Here's the latest
• Strait of Hormuz: US officials are looking to rally support for a coalition to secure the Strait of Hormuz, according to sources. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says his country is working with allies on a plan to reopen the crucial shipping route. No countries have yet committed to sending warships to the waterway, which Iran claims is operating under “special conditions.”
• On the ground: “Hundreds of thousands” of people have been evacuated from southern Lebanon after Israel said it expanded “limited” ground operations. In Iran, smoke billowed over Tehran as state media reported loud booms. Meanwhile, one person was killed in Abu Dhabi after a missile hit a vehicle.
• Oil prices spike: EU energy ministers are meeting today to discuss how to curb rising energy costs. The price of oil yesterday rose to its highest level since July 2022. US gas prices are now at their highest since October 2023, with diesel just shy of $5 a gallon.
Strikes continue in Iran, as Israel expands ground operation in Lebanon
We’ve been bringing you reporting on ongoing strikes in the Middle East, with attacks seen in Iran, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.
Israel has expanded a ground operation in Lebanon, it said, in order to “remove threats” and protect the residents of northern Israel. It is also continuing to attack Iran.
Catch up on the latest here:
- Iran: Thick black plumes of smoke could be seen rising over Iran’s capital Tehran in the early hours of this morning, as Iranian state media reported large booms in the capital. The Israeli military said it had begun a wave of strikes targeting infrastructure in Tehran this morning. People there have described feeling “suffocated and frustrated.”
- Lebanon: Israel launched an expanded ground operation in southern Lebanon, Defense Minister Israel Katz said, adding that “hundreds of thousands” of residents who have been evacuated or are evacuating “will not return to areas south of the Litani (river) until the safety of residents (of northern Israel) is assured.”
- UAE: One person was killed after a missile landed on a vehicle in Abu Dhabi, the city’s media office said. An “advanced fire” broke out in the country’s Fujairah petroleum industrial zone after it was targeted in a drone attack, the Fujairah Media Office said. Flights were also temporarily suspended at Dubai International Airport after a fuel tank nearby caught fire during a “drone-related incident” early this morning.
CNN’s Angus Watson, Ivana Kottasová, Eugenia Yosef, Nadeen Ebrahim and Laura Sharman contributed to this reporting.
Israel says it has destroyed Iran's space and satellite center
Israel said today that it “destroyed” a compound used by Iran’s military to develop space capabilities.
Israel Defense Forces said the building, in central Tehran, was used to “develop military space programs,” including the Chamran-1 satellite which was launched by Iran in 2024.
Photos circulating on social media showed apparent damage to the Tarasht Space Research Institute in Tehran.
Pakistani oil tankers cross Strait of Hormuz amid signs Iran may be allowing select shipments
Three Pakistani oil tankers have crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the past ten days, according to Pakistani shipping sources and ship-tracking data, suggesting Iran may be granting safe passage for some oil shipments.
The latest Pakistani tanker to cross the strait was the ‘Karachi,’ one of the sources, from the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC), told CNN on the condition of anonymity.
It is “very likely” that safe passage has been “coordinated with the Iranians,” the source said.
Ship tracking data from MarineTraffic showed that the oil tanker transited through the strait on Sunday evening, hugging the Iranian coastline.
MarineTraffic said the tanker was sailing within Iran’s exclusive economic zone and broadcasting its automatic identification system (AIS) signal, “suggesting that select shipments may be receiving negotiated safe passage.”
Qamar Cheema, the executive director of the Sanober Institute, a research organization in Islamabad, told CNN that one can “safely assume” that Pakistan used its diplomatic channels for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to get a deal for its vessels to pass through.
Iran “understands Pakistan’s economic concerns,” and it is unlikely that Islamabad had to make any concessions to Iran due to the “state and societal level support for Iran from Pakistan,” he said.
CNN has reached out to the Pakistani foreign ministry for comment.
Iran has repeatedly said the strait is only blocked for traffic from its enemies and their allies.
On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi praised Pakistan on X, extending his “heartfelt gratitude” for Pakistan’s “full-throated expression of solidarity and support” for Iran.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said Islamabad has “an open channel of communication” with Iran.
Farida Elsebai contributed.
US officials seek to rally support for coalition to secure Strait of Hormuz
US officials spent much of the weekend working to rally support behind President Donald Trump’s demand that other countries assist in securing the Strait of Hormuz and hope to announce a new coalition in the coming days, according to people familiar with the matter.
Who that coalition consists of, and when it might be announced, remain open questions. Even staunch US allies sound cautious about sending their militaries into the contested waterway while an active war is underway.
Still, US officials said they hope to at least receive preliminary commitments of support for securing the strait, even if countries leave the specifics — such as what ships are deployed and when — to a later date.
Trump himself spoke on Sunday evening with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer but the call did not result in the immediate announcement of British assets heading toward the strait.
Trump is expected to have additional conversations as the week goes on. He’ll host Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday for her first White House visit since being elected.
But she, too, has remained noncommittal about sending Japanese war ships to the strait.
Administration officials still say they expect the war with Iran to last four to six weeks, meaning at least another two weeks remain. While the US and Israel have found success in wiping out much of Iran’s missile arsenal, its air defenses and its navy, the hardline regime remains in power and continues to demonstrate an ability to threaten its neighbors and disrupt global energy trade.
European officials said one of their fears is that Trump will declare victory in Iran in the coming weeks and leave them to patrol the strait afterward. There was virtually no attempt to gain buy-in from US allies before the war began.
But they also recognize the need to manage the situation carefully, wary of alienating Trump at a moment another conflict – the war in Ukraine – appears on a precipice.
US treasury secretary: No plan for administration to intervene in oil futures market
For several weeks, rumors have persisted that the Trump administration would initiate some kind of intervention in the oil futures market to reduce prices, although it was unclear exactly how that might work.
But US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said today there is no such plan.
“We haven’t done that,” Bessent said in an interview with CNBC from Paris, adding he wasn’t sure “under what authority or what auspices” the US government would have to intervene in the markets.
The treasury secretary acknowledged that between 10 million and 14 million barrels of daily oil supply have been cut off from the world because of Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But he noted that some oil tankers are getting through, including Indian and Iranian vessels, which Bessent said the US Navy was allowing to pass. He argued supplying the global market was good for prices overall.
Bessent said concerns about food shortages and another inflation crisis were overdone. Oil would be “much lower” than $80 a barrel in a couple months, he said, down from around $100 a barrel today.
Israel may expand long-term buffer zone in Lebanon after ground operation, expert says
The Israeli military’s advance into southern Lebanon, which it says is a “limited and targeted” ground operation, may become a long-term buffer zone, an expert has told CNN.
Lina Khatib, an associate fellow with the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham house, told CNN’s Becky Anderson she believes the operation “is not just a temporary incursion.”
“This is meant to increase an area that Israel sees as a buffer zone in southern Lebanon,” she said, adding the goal would be to “suffocate” Hezbollah “in terms of its ability to maneuver in the south and launch missiles from there on Israel.”
Iranians in Tehran share their thoughts as war enters third week
Iranians in Tehran have been speaking about the ongoing war with the US and Israel, with one saying there is no point to a ceasefire if it does not bring about a full end to the conflict.
Ali Akbar Hosseini, a bookseller, told the West Asia News Agency (WANA) in video obtained by Reuters that if the US “want(s) to grant a ceasefire, they must grant it, because they brought their equipment from the other side of the world to this side of the world.”
Another Tehran resident, who gave his name as Mr. Jabbari, said that Iranians want the war to the end, rather than there being a ceasefire.
UAE is “doubling down” on US ties after Iranian attacks, senior official says
The United Arab Emirates is “doubling down” on its agreements with the United States following Iran’s attack on the Gulf Arab nation, the UAE’s Minister for International Cooperation Reem Al-Hashimy said Sunday.
Asked by Australia’s ABC in a televised interview whether the Iranian attacks on the UAE will make it reconsider hosting US bases, the minister said: “Quite the contrary.”
Al-Hashimy described Iran’s attack on her country as “almost unhinged” and said it will not change the “dynamics” of Abu Dhabi’s agreements with the US and Israel.
“If anything, we are doubling down on our friends. We are further cementing the strong ties that bind us,” she said.
The UAE has pledged $1.4 trillion in US investments over the next decade. It normalized relations with Israel under the 2020 Abraham Accords and backed President Trump’s Board of Peace with a $1.2 billion Gaza pledge.
It also hosts thousands of US troops at Al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi, which has become a target for Iran.
Over more than two weeks, Iran launched nearly 2,000 projectiles at the UAE, including ballistic missiles and drones. The strikes led to the killing of 7 people, including 5 civilians, the UAE’s defense ministry said Monday.
The UAE had been targeted more than any other country int the region including Israel. The vast majority of Iranian projectiles were intercepted by the UAE’s air defense system.
Emergency oil is on its way. So why are oil prices still high?
Last week, the member countries of the International Energy Agency, including the United States, agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from their reserves. But global oil prices have stayed high.
That’s because Tehran’s near-blockade of the Strait of Hormuz means that some 15 million barrels of crude oil and 5 million barrels of oil products are cut off from the global market every day. In other words, 400 million barrels of crude would be absorbed in just 26 days.
“The war in the Middle East is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market,” the International Energy Agency said in a statement Sunday.
“This emergency collective action, by far the largest ever, provides a significant and welcome buffer. But the most important factor in ensuring a return to stable flows is the resumption of regular transit of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” the agency added.
It noted that oil stocks from Asia and Oceania would be made available immediately, while those from the Americas and Europe wouldn’t be released until the end of March.
Oil inventories can be released to the market in a variety of ways, including through tenders, loan agreements or direct sales to refiners, according to the agency.
Bessent rejects idea that Trump-Xi summit would be delayed over Strait of Hormuz
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rejected the idea that President Donald Trump’s trip to China could be delayed due to disagreements over the Strait of Hormuz.
Bessent said it could instead be delayed over “logistics” as well as Trump’s willingness to travel outside the US during the Iran war.
“It would be a decision president made as commander in chief to stay in the White House, or to stay in the United States, while this war is being prosecuted,” Bessent said.
Bessent met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Paris over the weekend – calling the meetings “very good” – while Trump is expected to travel to China from March 31 to April 2.
For context: The possible summit delay comes as Trump has urged China to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, telling the Financial Times in an interview on Sunday that the US would like to know China’s position on helping to reopen it before the summit.
But Bessent said markets should not react to a potential delay of the summit by assuming that indicates a conflict between the US and China over Iran.
“Absolutely not. Absolutely not. We had very good two days here. We’ll be issuing a statement in the next few days, and we’ll be reaffirming the stability in the relationship between the first and second largest economies in the world,” Bessent said.
As Trump calls for help in Strait of Hormuz, Germany responds: "It's not NATO’s war"
Berlin has responded to calls from US President Donald Trump to assist with keeping shipping lanes uninterrupted in the Strait of Hormuz, with a government spokesperson saying, “This war has nothing to do with NATO. It is not NATO’s war.”
The comment, made by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s spokesperson, came after Trump made a thinly veiled threat towards the NATO alliance, saying it could face a “very bad future.”
The German government also once again reiterated that it would not participate in any activity in the Strait of Hormuz.
“Participation has not been considered before this war and is not being considered now,” the government spokesperson added.
This morning, arriving in Brussels, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also told reporters that he does not see a role for NATO members in the Strait of Hormuz.
Merz has been hardening his position in recent days as the war with Iran continues to show no signs of ending. Last week he criticized the US for easing sanctions on Russia and has openly said he is not clear what the US plans to end the war are.
The spokesman told reporters that “before the war both the United States and Israel made it clear that European help was neither required nor desired.”
The German chancellor will be meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten in Berlin later today. Both leaders will likely field question on their responses to Trump and his demands.
"Suffocated and frustrated": Tehran residents describe life under bombardment
Iranians are feeling intense strain from the US and Israeli assault on their country, with some Tehran citizens telling CNN they are living in both fear and despair.
“These past few days have felt really hopeless. I feel like we are living in devastation and the future looks bleak,” a 32-year-old resident of Iran’s capital told CNN Monday. “I feel suffocated and frustrated at the same time.”
All those who spoke to CNN asked for their names not to be used due to security concerns, as the war enters its third week.
The resident said that every night, “they hit harder, and harder” leaving Iranians feeling increasingly isolated from the rest of the world.
Another male citizen, 44, said that while “people are dying,” some parts of life are resuming as normal. “You have to continue living your life, you know? We can’t just stay home worrying,” he added.
A 30-year-old woman in Tehran said the past few nights had been “terrifying.” “You can hear the sound of bombs from all over the city, no matter where you are,” she told CNN, adding that while some people welcome the conflict, particularly those in the diaspora, she does not.
Starmer says UK working with allies to reopen Strait of Hormuz
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the United Kingdom is working with allies to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, without providing details, after US President Donald Trump demanded that other countries do more to end Iran’s effective blockade of the crucial shipping route.
Starmer said the “completely unprecedented” release of emergency oil stocks last week would not be sufficient to calm energy markets.
Starmer did not elaborate on potential plans to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil ordinarily flows. CNN has previously reported that Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait, complicating any future attempts to reopen it.
In his speech, Starmer did not directly mention Trump, who on Sunday warned that NATO faces a “very bad future” if US allies fail to assist in efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively blockaded after it was attacked by the US and Israel.
Starmer also announced a £53 million ($70 million) package to help vulnerable households in the UK who rely on heating oil, the first major policy announcement responding to the economic shock of the widening war.
Israel expands ground operation in southern Lebanon
As Israel expanded its ground operation in southern Lebanon, its Defense Minister Israel Katz said “hundreds of thousands” of residents of southern Lebanon who have been evacuated or are evacuating “will not return to areas south of the Litani (river) until the safety of residents (of northern Israel) is assured.”
Israel began striking southern Lebanon less than 48 hours after it and the US launched the attacks against Iran after Hezbollah launched six rockets from Lebanon. At least 850 people, including 107 children, have been killed in Lebanon since then, the Lebanese health ministry said Sunday.
Katz said on Monday that the IDF has begun a ground maneuver in Lebanon to “remove threats” and protect the residents of northern Israel.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the IDF to destroy terrorist infrastructure in the border-adjacent contact villages in Lebanon,” he said, comparing the order to what he said Israel has done in Gaza when it destroyed infrastructure there.
CLARIFICATION: This post has been updated to clarify that Israel’s announcement marks an expansion of its existing ground offensive in Lebanon.
Here's the latest on what Trump is saying about the war with Iran
US President Donald Trump spoke about the war with Iran several times yesterday, talking to reporters, posting to social media, and conducting interviews with the press.
We brought you updates on those comments as he said them. But if you’re just joining us, catch up on what he said below:
- Trump said the United States and Israel are largely aligned in their military goals in the war, though he also acknowledged their objectives may not be identical.
- The president warned that NATO faces a “very bad” future if US allies fail to assist in securing the Strait of Hormuz, the vital oil waterway currently blocked by Iran.
- The US has “had some positive response” after reaching out to countries to whether they would help secure the Strait of Hormuz, but a few “would rather not get involved,” Trump told reporters.
- Trump also said he could postpone a planned summit with his Chinese counterpart as he urges Beijing to help address disruptions in the strait.
- The US leader doubled down on his criticism of the media’s coverage of the Iran war while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One.
- Trump said he had not seen a fundraising email sent by his political action committee that used an image from a dignified transfer honoring fallen US service members.
CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn contributed to this reporting.
US gas prices surge to $3.72, the highest since October 7, 2023
Gas prices in the United States have risen 2 cents to just under $3.72 a gallon on average, according to AAA. That’s the highest price for regular gas since October 7, 2023.
Since the start of the war with Iran, gas prices have surged 74 cents a gallon.
Diesel has gained even more, rising by $1.24 since the war began. It now averages $4.99 a gallon, coming close to hitting $5 for the first time since December 2022. Some trucking companies are already adding hefty fuel surcharges, and those costs could get passed onto consumers.
Prices of perishable foods, such as dairy, fruit, vegetables, meat and fish, are expected to rise soon as a result.
The price of gas has surged as the Trump administration continues to send mixed signals about the expected length of its war and its ability to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has closed to virtually all oil tankers.
In recent days, President Donald Trump has asked the international community for help reopening the strait, a request that has so far been met with a tepid response.
Starmer defends decision not to join US-Israeli offensive against Iran
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has defended his decision not to join the US-Israeli offensive against Iran, saying he was not prepared to join a conflict “without a plan to get us out.”
Starmer declined to join the US-Israeli assault on February 28, but joined the defense against Iran’s retaliation when British military assets in the Middle East came under attack. US President Donald Trump and Starmer’s domestic opponents criticized what they cast as the prime minister’s timidity.
At a news conference in Downing Street on Monday, Starmer said he had “stood by my principles” and believed that “time will show that we have the right approach.”
Starmer was likely referring to Nigel Farage, the leader of the hard-right Reform UK party and an ally of Trump. At first, Farage said the UK’s “gloves needed to come off” when dealing with Iran. As the war in the Middle East escalated, Farage backtracked, saying the UK should not get involved “in another foreign war.”
Starmer said if the UK was “to send our service men and women into harm’s way, the very least they deserve is to know that they do so on a legal basis and with a proper, thought-through plan.”
Leaders battle rising energy costs as Trump urges reopening of Strait of Hormuz. Catch up
As the war in the Middle East persists, US President Donald Trump has urging countries around the world to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the transportation of oil.
Trump has named several countries he wants to send vessels to the strait, though many have yet to respond positively. European Union members are meeting in Brussels to discuss how to curb rising energy costs.
Meanwhile, strikes on countries across the region are continuing.
Catch up on the latest developments here:
- European leaders are “discussing” what they can do to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, the EU’s foreign policy chief said today, ahead of the bloc’s Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.
- China’s foreign ministry spokesperson sidestepped a question about sending ships to Strait of Hormuz, following a request from Trump for his country to do so.
- Germany’s foreign minister said that NATO should not play a role in securing the Strait of Hormuz after Trump warned the defense alliance would face a “very bad” future if it fails to assist.
- An “advanced fire” broke out in the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah petroleum industrial zone after it was targeted in a drone attack, Fujairah Media Office said today, adding that no injuries took place.
- A person was killed after a missile landed on a vehicle in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, officials said this morning.
CNN’s Nadeen Ebrahim, Laura Sharman, Lex Harvey, Jessie Yeung and Ivana Kottasová contributed to this reporting.
Iran taunts Trump for asking allies for help with the Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has criticized the United States for asking allies for help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while also demanding Iran surrenders.
“They carried out large-scale attacks and again repeated the demand for unconditional surrender. Today, after roughly 15 days (sic) since the war began, they are turning to other countries for help to ensure the security of the Strait of Hormuz and keep it open,” Araghchi said.
“From our perspective, the strait is open; it is only closed to our enemies and to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country,” he added.
Iran: Strait of Hormuz "not closed" but "under special conditions"
Iran said on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping chokepoint that carries about one-fifth of world’s crude oil, is “not closed” but operating under “special conditions.”
Ship traffic through the strait has been mostly halted since the start of the war more than two weeks ago, with Iran only allowing through a handful of vessels.
“Parties not involved in the military aggression against Iran have been able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with and with permission from our armed forces,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.
“No coastal country in such a situation can allow enemy ships and vessels to pass normally in order to strengthen themselves and carry out aggressive actions against that coastal state,” he added, adding that the US, Israel and their supporters “should naturally not be able to use the Strait of Hormuz to strike Iran.”
