naim Qassem said the “imaginary ceasefire” that requires the group to stop fighting and withdraw from southern Lebanon while allowing Israel to “continue its aggression” would amount to “a surrender, defeat and achieving the enemy’s goals.”
In the US: The House rejected a Democrat-led Lebanon war powers resolution. The resolution, introduced by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, would have directed Trump to remove US armed services from the country within seven days. House Democratic leaders said they would oppose it, and noted “there are no U.S. servicemembers involved in combat operations or hostilities in Lebanon.”
EU grants aid: The European Union approved another 100 million euros (around $116 million) in aid to the Lebanese army in an effort to strengthen the ceasefire. Lebanon has been struggling due to severe economic collapse, and the military had long pleaded that it lacked the funding and equipment to fully assert control in the south.
CNN’s Dana Karni, Oren Liebermann, Zeena Saifi, Sarah Tamimi and Charbel Mallo contributed reporting.
Here's what Trump said yesterday about the war with Iran
President Donald Trump spoke to reporters yesterday after Tehran and Washington issued contradictory messages over the status of fragile ceasefire talks.
Here’s what he said:
Asked if Iran killing US troops that would cross a red line, Trump said that it would be a good reason to restart the war.
The president said he would be open to meeting with Iran’s new supreme leader if there’s an agreement to end the war.
Asked whether such a meeting could take place in the United States, he said: “I didn’t suggest it, but some people have suggested it.”
President Donald Trump said Thursday he would be open to meeting with Iran’s new supreme leader if there’s an agreement to end the war.
Remember: Trump has insisted a deal with Iran could be reached “this weekend,” but Iran’s foreign minister said there’s been no “significant progress.”
As for the conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, Trump said it is “interconnected with Iran.”
CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo, Elise Hammond and Maureen Chowdhury contributed reporting.
Iran has “no reason to back down from our position,” says Khomeini's great grandson
Thousands of mostly conservative Iranians rallied on the outskirts of Tehran Thursday to commemorate the death of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, 37 years ago. Revenge was the theme of the day. Participants told CNN they are skeptical of the peace talks with the US, and instead want their leadership to exact revenge for the killing of their Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in February. The war has added to the country’s woes; the crackdown on anti-regime demonstrations earlier in the year killed thousands. CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
The great-grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic struck a defiant tone in an interview with CNN on Thursday, saying Iran shouldn’t compromise on its demands to end the war.
Tehran has “no reason to back down from our position,” Seyyed Ahmad Khomeini, the great grandson of the regime’s first supreme leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, told CNN at an event in Tehran province.
“From now on, you should be asking us how we could be willing to trust the United States again,” Khomeini said. “Then we will tell you what the Americans must do this time.”
Ruhollah Khomeini led the 1979 Islamic Revolution that deposed Iran’s Western-backed monarch, the shah, and went on to brand the US the “Great Satan” and Israel the “Little Satan.”
The young Khomeini, who doesn’t hold a government position, spoke at the main ceremony commemorating his great grandfather’s death 37 years ago. The event featured references to the US-Israeli war against Iran, with many of the participants calling for retribution, some waving red flags with the word “revenge” written on them in Persian.
While advocating a hard line against the US, Ahmad Khomeini, himself a public figure in Iran, did not reject negotiations to end the conflict.
“We never had enmity toward the American people that would require improving relations with them. Our enmity has been with American politicians, and it will remain so. Nothing can erase that,” Khomeini added.
Editor’s note: CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
Iran says it's looking to impose service fees, not tolls, in Strait of Hormuz
Iran says it will seek to impose service fees for ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for ensuring the vessels’ security, as opposed to transit tolls.
Iran “is not seeking to collect passage fees, transit duties, or transit rights payments,” the country’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in an interview with the semi-official Iranian outlet Mehr on Thursday.
Instead, the country will seek compensation for services carried out alongside Oman, including navigation assistance, search and rescue, security and safety services, and environmental cleanup services in the event of pollution, the official said.
The strategic waterway “lies entirely within the territorial waters of Iran and Oman,” Gharibabadi added, saying those governments have sovereignty over the strait “under international law and the law of the sea.”
The deputy foreign minister said the arrangements being drafted will be consistent with international law, but acknowledged “they will not be 100% pleasing to some countries.”
Status of US-Iran talks: Gharibabadi said “considerable progress” has been made on the draft text of a peace proposal with the US, but declined to outline a timeline for the potential deal.
“I truly cannot give you a timeframe at this point … We will finalize a text that is capable of serving and securing our interests,” he said.
