Our live coverage has moved
Get the latest updates on the war with Iran here.
What we covered today
• UAE breaks with Iran: The United Arab Emirates — Iran’s second-largest commercial partner — announced it is suspending all trade with Tehran after two ballistic missiles targeted the UAE. Iran denied firing the missiles.
• Trump’s claims: The situation with Iran is “so good” right now, US President Donald Trump said today. Yesterday, he told administration envoys to halt their conversations with Iran, according to a US official.
• Economic squeeze: Global oil prices remain high as US-Iran peace talks stall, with the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz causing a fuel supply crisis. Iran’s Foreign Ministry says the US blockade of Iranian ports has contributed to goods shortages and price increases.
• War casualties: The number of US service members wounded since the start of the conflict in Iran has passed 750, data shows. According to the Defense Department’s war casualty database, 18 service members have died and 757 have been wounded.
Trump says he's launching “crushing economic operation” against Iran
President Donald Trump announced today the US would exert more financial pressure on Iran as a deal to end the war remains at an impasse.
Trump said on Truth Social the US would begin “the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY.”
The president did not offer further details about the economic operation or what measures it would entail.
Trump also said there would be economic consequences for any “country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran.”
“Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies — It all needs to stop NOW,” Trump continued. “You know who you are.”
Earlier on today, Trump said the “situation” with Iran “was so good,” telling reporters that talks could open again “maybe at some point.”
He answered a question about potential sanctions at an event at the White House later.
“Well, we have things that we could sanction,” Trump said. “We have very draconian sanctions, and we’ll see what happens.”
More than 750 US service members have been wounded since war began, data shows
The number of US service members wounded since the start of the Iran war has passed 750, according to the Defense Department’s war casualty database.
The Pentagon updated the database on Wednesday, recording more than 50 additional wounded soldiers, as talks between Tehran and DC to end the conflict remain at an impasse.
The Defense Department created the “Overseas Operations” category last month in DCAS for service members killed and wounded “starting July 7.” The Pentagon has yet to provide any additional details or specify the conflict in which the casualties have occurred.
The July 7 date aligns with the day that President Donald Trump’s administration told Congress that a new conflict with Iran had begun in a War Powers Act notification.
CNN has reached out to the Pentagon for additional clarity on the category.
Wednesday’s updated numbers come weeks after the Pentagon drew scrutiny from media outlets and lawmakers after the killed and wounded numbers decreased in DCAS as Iranian attacks continued. Four deaths and dozens of injuries disappeared from the totals last month before being restored.
Strait of Hormuz remains point of tension as US-Iran talks stall. Here's the latest
Global oil prices remain high as US-Iran peace talks stall, though President Donald Trump said the situation with Tehran is “so good.”
It comes after the US president told administration envoys yesterday to halt their conversations with Iran, according to a US official.
Here’s the latest:
- Trump said that “right now, I think the situation is so good” with Iran, suggesting talks could start again “at some point.” He reiterated his claim that the United States is in “possession” and in “complete control” of the Strait of Hormuz.
- The president also said “a lot of boats are coming through” the Strait. “The naval blockade has been extremely effective,” Trump said. At least six vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours, according to MarineTraffic data.
- Iraq’s parliament speaker called on Iran to grant Iraqi oil exports going through the Strait of Hormuz “special status,” according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency. The waterway remains a key sticking point in US-Iran negotiations.
- In the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait — where clashes have intensified in recent weeks — data shows at least 45 vessels crossed, including eight tankers and eight cargo ships going to the Gulf of Aden. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed today to have targeted eight Saudi oil tankers since late July, when it declared a maritime blockade on Saudi shipping, according to a Houthi-run news agency.
- NATO is prepared to “address any threat,” an official from the alliance said, in response to reports that Iran is considering attacking US military targets in Europe should Trump escalate the conflict.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended an strike on a military air base in Syria, asserting that Turkey — a NATO ally of the US that is one of Israel’s top regional adversaries — was intent on deploying forces there.
CNN’s Tal Shalev, Lisa Wong, Alejandra Jaramillo, Billy Stockwell, Mostafa Salem, Catherine Nicholls and Magdalena Vitores Moreno contributed reporting.
Netanyahu defends strike in Syria as Israel's top general issues veiled threat to Turkey
We’re hearing more today from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about an Israeli strike on a military air base in Syria.
Netanyahu defended the strike, once again asserting that Turkey — a NATO ally of the US that is one of Israel’s top regional adversaries — was intent on deploying forces there.
“We will not tolerate a Turkish military buildup that is going down south and threatens us. We clarified that in general,” Netanyahu said in a video released by his Likud party. “Then we saw that there is a Turkish intention to deploy in an air base south of its line, close to Aleppo, and we conveyed a message.”
Late Tuesday local time, Netanyahu acknowledged that Israel carried out the strike because it believed Turkey was going to deploy military capabilities to the air base south of Aleppo. He said the deployment would violate a “status quo in security matters” that Israel and Syria have accepted.
The Trump administration’s Syria envoy, Tom Barrack, yesterday criticized Israel’s actions as an “unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.”
Turkey rejected Netanyahu’s claims as “untenable,” pointing to the upcoming October elections in Israel as the reason for what it said was his “intent to pursue expansionist and destabilizing policies in the region.”
But on Wednesday, Israel’s military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, issued a veiled warning to Turkey as he met with Israeli troops in Syria. “We must prevent the development of terrorist threats, while also preventing the formation of a significant military threat on our borders,” Zamir said.
He did not explicitly mention Turkey in his comments.
“We know how to use our operational capabilities precisely, where and when needed,” Zamir said.
Trump says the situation with Iran is “so good”
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that “right now” the situation with Iran is “good,” as he’s paused US negotiations with Tehran and the Strait of Hormuz remains a key point of tension in the ongoing war.
“Right now, I think the situation is so good,” Trump told reporters, suggesting talks could start again “at some point.”
Trump again reiterated his claim that the United States is in “possession” and in “complete control” of the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait has emerged as a key bargaining chip in the war with Iran, which has effectively closed the strategically vital waterway since fighting began in late February, disrupting a major route for global oil shipments.
“They shoot a drone every once in a while,” Trump said, referring to Iran disrupting traffic through the strait. “But not everybody’s going to go through.”
Trump has repeatedly said that his priority is preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, as his administration continues to weigh its next steps in the conflict.
The president made the comments a day after he seemed to adopt a new approach, telling administration envoys to halt their conversations with Iran, according to a US official.
Iraq could play a new role as mediator between US and Iran, security analyst says
Ali Rizk, a security and political analyst, told CNN he believes one possible reason Iraq invited Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to visit Baghdad today was to position itself as a potential mediator between the US and Iran.
“I do think it’s quite plausible that this is one of the objectives behind extending this invitation to Mr. Ghalibaf,” Rizk said on CNN’s Connect the World. He said the move “would elevate Iraq’s status as well as a major mediator.”
“It would boost Mr. Zaidi as an important partner for both Washington and Tehran,” he added, referring to Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi.
Rizk said, “Now, will Iraq be more successful when other mediators haven’t been that successful? The countries which you referred to, like Pakistan, like Qatar, like Oman — I unfortunately failed to see what makes the Iraqi case so special.”
Remember: Iraq has frequently been caught in the middle of tensions between the US and Iran, including in US President Donald Trump’s first term, when he ordered the assassination of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani near the Baghdad International Airport.
The US military and Saudi Arabian forces said they conducted joint strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq in late July, in response to attacks on US forces and Saudi oil facilities.
Iraq’s prime minister also visited Washington in July and met with Trump at the White House and described his visit as the start of a new phase in bilateral relations centered on economic cooperation rather than military ties.
CNN’s Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.
Houthis claim to have targeted eight Saudi oil tankers since start of blockade
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed today to have targeted eight Saudi oil tankers since late July, when the militant group declared a maritime blockade on Saudi shipping, the Houthi-run Saba news agency said.
Saba also reported the group said it sank two military landing ships near Mokha — which it claimed were transporting Saudi weapons — as well as more than 10 warships belonging to Saudi forces, without providing evidence.
CNN cannot independently verify the group’s claims, and there has been no immediate comment from Saudi authorities.
Some context: Clashes have intensified in recent weeks near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a key maritime chokepoint at the southern end of the Red Sea, after the Houthis declared a blockade on ships from Saudi Arabia, the main backer of Yemeni government forces.
The Houthi group said Monday it had attacked what it described as a Saudi military landing ship and four escort vessels in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen’s port city of Mokha, after a weekend of escalation in the region.
NATO says it stands ready to address threats from Iran. Here's what to know
NATO is prepared to “address any threat,” an official from the alliance told CNN today, in response to reports that Iran is considering attacking US military targets in Europe if US President Donald Trump ramps up the war.
The Financial Times reported today that Iran has weighed attacking US military targets in Europe should Trump escalate the conflict, citing people close to the regime.
In response, the NATO official said the military alliance is “prepared to address any threat and will always do what is necessary to defend all allies.”
Here’s a closer look at the alliance:
Remember: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was established in 1949 after World War II, and its purpose is to “secure a lasting peace in Europe and North America, based on its member countries’ common values of individual liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law,” according to its website.
The alliance’s “most fundamental principle” is what it calls “collective defense,” meaning that if one NATO member country is attacked, the alliance considers it an attack on every NATO country.
This collective defense, described under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, is triggered when a member country comes under “armed attack” and that country requests collective action as a response.
Article 6 of the treaty “imposes geographic limitations on the scope of NATO’s mutual assistance obligation, primarily limiting it to the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer.”
The first and only time Article 5 has been invoked was in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US. As a result, NATO allies sent troops to Afghanistan after the Taliban regime was deposed in November that year.
CNN’s Billy Stockwell contributed to this reporting.
Iraq asks Iran for its oil to be granted "special status" through Hormuz
Iraq’s parliament speaker called on Iran to grant Iraqi oil exports going through the Strait of Hormuz “special status” in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart on Wednesday, according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency.
Traffic on the critical waterway, through which one-fifth of global crude oil typically flows, has reduced to a trickle since the war started in February.
Speaker of the Council of Representatives of Iraq Haibat al-Halbousi made the suggestion in a meeting with Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Baghdad, during a visit which the Iranian official said would strengthen the “internal and shared security of both countries.”
Earlier Wednesday, Ghalibaf praised the “unbreakable” bond between the people of Iraq and Iran ahead of his departure to the country, Iranian state media reported.
He also advocated for deep relations and security ties between regional Islamic countries, “so that sustainable economic cooperation can develop, and the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready for this.”
Turkey condemns Israeli strike on Syria, as UAE suspends trade with Iran. Catch up here
Tensions have heightened across the Middle East, with Israel carrying out a widely-condemned strike on Syria, US President Donald Trump threatening Oman, and the United Arab Emirates suspending all trade and financial transactions with Iran “until further notice.”
Here’s the latest so far today:
- Turkey has condemned Israel’s strike on a Syrian air base, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it took place because of what he asserted was an imminent deployment of Turkish troops to the facility.
- NATO has said it is prepared to “address any threat,” in response to reports that Iran is considering attacking US military targets in Europe if Trump ramps up the war.
- Oil prices are hovering above $90 a barrel, as talks between Iran and the United States remain at an impasse. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, is now trading at its highest level in almost a month.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US’ maritime blockade of Iranian ports has contributed to “shortages in some areas” and price increases in the country.
- Meanwhile, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf praised the “unbreakable” bond between the people of Iraq and Iran ahead of his departure to Baghdad today, according to Iranian state media.
CNN’s Mostafa Salem, Gul Tuysuz, Billy Stockwell, Hanna Ziady, Aida Karimi and Lucas Lilieholm contributed to this reporting.
How Oman went from US-Iran mediator to target of Trump's threats
US President Donald Trump threatened earlier this week to attack Oman if it interferes with US efforts in the Strait of Hormuz.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Monday, as Tehran said that talks with Muscat over the vital waterway were ongoing.
Oman, a historic US ally, has attempted to act as a mediator between the US and Iran both before and during the conflict, notably hosting nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington before the war broke out in February.
The day before the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said that Iran had agreed not to stockpile enriched uranium, meaning it would never have enough material to create a nuclear weapon if it reached a deal with the US.
The next day, after the US-Israeli strikes, Albusaidi said he was “dismayed” that “active and serious negotiations” between the US and Iran had “yet again been undermined.”
In March, Albusaidi called the war with Iran the Trump administration’s “greatest miscalculation.” Days later, he posted on X: “Whatever your view of Iran, this war is not of their making.”
In the months since, Oman has worked with Iran to draft protocols for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
In May, Trump threatened Oman for the first time, saying that the country “will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow ‘em up.”
Weeks later, a senior US administration official told reporters that Oman was “duplicitous” during negotiating efforts with Iran — so they “threw them out” of the mediation role.
CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo, Nadeen Ebrahim, Mostafa Salem, Haley Britzky, Jennifer Hansler, Antoinette Radford, Jessie Yeung, Sarah El Sirgany, Billy Stockwell, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Aaron Blake contributed to this reporting.
Turkey condemns Israeli strike on Syrian air base, calls Netanyahu’s claims “untenable”
Meanwhile, Turkey has condemned an Israeli strike on a Syrian air base, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it took place because of what he asserted was an imminent deployment of Turkish troops to the facility.
In response, the Turkish government called Netanyahu’s claims “untenable,” and said they were intended to “legitimise Israel’s unlawful airstrikes targeting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Tuesday’s strike on the site, close to Aleppo, sparked criticism from the Trump administration, with US envoy on Syria, Tom Barrack, calling it an “unnecessary escalation.”
Netanyahu meanwhile said Israel warned Syria that “such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel’s security.”
Turkey pointed to the upcoming October elections in Israel as a reason for Netanyahu’s actions.
The Turkish government added that it would continue to cooperate with the Syrian government “on a legitimate basis for the establishment of peace, stability, and prosperity.”
CNN’s Tal Shalev and Oren Liebermann contributed reporting.
A closer look at the IRGC, the elite wing of Iran's military
US President Donald Trump claimed earlier this week that his administration had established a direct backchannel with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He then contradicted this yesterday, when he said that “there are no talks or conversations going on” with Iran.
An IRGC spokesperson also denied Trump’s claim on Monday.
The IRGC has propped up the Iranian regime for decades. It is tasked both with combating enemies abroad and stamping out protests at home.
Here’s what to know about the elite wing of the Iranian military:
What is the IRGC and how did it start?
The IRGC exists to “guard” the theocracy. After Iran’s last monarch was deposed in 1979, various paramilitary groups that helped hasten his downfall coalesced into the IRGC. It resisted initial attempts to be incorporated into the regular army and cemented its power during its deployment in the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.
Today, it is the most powerful branch of Iran’s military, independent of the regular army. Comprising between 150,000 and 190,000 troops, it has an army, navy, air force and intelligence wing, and has also become enmeshed throughout Iran’s civilian economy.
What is the Quds Force?
The Quds Force is an expeditionary unit made up of the IRGC’s most elite fighters. It was originally tasked with foreign operations, starting with Hezbollah in Lebanon. The force has since supported several non-state actors in the Middle East, from Hamas in Gaza to the Houthis in Yemen and even the Taliban in Afghanistan during the 1990s.
What is the Basij?
The Basij – another of the IRGC’s five branches – operates like the police: visible, street-level, domestic. Meaning “mobilization” in Farsi, the Basij is a volunteer group which plucks members from across the country, often from poorer, more conservative backgrounds. It is tasked with propping up the regime at home and enforcing Islamic morality among the public.
CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo contributed to this reporting.
NATO vows to "defend all allies" after Iran reportedly weighs attacks on targets in Europe
NATO said today it is prepared to “address any threat” in response to reports that Iran is considering attacking US military targets in Europe if President Donald Trump ramps up the war.
In March, four suspected Iranian ballistic munitions heading toward Turkey were neutralized by NATO defenses. Iran denied at the time that it launched the missiles. Cyprus was also targeted by drone attacks in March.
The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Iran has weighed attacking US military targets in Europe should Trump escalate the war, citing people close to the regime.
In response, the NATO official said the military alliance is “prepared to address any threat and will always do what is necessary to defend all allies.”
Iran war creating perfect storm for energy markets
Oil prices are once again uncomfortably high, but the bigger problem is lurking just beneath the surface.
What initially began as an oil supply shock caused by the Strait of Hormuz blockage is morphing into a fuel supply crisis.
Refineries face a perfect combination of war and export restrictions, which is limiting how much crude oil they can turn into the gasoline, jet fuel and diesel that powers the global economy.
A key measure of refining profitability, known as the diesel crack spread, skyrocketed to $102 a barrel on Monday for the first time ever, nearly tripling pre-war levels. Diesel crack spread measures how much refiners can earn on each barrel of crude they turn into diesel.
Supplies of fuel remain historically tight because three of the four global refining hubs are in severe distress.
Refineries in the Middle East have been attacked during the Iran war. And the refineries that are unscathed have had trouble shipping because of the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran and the United States are battling for control.
Read the full story here.
UAE suspends all trade and financial transactions with Iran until “further notice”
The United Arab Emirates, a major trading partner of Iran, is suspending all trade and financial transactions with the Islamic Republic “until further notice,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Afra Al Hameli said on X.
“In light of regional escalations that undermine regional and international peace and security, all trade, commercial exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran have been halted until further notice,” the UAE’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on late Tuesday.
The statement was issued after the UAE said that two ballistic missiles that were “targeting maritime navigation” fell into the sea. Iran denied firing missiles.
The UAE is one of Iran’s largest commercial partners, ranking second only to China. Trade between the two countries had been expanding even as the US continued tightening sanctions on the regime.
Last week, vessels belonging to the UAE’s state oil company were targeted by Iran while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the UAE’s state news agency said.
After the US and Israel launched a war on Iran in February, Tehran responded by firing salvos of missiles and drones at the region’s US allies. The UAE was the most attacked of all Washington’s allies, including Israel.
Oil prices stay above $90 a barrel as peace talks stall
Oil prices are hovering above $90 a barrel, as talks between Iran and the United States remain at an impasse.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, gained 1.3% to trade at $92.20 a barrel shortly after 5 a.m. ET. WTI, the US benchmark, rose by a similar margin to trade at $85.24 a barrel.
Brent is now trading at its highest level in almost a month, as traders price in a prolonged disruption to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Tuesday that Hormuz would remain shut until the US meets conditions of the Memorandum of Understanding agreed in June, which include lifting the blockade of Iranian ports, removing oil sanctions, and unfreezing Iranian assets.
US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said no talks were underway or scheduled with Tehran.
Those comments “led to growing pessimism that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen anytime soon, and we saw oil prices move up throughout the futures curve,” Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a note Wednesday. Brent futures contracts for deliveries a year from now hit a two-month high, they added.
Iran's Foreign Minister says US blockade contributed to "shortages" and price increases
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the United States’ maritime blockade of Iranian ports has contributed to “shortages in some areas” and price increases in the country.
Araghchi said the war and the US blockade made it “considerably more difficult” to import goods into the country, adding that this was “nevertheless accomplished and we genuinely managed to meet the country’s needs.”
His comments were aired after Iranian state-affiliated media said earlier this week that many working-class families in the country are unable to afford basic food items, with inflation rates reaching “alarming levels.”
Iran’s economy was in a poor state before the war too, with dire economic conditions a key driving factor behind the anti-regime demonstrations which kicked off in the Iranian capital Tehran in 2025.
Araghchi said in the interview that, due to the US maritime blockade, Iran obtained some essential goods via neighboring countries using “overland routes and other channels.”
US military releases footage of USS George Washington en route to the Middle East
The US military has released footage of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington transiting the Strait of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia and conducting flight operations in the Indian Ocean.
The time lapse video, which the military said was recorded on August 13, shows the deck of the warship as it travels through one of the world’s busiest waterways.
The George Washington is en route to the Middle East to relieve the troubled USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been at sea for an extended deployment due to the Iran war, raising concerns among lawmakers and military families.
A sailor went overboard earlier this month off of the Abraham Lincoln, three US officials told CNN, amid reports of worsening mental health for crew members on the ship.
Additional footage from the military purported to show aircraft conducting night flight operations aboard the George Washington on Tuesday in the Indian Ocean.
The vessel’s rotation to the Middle East leaves the US without an aircraft carrier in the Pacific theater.
Read about being aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln here.
