Our live coverage has moved
Get the latest updates on the war with Iran here.
Notable takeaways
• War talks: President Donald Trump said it’s Iran’s “last chance” to sign a deal with the United States, after again calling off strikes and promising to continue talks at the request of Persian Gulf allies. He made the threat after claiming talks between the US and Iran would start Monday and that a Strait of Hormuz deal was in place. Iran has denied any negotiations are ongoing.
• Strait of Hormuz: Iran’s Foreign Ministry says it is in talks with Oman to establish a safe, “temporary” route for vessels through the critical waterway. Later Monday, a vessel was reported being attacked off the coast of Oman, according to an organization that monitors marine traffic.
• Regional tensions: Six Saudi-operated tankers diverted around Africa to avoid threatened Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, ship tracking data shows. The Iran-backed militia warned it would target any Saudi shipping trying to transit the Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint.
Skirting the Red Sea comes with steep cost
With the Houthi threats against Saudi shipping in the Red Sea, some oil tankers are now forced to detour, a move that would increase the cost – and time – tremendously.
The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen last month said they would target Saudi shipping trying to transit the Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint at the southern end of the Red Sea between Yemen and Djibouti. Six Saudi-operated tankers have since diverted around Africa.
The cost? Higher fuel consumption at a time when energy prices remain inflated due to the Iran war, fatter bills for crews, increased insurance premiums and fewer voyages each tanker can complete for the time being – all of which raise overall expenses.
That’s because taking the long route around Africa and through the Suez Canal to return to Saudi ports inside the Red Sea would normally add around 15 days to the journey.
The shipping tracker firm Kpler reported last week that since Houthis began targeting Saudi shipping on July 22, average Saudi crude flows through the Bab al-Mandeb had fallen 50%. The disruption will also affect Asian countries disproportionately, as the chokepoint has become a key alternative route for Saudi crude exports to the region since disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Kpler said.
Much like the obstruction of the Strait of Hormuz, hindering access to the Bab al-Mandeb underscores how even limited disruptions at one of the world’s busiest maritime chokepoints could have profound consequences for global shipping – and oil supply.
Another vessel struck in Strait of Hormuz, UKMTO reports
Another vessel has reported being struck in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the organization that monitors marine traffic in the region.
A cargo vessel made a distress call on the VHF Channel 16 late early Tuesday local time, saying it was hit by “an unknown projectile,” said the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
The unnamed vessel was struck about 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) northeast of Al Khasab, Oman, on the southern side of the Strait of Hormuz, the UKMTO report said. It did not state who was responsible for the attack
There has been a rise of attacks on vessels near Oman in recent days. On Friday, an unnamed tanker which was not under command was hit about 12 miles (20 kilometers) northeast of Oman’s Lima. The master of another tanker in the Strait of Hormuz reported seeing a splash and explosion nearby on Saturday.
This post has been amended to correct the type of vessel struck on Tuesday morning.
Trump warns Iran has "last chance" to sign deal after calling off strikes. Catch up here
US President Donald Trump called Iranian leadership “unbelievably duplicitous” on social media after Tehran contradicted his claim that negotiations would resume today. He later insisted that this is Iran’s “last chance” to sign a deal, but he also said he has no time constraints on negotiations because he’s not seeking reelection.
Over the weekend, Trump said he had called off a planned attack because of progress in talks. It’s not the first time he’s threatened attacks and later canceled them.
If you’re just joining us, here’s the latest:
- Iran denies talks with US: Iran is focused only on negotiations with Oman about the Strait of Hormuz, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said. Baghaei said the US had “violated all of its commitments” in June when the ceasefire fell apart.
- Houthi shipping blockade: In other oil routes, six Saudi-operated tankers diverted around Africa, adding at least two weeks to their journeys, to avoid a blockade in the Red Sea declared by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, ship-tracking data show.
- Details of the disputed talks: Speaking on Air Force One yesterday, Trump said he called off the planned attacks after being asked to do so by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iran. He claimed there was “a deal on Hormuz, and then there will be a deal on the nuclear.”
- Oil prices fall: Oil prices sank today after the US president said he canceled strikes. Trump also said that oil companies are “making too much money” during the war.
- In other regional news: Amid efforts by the US and the Board of Peace to get Israel to halt strikes in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli official said Israel “will continue to thwart any threat to our civilians and soldiers.”
CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Tal Shalev, Tim Lister, Catherine Nicholls and Anna Cooban contributed reporting.
Trump says oil companies are “making too much money” amid Iran war
President Donald Trump said Monday that oil companies like Chevron and ExxonMobil are “making too much money” amid oil price spikes related to the Iran war.
“They’re making too much money. Okay, based on a shortage, they’re making too much money. I don’t like it, and I should be the last one to say because I’m a big free enterprise guy,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“Nobody bigger, and you know, you’re going to see oil when we’re finished with Iran. You’re going to see the prices drop through the floor. But they made too much money, too much money. Chevron, too much money. Exxon Mobil, too much, too much money,” he continued.
ExxonMobil and Chevron, the two biggest US oil companies, reported gangbusters profits last week driven by the spike in global oil prices unleashed by the US-Iran war.
On Truth Social earlier Monday, Trump complained that Chevron CEO Mike Wirth did not credit the Trump administration for its success in a TV interview. The president added that oil companies need to “get your consumer (retail!) Oil Prices DOWN, NOW!”
He added in the Oval Office: “When you look at one company where they made 12 times what they made the year before, they ought to give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price, the consumer price.”
“Too much money. You surprised I’m saying it. I’ll say it loud and clear. I’m not happy about it,” Trump said.
Trump says he has no time constraints on Iran negotiations
US President Donald Trump, after canceling the threatened weekend strikes on Iran, said he has no time constraints on negotiations with Tehran since he is not seeking reelection.
Had the US gone through with an attack over the weekend, Trump said, “There’d be essentially very little left.”
“If I’m given a chance to let a lot of people live, I want to give that chance. So I’m under no time constraint. You know, I don’t happen to be running, but a lot of very good Republicans are running,” he added.
For context: The midterm elections in November are on the president’s mind, as Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House of Representatives right now, which they are in an uphill battle to save. In a CNN poll released last week, Democrats lead Republicans on the generic ballot by 8 points among registered voters.
Israel to "continue to thwart any threat" from Gaza, official says
Amid efforts by the US and the Board of Peace to get Israel to halt strikes in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli official said Monday that Israel “will continue to thwart any threat to our civilians and soldiers.”
The official also reiterated that Israel will not pull troops back from the “current line” — meaning the additional territory it has taken since an October ceasefire agreement went into effect.
Israel has continued expanding its control of Gaza, cramming its population into a shrinking area of land.
Israeli strikes have killed at least 28 people in Gaza since early Friday local time when US President Donald Trump announced a deal to disarm Hamas, according to Palestinian health authorities.
In a joint statement Monday in their capacity as mediators, Qatar, Turkey and Egypt condemned “continuing Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip” that they said have killed numerous civilians, and they called on the international community to “exert the necessary pressure on Israel” to comply with the ceasefire agreement.
Hamas has said it will follow through with the deal only if Israel halts strikes in Gaza and pulls troops back to the “yellow line,” as defined by the October ceasefire agreement.
Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative, arrived in Israel on Monday to discuss the implementation of the Hamas disarmament agreement.
The Board of Peace said in a statement that the meeting was “constructive and detailed.”
“Contrary to inaccurate reports, we note that the full withdrawal of the IDF beyond the Yellow Line will take place only once decommissioning is complete, as Hamas committed to the mediators,” the board said. “This applies to light weapons, heavy weapons, and the tunnels alike.”
This post has been updated with new information.
"This is a last chance" for Iran to sign a deal, Trump warns
President Donald Trump said Monday that it’s Iran’s “last chance” to “sign a good document” with the United States, after again calling off strikes and promising to continue talks at the request of Persian Gulf allies.
“Many countries called,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “They all wanted to give this a last chance. This is a last chance.”
Pressed by reporters on what is different this time, given he has previously called off attacks, Trump said, “I want to give them every last chance before decapitation.”
Trump said talks with Iran are “going to go quickly,” projecting the Strait of Hormuz could open fully by Tuesday in what he considers “phase one” of an agreement.
“It’s not very complex,” Trump said, despite the trouble the administration is facing in ending the monthslong war.
The “second phase” is denuclearization, which he acknowledged would “take a little while.”
Those two goals were both part of the memorandum of understanding signed by Iran and the US in June.
Trump returns to pessimistic view of diplomacy after saying Iran talks would happen today
Less than 24 hours after voicing optimism a deal was close to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump swung back to lashing out against the Iranian regime, casting doubt on its ability to strike a meaningful deal to end the war.
“Iranian Leadership is unbelievably duplicitous!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday morning. “They ask for a meeting, some would say ‘beg,’ talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that they’re not having any discussions, that nothing is being talked about, and they’re only dealing with ‘Oman.’”
It was a harsh assessment of the diplomacy that only a day earlier Trump appeared confident would prevail. He told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening that “there’s a deal on Hormuz and then there will be a deal on the nuclear,” and suggested negotiations with Iran on the latter would commence on Monday afternoon.
Iran quickly denied it was negotiating with the United States, and said instead it was in talks with Oman to establish a safe, “temporary” route for vessels through the critical waterway.
Trump alluded to those claims in his post, saying Iran was offering “their usual blather in saying, the Strait of Hormuz will be operated powerfully by them, when it is already completely controlled by the United States Navy.”
He said the US blockade of Iranian ports would continue “unless a Deal, or Total Surrender, is accomplished.”
“Whether Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused, for decades. It is very simple, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!” he wrote.
Why Trump faces greater political cost from war than Tehran, according to regional expert
A regional expert told CNN that Iran can withstand the strain of a crippled economy from the ongoing conflict, but US President Donald Trump is paying a heavy political cost.
“Whereas in an electoral democracy like the US, that is hard to avoid — the pain of the people, the costs that are being paid will come home to exact a political price,” he told CNN.
Since the closure of the key shipping route the Strait of Hormuz, fuel prices have surged, pushing the average price for a gallon in the US to nearly $4.09 as of yesterday, marking a 34% increase since the war began in late February.
Sixty-seven percent of Americans think Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran has hurt the US while 65% consider his policies to have worsened economic conditions of the country, according to a recent CNN poll conducted by SSRS.
In Iran, officials are urging the public to reduce their energy usage and warning of possible power outages, since the country has lost around 230 million cubic meters per day of natural gas production capacity since the start of the war, according to Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency.
CNN’s Auzinea Bacon and Aida Karimi contributed to this report.
Saudi ships avoid Houthi blockade by rerouting around Africa
Six Saudi-operated tankers have diverted around Africa, adding at least two weeks to their journeys, to avoid a Houthi-declared blockade in the Red Sea, ship-tracking data show.
Last month, the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen warned they would target any Saudi shipping trying to transit the Bab al Mandeb chokepoint at the southern end of the Red Sea.
The ships’ route shows them leaving the Gulf of Aden near the coast of Oman and heading down the coast of East Africa, with several showing South African ports as their destination, according to vessel-tracking service MarineTraffic.
One is showing Gibraltar as its next port.
All the ships are shown as “in ballast” meaning they are not carrying oil. Several appear to have been returning to Saudi ports from Asia when they changed course. A Saudi bulk carrier is in the same group of ships, now sailing between the Kenyan coast and the Seychelles.
Using the long route around Africa and through the Suez Canal to return to Saudi ports on the Red Sea normally adds some 15 days to the journey.
Traffic through the Bab al Mandeb Strait has been close to normal since the Houthis declared their blockade on July 20, but Saudi ships have avoided the route or in some cases turned off their ship-identifying (AIS) signals, according to shipping sources.
The Houthis declared the blockade in retaliation for Saudi efforts to stop flights and commerce entering parts of Yemen controlled by the group.
A look at Iran's nuclear program, as Trump says there will be a "deal" on denuclearization
US President Donald Trump said yesterday he called off planned strikes on Iran after allies in the Middle East told him they “think there’s a deal.”
Washington was in talks with Tehran about its nuclear program before the US and Israel struck Iran back in February. 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.
Here's what Trump told reporters about calling off strikes on Iran
US President Donald Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One yesterday, where he discussed his decision to call off planned strikes on Iran.
President Donald Trump told journalists aboard Air Force One that talks between the US and Iran would resume. He added that after he canceled plans for what he called a “massive attack” on the country.
Here’s some of the topics he touched on:
- Strikes called off: Trump said he called off the planned strikes on Iran after he was asked to do so by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iran. “It would have been a massive attack,” he said.
- A potential deal: Saudi Arabia believes that a deal between the US and Iran is “imminent,” Trump said. “There’s a deal on Hormuz, and then there will be a deal on the nuclear, or you might call it the denuclearization of Iran. I call it the denuclearization of Iran.”
- Resumption of talks with Iran: Trump said that discussions between Washington and Tehran would begin again today. “What we’re doing is we’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation,” he told reporters.
A look at the shipping routes through Hormuz, as Iran and Oman discuss a temporary lane
Before Iran said this morning that it was working with Oman on a new “temporary” route, vessels had three options for transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
One route is controlled by Iran and runs through its territorial waters. Tehran has required vessels to use it since June 19, designating it the strait’s only safe passage in an effort to use the crucial waterway as leverage.
Iran has repeatedly fired on vessels attempting to use other routes through the waterway, prompting US military retaliation and contributing to the collapse of the ceasefire Washington and Tehran reached in June.
Another route, proposed by the UN’s International Maritime Organization and Oman, hugs Oman’s coastline south of the strait. Iran has accused Oman of opening the route under US pressure. Iranian forces have also fired on commercial vessels in Omani territorial waters near the strait – attacks Washington says violated its memorandum of understanding with Tehran.
The third is the pre-war shipping lane near the center of the strait, which Iran now designates a “danger zone.” Despite security risks, some vessels continue to use it. This lane is considered particularly dangerous because of the risk of mines laid by Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz has been impassable since fighting resumed between the US and Iran on July 8 – weeks after the two sides agreed to a ceasefire. Roughly 20 million barrels of oil transited the strait before the war, and shipping traffic had increased following the ceasefire, resulting in the release of 200 million barrels during the pause in hostilities.
On Monday, Iran said it is currently in talks with Oman to establish a safe, “temporary” route for vessels through the strategic waterway.
This is not the first time Trump has called off strikes on Iran
US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he called off planned strikes on Iran, adding later that officials from Washington and Tehran will meet for talks later today. Iran has denied it is having discussions with the US.
This is not the first time during the conflict that Trump has threatened attacks then called them off.
Here’s a look at some of the previous times this has happened:
- On March 21, Trump said the US would “hit and obliterate” Iranian power plants if Tehran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. On March 23, shortly before Trump’s deadline was set to expire, the president said the US and Iran had held “productive conversations” and that he would hold off on striking energy sites for five days.
- On April 7, Trump warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran did not agree to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Hours later, a two-week ceasefire between the countries was announced.
- On April 21, the day before the ceasefire was set to expire, Trump said he expected “to be bombing” if negotiators couldn’t reach a deal. Later that day, he extended the ceasefire.
- On May 17, Trump warned that “for Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them.” The next day, he said that he would “hold off” on a plan to attack Iran, citing a request from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
- On June 11, Trump said that the US military would be hitting Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT,” adding that it would also “be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points.” Hours later, Trump said he was canceling the strikes because “final points” of an agreement between the two sides had been approved.
- On August 1, Trump said the US was “locked and loaded and ready” to attack Iran “at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II.” Despite this, he said, “I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.”
CNN’s Izzy Lippolis, Alejandra Jaramillo, Kevin Liptak, Aileen Graef, Kit Maher, Betsy Klein, Alayna Treene and Kaitlan Collins contributed to this reporting.
Iran denies it is in negotiations with US, after Trump says he called off strikes
Negotiations between Iran and the US could resume today, according to US President Donald Trump, who announced over the weekend that he called off a “massive attack” on Iran following requests from allies such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, and also by Iran.
However, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it was not currently in negotiations with the US.
Here’s the latest:
- Global oil prices sank today after Trump’s weekend remarks that he called off the attack on Iran and that peace talks would restart today.
- Iran is currently in talks with Oman to establish a safe, “temporary” route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said today. Iran last closed the strait in July because of “outside interference from foreign powers” regarding the waterway, the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said.
- Up to five million barrels of crude oil are flowing out of the Persian Gulf through the southern lane of the strait close to the Omani coast, according to shipping sources, despite sporadic Iranian drone attacks on vessels.
CNN’s Molly English, Izzy Lippolis, Anna Cooban, Nadeen Ebrahim, Eleni Giokos and Tim Lister contributed to this reporting.
Iran appears indifferent to latest Trump talk on negotiations
US President Donald Trump spoke optimistically at the weekend about a resumption of negotiations with Iran and prospects for a swift agreement on the Strait of Hormuz, the issue at the heart of the stop-start conflict.
But according to the language and tone from Tehran Monday, Iran is not talking with the United States and feels no need to, and is rather focused on a bilateral deal with Oman on how to manage the critical waterway.
And they would not lead automatically to a reopening of the strait, he added.
That route, according to Baghaei, would be temporary, serving the “interests of both coastal states.” It would be a single corridor, rather than two routes – one close to the Iranian coast and one close to Oman’s – that had been discussed previously.
“Whether this stage and this process can be connected to another process that leads to a reduction of tensions in the region, we must wait and see,” Baghaei said.
Tehran is essentially saying that it’s oblivious to Trump’s remarks and blames the United States for blowing up the Memorandum of Understanding agreed in June.
While that remained the case, he asserted, “naturally no significant change will occur in the situation of the Strait of Hormuz.”
Trump also suggested Sunday that talks would broach what he called the “de-nuclearization” of Iran. There has been no word from Tehran on that aspect of the negotiations.
Oil prices sink after Trump says peace talks with Iran to restart
Global oil prices sank on Monday after US President Donald Trump called off a “massive attack” on Iran and said that peace talks would restart.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 4.2% just before 5 a.m. ET to trade at $84 a barrel. WTI, the US benchmark, was down 5% to $80 a barrel.
Prices were falling despite Iran giving no indication that it is prepared to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that the country is in talks with Oman to establish a safe, “temporary” corridor for vessels.
Currently, as many as 5 million barrels of crude are leaving the strait via a southern route tracking close to the Omani coastline, shipping sources told CNN on Monday. Before the war, however, an average of 20 million barrels left the strait per day.
Saudi Arabia has redirected a chunk of its oil exports west toward the Red Sea. These barrels have exited the region via the Bab al-Mandeb strait, but that waterway has been targeted by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Some oil transiting Strait of Hormuz despite lack of Iran-US agreement
Up to five million barrels of crude oil are flowing out of the Persian Gulf through the southern lane close to the Omani coast, according to shipping sources, despite sporadic Iranian drone attacks on vessels.
“Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains active with all the challenges in place,” according to Marisks, a maritime intelligence agency.
“Commercial movements through the Omani traffic lane are limited but continue, with estimated crude flows remaining at approximately 3–5 million barrels per day, indicating that the waterway has not yet transitioned into a fully enforced exclusion regime,” Marisks said.
Before the conflict, an average 20 million barrels a day left the Gulf through Hormuz, accounting for about 20% of global supply.
Iran has said it is currently in talks with Oman to establish a safe, “temporary” route for vessels through the strait, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday.
An empty tanker (the Velos Amber) transiting the Omani lane into the Gulf was subjected to what appears to have been an Iranian warning action on Sunday, according to shipping sources. The ship continued its journey and was off the coast of the United Arab Emirates early Monday.
At 4am ET Monday, tracking data showed very little traffic in the strait, though some vessels do not indicate their position.
In the Red Sea, shipping has been relatively stable despite the warning by the Iranian-backed Houthis last month of a blockade against Saudi and Israeli-linked shipping.
Thirty-four vessels transited the Bab al-Mandeb strait at the southern end of the Red Sea on Sunday, according to MarineTraffic data, including 18 cargo vessels and five tankers entering the Gulf of Aden. Nine cargo vessels and two tankers entered the Red Sea.
Iran in talks with Oman for "temporary" route through Hormuz
Iran is currently in talks with Oman to establish a safe, “temporary” route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday.
“The effort is to determine, at the earliest opportunity and in consultation with Oman, a route that is naturally temporary and based on which the safety of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz can be ensured,” the Iranian official said.
Baghaei stressed that Iran is not negotiating with the United States. But US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran will resume Monday, just a day after he said he called off a “massive attack” on the country.
Katie Bo Lillis and Zachary Cohen contributed reporting.
