Live Updates: Iran warns the U.S. against a ground invasion as war drags on
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What to know about the Iran war today:
- Iran’s parliament speaker warned the U.S. against a ground invasion, threatening to step up attacks on U.S. allies, according to Iranian official media.
- American-born Israeli soldier, Sgt. Moshe Yitzchak Hacohen Katz, was killed in combat in southern Lebanon, officials said.
- Top diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt are meeting in Pakistan on Sunday to push for an end to the Iran war. The Trump administration is awaiting Iran’s formal response to its 15-point peace proposal.
- European allies are telling American diplomats that Russia is directly and materially helping Iran’s war efforts beyond what the U.S. will publicly acknowledge, sources told CBS News.
Pope Leo XIV rejects claims that God justifies war
Pope Leo XIV used his Palm Sunday Mass homily to reject claims that God justifies war, insisting that God is the “king of peace.”
“Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” the American-born pontiff said. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”
He said he was praying for Christians “suffering the consequences of an atrocious conflict. In many cases, they cannot live fully the rites of these holy days.”
Leaders on all sides of the Iran war have used religion to justify their actions. U.S. officials, especially Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have invoked their Christian faith to cast the war as a Christian nation trying to vanquish its foes with military might.
Russia’s Orthodox Church, too, has justified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “holy war” against a Western world it considers has fallen into evil.
Palm Sunday marks Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem in the time leading up to his crucifixion, which Christians observe on Good Friday, and resurrection on Easter Sunday.
CBS/AP
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American-born Israeli soldier dies in Lebanon
An American-born Israeli soldier was killed in combat in southern Lebanon, Israeli officials said Sunday.
Sgt. Moshe Yitzchak Hacohen Katz, 22, was born in New Haven, Connecticut, according to a post from the Israel Defense Forces.
His great-uncle, Rabbi Yehoshua Hecht, remembered him as a “very special young man” who “enjoyed every moment of life,” according to the Associated Press.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Katz enlisted in the IDF’s Paratroopers Brigade after moving to Israel. He did not specify how long Katz had been serving. Further details of his death were not available.
By Kerry Breen
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Regional diplomats to meet in Pakistan for talks on ending monthlong war
The top diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt are gathering in Pakistan on Sunday to discuss how to end the fighting in the Middle East.
The talks between Egypt’s Badr Abdelatty, Turkey’s Hakan Fidan and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Faisal Bin Farhan come days after the U.S. offered Iran a 15-point “action list” as a framework for a possible peace deal.
Abdelatty said the meetings were aimed at opening a “direct dialogue” between the U.S. and Iran, which have largely communicated through mediators during the war.
The weekend provided little sign of the talks narrowing the disconnect between the U.S. and Iran. U.S. officials have insisted the war may be nearing an inflection point but Iranian leaders continue to reject negotiations publicly.
The U.S. and Israel were not participating in the Islamabad talks, while Iran’s parliament speaker dismissed the talks as a cover while the U.S. dispatched additional troops to the Middle East.
CBS/AP
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Iran’s parliament speaker warns the U.S. against a ground invasion
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, on Sunday warned the United States against a ground invasion, threatening to set American troops “on fire” and step up attacks on U.S. allies, according to Iranian official media.
Qalibaf said Iranian forces are “waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever.”
He added: “Our firing continues. Our missiles are in place. Our determination and faith have increased.”
He described the U.S.’s 15-point plan, which Pakistan passed to Iran last week, as “their wishes” and said the Trump administration is attempting to do through the plan what it has failed to achieve by force.
“As long as the Americans seek Iran’s surrender, our response is clear: Far be it from us to accept humiliation,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Guard threatened to target branches of Israeli and American educational facilities in the region, calling them “legitimate targets” if the U.S. does not condemn the bombing of Iranian universities.
“If the U.S. government wants its universities in the region spared, it should condemn the bombardment of (Iranian) universities by 12 o’clock Monday, March 30, in an official statement,” the Guard said in a statement, according to state media.
The guard urged the evacuation of American and Israeli educational facilities and told students and staff to stay at least one kilometer away.
The Guard also demanded that the U.S. stop Israel from striking Iranian universities and research centers, which have been attacked in recent days. Israel’s military has acknowledged striking Iranian universities it says are connected to weapons development.
American colleges, including Georgetown, New York University and Northwestern, have campuses in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
This is the first time Iran has threatened to strike Israeli and American universities.
CBS/AP
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2 wounded in Iranian attack on aluminum plant in Bahrain
Two Aluminium Bahrain employees were wounded in an Iranian attack on its facilities over the weekend, Bahrain state media reported on Sunday local time.
“The safety and security of (Aluminium Bahrain’s) people remain its top priority and the Company confirms that two of Alba’s employees sustained minor injuries,” the company said in a statement carried by the official Bahrain News Agency.
It did not give details on the nature of the strike or the extent of the damage.
Aluminium Bahrain, also known as Alba, is one of the world’s largest aluminium producers. It said it was assessing the impact on its operations and would issue further updates when available.
Bahraini authorities have not yet released additional information on the incident.
By AFP
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Iran targets Kuwait with missiles, drones
The Kuwaiti military early Sunday morning local time reported that it was targeted by Iran with missiles and drones.
The Kuwait Armed Forces said in a social media post that its air defense systems were intercepting “hostile attacks.”
On Saturday night local time, Kuwait reported that over the course of the previous 24 hours, it was targeted by 15 Iranian drones, some of which struck the area around Kuwait International Airport, causing damage to its radar systems, but no injuries.
Kuwaiti airspace has been closed to commercial air traffic since the war began a month ago.
By Faris Tanyos
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The ripple effect of the Iran war on struggling U.S. farmers: “It couldn’t have come at a worst time”
Lance Lillibridge of Vinton, Iowa, has been farming his whole life, and says he’s worried for this year’s spring planting.
“It couldn’t have come at a worst time,” Lillibridge told CBS News of the Iran war.
The war has led to skyrocketing diesel and fertilizer prices. Lillibridge says the prices are piling onto an already struggling industry.
“It just feels like the world is trying to take this all away from us right now,” Lillibridge said.
The price of ammonia and urea, two fertilizer ingredients seeing disruptions, are up around 20% and 50% percent, respectively, since the start of the Iran war, according to Oxford Economics. The price of diesel gas is up 43.5%, according to AAA.
Lillibridge says his costs have already increased 25% since last year. He argues the situation needs to resolve itself before more damage is done.
“If our kids see us struggling out here, why would they want to take it on?”
By Lana Zak
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Iran threatens strikes on U.S. universities in the Middle East
Iran’s regime issued a threat early Sunday morning against all American universities in the Middle East.
“All staff, professors, and students of American universities in the region, as well as residents in their surroundings, are advised to stay at least one kilometer away from these universities to ensure their safety,” the Iranian Revolutionary Guards said in a statement.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards said it was issuing the threat in response to a strike on the Tehran University of Science and Technology.
There are several U.S.-based schools that have branch campuses in the Gulf region, such as Georgetown University Qatar, Northwestern University in Qatar and New York University Abu Dhabi.
By Faris Tanyos
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U.S. blames “Iran’s terrorist militia proxies” for strike targeting home of Iraqi Kurdistan’s president
The residence of Nechirvan Barzani, president of the semiautonomous northern Kurdish region of Iraq, in the city of Duhok, was targeted Saturday, causing damage but no casualties, an official with the regional government told The Associated Press.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said the residence was empty at the time.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, in a statement Saturday evening, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott blamed “Iran’s terrorist militia proxies in Iraq” for the strike.
“The United States unequivocally and forcefully condemns the despicable terrorist attacks by Iran’s terrorist militia proxies in Iraq on the private residence of Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani,” Pigott said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani also condemned the attack in a phone call with Barzani, calling it a “heinous” act, according to a statement from his office.
Al-Sudani said a joint security and technical team from federal authorities and the northern Kurdish region’s government would investigate and take legal measures against those responsible.
Qubad Talabani, deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdish region, said that armed groups operating outside state control pose a growing threat to stability in the country.
CBS/AP
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Yemen’s Houthis launch second missile attack on Israel
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Yemen-based Iranian-backed Houthi terror group, said in a prerecorded statement aired by the group’s Al-Masirah satellite television that the Houthis had launched a second strike on Israel.
The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels targeted multiple sites in southern Israel to coincide with attacks from Iran and Hezbollah, Saree said, without identifying the locations.
The launch came hours after the Houthis’ first missile attack against Israel since the Iran war began a month ago.
Israel said it intercepted the first missile. It did not immediately comment on whether it intercepted any projectiles from Yemen in the second attack.
“We have been prepared for the Houthis to join this from the beginning,” Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said.
By The Associated Press
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European allies say Russia is helping Iran more than the U.S. has acknowledged, sources say
European allies are publicly and privately telling American diplomats that Russia is directly and materially helping Iran’s war efforts beyond what the U.S. will publicly acknowledge, sources tell CBS News.
The Europeans are also continuing to argue that the war in Ukraine, the largest land war in Europe since World War II, is intertwined with the war in Iran due to the cooperation between Russia and Iran.
A U.K. official told CBS News that Russian-Iranian defense cooperation has ballooned in recent years, and Iranian technological advancement is now visible in the attacks in the Middle East. The United Kingdom assesses that Iran had not only transferred Shahed drones to Moscow for use on the battlefield in Ukraine but also production know-how to Russia, which has helped Iran refine its drone warfare. The U.K. official could not confirm a recent transfer of hardware to Iran by Russia.
France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot publicly described the relationship between Russia and Iran as “two-way cooperation.”
“There are reasons to believe that Russia is now supporting Iran’s military efforts, which appear to be directed in particular at American targets,” Barrot said Thursday.
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Iran’s Reza Pahlavi cheered at CPAC
Former Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi walked out onstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference to some of the loudest cheers heard at the event yet.
Pahlavi’s father led Iran for decades before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He is the most prominent member of the regime’s opposition, and told CBS News “60 Minutes” he wants to lead Iran in a transition into democracy.
During Pahlavi’s remarks on Saturday, the audience interrupted him with cheers of “Reza Pahlavi,” “USA,” and “Free Iran.”
Nassar Meyman, a Dallas resident and CPAC attendee, told CBS News that he hoped to see “a new start” for Iran “with the leadership of Crown Prince Pahlavi.”
By Kerry Breen, Anne Bryson
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Qatar reports drone interception for the first time in over a week
Qatar’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted several drones fired from Iran, the first attack the Gulf state reports in over a week.
Qatar sounded the alarms to warn citizens against incoming fire on Friday but did not report any attacks following the alarms, according to an AP journalist.
The announcement of the interceptions came the same day Qatar and Ukraine signed a defense agreement that included cooperation on countering threats from missiles and drones.
“The agreement includes collaboration in technological fields, development of joint investments and the exchange of expertise in countering missiles and unmanned aerial systems,” the ministry said in a statement during a visit Saturday by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
CBS/AP
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Marine Expeditionary Unit arrives in Middle East, CENTCOM says
The U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit that includes the USS Tripoli has arrived in the Middle East from the Pacific, Central Command said on X Saturday morning.
The MEU is composed of about 3,500 sailors and Marines, CENTCOM said. The USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship that had been deployed to Japan, also carries transport and strike fighter aircraft, along with amphibious assault and tactical assets.
A second MEU, this one made up of about 2,200 Marines and three warships, is still headed toward the Middle East after departing California last week. CBS News previously reported it may take several weeks for the second unit to arrive.
By Kerry Breen, Eleanor Watson
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At CPAC, many Republicans stand by Trump on Iran. But they’re divided on how the war could end.
As Republicans grapple with a war in Iran during a tight midterm cycle, speakers and attendees at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference are toeing a fine line between backing the Trump administration’s war effort and hinting at worries about the conflict expanding.
To be sure, most members of President Trump’s party firmly support the war. Some 84% of Republicans approved of the U.S. taking military action against Iran in a CBS News poll released last weekend. Support falls somewhat, to 70%, among non-MAGA Republicans.
But some Trump supporters have expressed hesitation about a conflict with Iran or concerns about its scope — and many are broadly wary of the U.S. intervening abroad.
The debate is playing out during an election year, as Americans’ views on the war — and on its impacts on energy prices — could influence who wins control of Congress. The most recent CBS News poll found that 69% of independents are opposed to U.S. military action in Iran.
By Anne Bryson, Joe Walsh
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2 journalists killed in Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon
Two journalists were killed in an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon, officials said, including one who worked for Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV.
The television station said its correspondent, Ali Shoeib, a well-known war correspondent in Lebanon, was killed Saturday in a strike. Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen said its reporter, Fatima Ftouni, was killed in the same strike.
Ftouni had just finished a live report from southern Lebanon just before the strike in the Jezzine area.
Israeli military claimed that Shoeib was a “terrorist in the intelligence unit of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force” who operated “under the guise of a journalist… while operating systematically to expose the locations of IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon and along the border.”
Additionally, the military claimed Shoeib used his position at al-Manar TV to “disseminate Hezbollah propaganda materials.”
The strike came days after an Israeli airstrike on an apartment in central Beirut killed Mohammed Sherri, the head of political programs at al-Manar TV, along with his wife.
According to AFP, Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, condemned Israel’s strike, saying: “This is a blatant crime that violates all the norms and treaties under which journalists enjoy international protection in wars.”
CBS/AP
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USS Gerald R. Ford docks in Croatia for repairs
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, has anchored in Croatia on its route to the Middle East for repairs and to give sailors “some well-deserved liberty.”
The U.S. 6th Fleet said the aircraft carrier anchored in the Port of Split in Croatia following its Adriatic Sea transit from Souda Bay, in Greece, where it conducted repairs and refueled earlier this week.
This is the aircraft carrier’s second visit to Croatia during its ongoing deployment. It anchored in for a few days in October 2025.
“The crew is excited to be back in Split for some well-deserved liberty,” Capt. David Skarosi, commanding officer of Gerald R. Ford, said in a statement. “They have accomplished so much since our initial visit in October. We are extremely thankful to the Croatian community for opening their historic and beautiful city of Split to us once again.”
The carrier docked last month at the American naval base at Souda Bay, stirring up protests on Crete ahead of the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that triggered the war. There, it also brought in experts to repair the damage from a fire in the ship’s laundry facilities, and military and federal law enforcement to investigate the fire.
By Lucia I Suarez Sang, Eleanor Watson
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Here’s what needs to happen before oil starts flowing through the Strait of Hormuz again
Some shipping and insurance experts don’t expect the situation in the Strait of Hormuz to return to normal until the war winds down significantly.
Since the start of the conflict, Iran has threatened to hit ships that travel through the strait without its permission. More than a dozen Iranian drone and missile strikes have been reported on ships in the region, and daily transits through the waterway have fallen some 90% to 95% since the conflict began, according to shipping intelligence firm Kpler. Hundreds of tankers are trapped in the Persian Gulf. The cost of marine insurance in the Strait has also skyrocketed. Trump administration officials have discussed offering military escorts, but it’s not clear when or how that might work.
With the end of the war uncertain, when will the logjam clear?
Put simply: “You need to not have fast-moving pointy bits of metal with explosives bearing down onto you at 2,000 miles an hour,” said Daniel Sternoff, an analyst at Energy Aspects and senior fellow at Columbia’s Center on Global Energy Policy.
By Joe Walsh
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Iran’s military says it targeted Ukrainian anti-drone system depot in UAE
Iran’s military said on Saturday that it targeted a Ukrainian anti-drone system depot in the United Arab Emirates that it said was being used to assist the United States.
“As the hideouts of American commanders and soldiers in Dubai were targeted… a Ukrainian anti-drone system depot that was located in Dubai to assist the US military … was targeted and destroyed,” Iran’s military central operational command Khatam Al-Anbiya said in a statement carried by state TV.
The strike came the same day that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an unexpected visit to the UAE. During the trip, he met with his Emirati counterpart, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to discuss regional security in the Middle East.
“For Ukraine, this is also a matter of principle: terror must not prevail anywhere in the world. Protection must be sufficient everywhere,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X following his meeting with the Emirati leader. He said they had discussed “the security situation in the Emirates, Iranian strikes, and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which directly affects the global oil market.”
The Emirates News Agency said the two leaders discussed “security developments in the region amid ongoing military escalation and their implications for regional and international peace and security, as well as their impact on international navigation and the global economy.”
Zelenskyy said last week that Kyiv is helping five countries in the Middle East and Gulf region — the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan — to counter drone attacks on their territory.
CBS/AP
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Pakistan to host talks in push to end war
Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt will attend talks in Islamabad aimed at ending the war between the United States and Iran and easing regional tensions, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and officials said Saturday.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty will arrive Sunday for a two-day visit to “hold in-depth discussions on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region,” according to a statement.
The visiting ministers will meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who said in a televised speech that Pakistan is pursuing “sincere and robust diplomatic efforts” to help stop the conflict through mediation.
Sharif said he had also held “extensive discussions” with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian. He said he expressed hope that “a viable path toward ending hostilities could be found collectively” during the conversation that lasted more than an hour. Sharif said Pezeshkian praised Pakistan’s efforts.
By The Associated Press
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Iran reports airstrike near Bushehr nuclear plant
An airstrike hit the grounds of Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant overnight, the country’s atomic energy agency reported.
The strike, which was the third in 10 days, did not cause any material damage and there were no casualties, according to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. It said no technical disruption was reported at the site.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was notified of the strike by Iran.
By The Associated Press
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Houthis say they launched a missile towards Israel, their first since Iran war started
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claimed a missile launch toward Israel early Saturday, their first since the war in the Middle East started. The Israeli military said it intercepted the projectile.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Houthis, claimed responsibility in a statement aired Saturday morning on the rebels’ Al-Masirah satellite television. He said the Houthis fired a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting what he described as “sensitive Israeli military sites” in southern Israel. The attack came hours after Saree signaled in a vague statement Friday that the rebels would join the war.
Sirens went off around Israel’s southern city of Beer Sheba and the area near Israel’s main nuclear research center as Iran and Hezbollah continued to fire on Israel overnight. Loud explosions also filled the air in Tel Aviv and Israel’s Fire and Rescue Service said it was responding to 11 different impact sites across the metro area.
Saturday’s assault calls into question whether the Houthis will again target commercial shipping traveling through the Red Sea corridor, as they did during the Israel-Hamas war, upending shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion worth of goods passed each year before the war. The rebels also fired drones at Israel.
The potential involvement of the Houthis in the war would also complicate the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the aircraft carrier that went to port in Crete on Monday for repairs. Sending the carrier back into the Red Sea could draw it into the same high tempo of attacks seen by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in 2024 and the USS Harry S. Truman in the 2025 American campaign against the Houthis.
The Houthis have held Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, since 2014, and so far had stayed out of the war as the rebels have had an uneasy ceasefire for years with Saudi Arabia, which launched a war against the group on behalf of Yemen’s exiled government in 2015.
By The Associated Press
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Strikes intensify across Middle East
Witnesses in eastern Tehran reported a partial power outage following airstrikes. In Israel, loud explosions filled the air in Tel Aviv and emergency crews responded to nearly a dozen impact sites.
An Associated Press journalist heard loud explosions in Tel Aviv, and Israel’s Fire and Rescue Service said it was responding to 11 different impact sites across the metro area.
Defense Minister Israel Katz had earlier vowed that Iran “will pay heavy, increasing prices for this war crime.”
Israel focused its attacks Friday on sites “in the heart of Tehran” where ballistic missiles and other weapons are produced, the military said. It said it also hit missile launchers and storage sites in Western Iran.
Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said it shot down missiles and drones targeting the capital, Riyadh. In Lebanon, the Health Ministry said two people were killed.
Kuwait said its Shuwaikh Port in Kuwait City and the Mubarak Al Kabeer Port to the north, which is under construction as part of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, sustained “material damage” in attacks. It appeared to be one of the first times a Chinese-affiliated project in the Gulf Arab states has come under assault in the war. China has continued to purchase Iranian crude.
By The Associated Press
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Israeli military launches new round of strikes on Tehran, IDF says
Israel’s military said it launched strikes on Iranian “regime targets” early Saturday morning local time, as an AFP journalist in the capital Tehran reported hearing around 10 intense blasts and seeing a plume of black smoke.
A brief military statement from the Israel Defense Forces said it was “currently striking Iranian terror regime targets across Tehran,” without elaborating.
By AFP
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Trump again voices disappointment with NATO allies: “They weren’t there for us”
President Trump on Friday continued in his criticism of NATO allies for being unwilling to provide military support to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“I think a tremendous mistake was when NATO just wasn’t there, they just weren’t there,” Mr. Trump said at a Saudi-backed investment conference in Miami.
Mr. Trump said that the U.S. spends “hundreds of billions of dollars a year” protecting NATO.
“And we would have always been there for them, but now, based on their actions, I guess we don’t have to be, do we?” Mr. Trump said. “…Why would we be there for them if they’re not there for us. They weren’t there for us.”
The president’s comments come after he previously called NATO a “paper tiger without the U.S.,” a term he reiterated Friday.
“I’ve always said NATO is a paper tiger,” Mr. Trump said. “And I always said, we help NATO, but they’ll never help us. And if the big one ever happened, and I don’t think it will, but if the big one ever happened, I guarantee you, they wouldn’t be there.”
When asked about the paper tiger remarks in an interview with “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan on Sunday, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte responded that he had taken part in “several conversations” with Mr. Trump last week.
“The good news is that, look, we had the U.S. for weeks planning for [Operation] Epic Fury and for reasons of security and safety, they could not share with European allies and allies around the world and partner countries what they were doing, because that would have jeopardized the effect of the first attack,” Rutte told CBS News, adding that it was “only logical that European countries needed a couple of weeks to come together.”
By Faris Tanyos
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Trump says Iran’s regime lied when it said it wasn’t negotiating peace deal with U.S.
President Trump accused Iran’s regime of lying when it said it wasn’t negotiating a peace deal with the U.S. earlier this week.
“Remember this, they lied about three days ago,” Mr. Trump said during an address at a Saudi-backed investment conference Friday night. “I said, ‘We’re negotiating with Israel.’ They (Iran) said, ‘We are not negotiating.’ They are being hit so hard, anybody would be negotiating. They are negotiating. They’re begging to make a deal…Turned out I was right. They were negotiating, which they admitted two days later.”
Mr. Trump was referring to statements made Wednesday by Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, on Iranian state television, in which he claimed there had been “no negotiation or dialogue” with the U.S.
Mr. Trump also claimed in his address on Friday that Tehran sought to “make up for their misstatement” by sending the U.S. 10 ships of oil.
The president’s remarks come after he had teased earlier this week that Iran had given the U.S. a “present.” Then, during a Cabinet meeting Thursday, Mr. Trump indicated that the present consisted of Iran allowing 10 oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. He didn’t say which country or countries the oil was from, or where it was heading.
The Trump administration on March 20 announced it was temporarily lifting sanctions on Iranian oil already at sea in an effort to ease gas prices that have spiked amid the war.
By Faris Tanyos
- https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-oil-tanker-israel/#post-update-fa864651 link copied
U.S. Tomahawks are being used in Iran war faster than stockpile is being refilled
The U.S. has so far used hundreds of Tomahawk cruise missiles against Iran, according to two sources familiar with the matter, several times more than the number procured for the military each year.
One of the sources said over 850 have been used so far in the conflict, a figure that is roughly nine times the number of Tomahawks the Pentagon buys on average each year.
By Eleanor Watson, Jennifer Jacobs, James LaPorta
- https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-oil-tanker-israel/#post-update-2b34e83d link copied
Trump refers to Strait of Hormuz as the “Strait of Trump”
Speaking at a Saudi-backed investment conference in Miami on Friday night, President Trump called the Strait of Hormuz the “Strait of Trump,” before correcting himself.
“We’re negotiating now, it would be great if they could do something, but they have to open up the Strait of Trump, I mean Hormuz,” Mr. Trump said, drawing a laugh from the audience. “Excuse me, I’m so sorry, such a terrible mistake. Fake news will say, ‘He accidentally said.’ There’s no accidents with me, not too many. If there were, we’d have a major story.”
The president then went on to reference his move to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America after taking office for his second term in January 2025.
By Faris Tanyos
- https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-oil-tanker-israel/#post-update-9ce21b12 link copied
10 Americans injured in Iranian attack on Saudi air base
Ten U.S. service members were injured in an attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, according to multiple U.S. officials.
The attack consisted of Iranian missiles and drones, sources told CBS News.
Two of the Americans were very seriously injured, sources said. Eight were seriously injured, which is a different category of injury under the military’s classification system.
More than 300 American service members have been wounded in action since the war began, most of whom have returned to duty, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson said Friday.
By James LaPorta, Eleanor Watson, Jennifer Jacobs
- https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-oil-tanker-israel/#post-update-e8102406 link copied
1 killed in Iranian missile strikes on Tel Aviv, Israeli officials say
Emergency responders said a man was killed in Israel on Friday after the Israeli military reported missiles fired from Iran, as air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem and explosions were heard from Jericho.
A man died in Tel Aviv following the latest attack, the Magen David Adom emergency service reported, adding that two people suffered mild injuries.
There was a heavy presence of emergency responders at the scene of a missile impact and a main road was partially cordoned off, images from Magen David Adom showed.
By AFP
- https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-oil-tanker-israel/#post-update-0a01b605 link copied
USS George H.W. Bush to deploy to CENTCOM’s region of responsibility, could potentially join Iran war operations, sources say
The USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier, the flagship of the Bush Carrier Strike Group, will deploy to U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility, the major combatant command overseeing American operations against Iran, multiple sources told CBS News.
The Bush Carrier Strike Group completed training earlier this month that certifies it is ready to deploy in major combat operations.
CENTCOM is responsible for U.S. military operations in the Middle East and portions of Asia.
While peace talks between Washington and Tehran are still in the early stages of negotiations, U.S. officials — who spoke to CBS News under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly — said the carrier could potentially join the ongoing operations against Iran.
The USS Ross, a guided missile destroyer assigned to the carrier strike group, deployed from Norfolk, Virginia, on Wednesday. The USS Donald Cook and USS Mason, also guided missile destroyers, both left Florida this week heading to join Operation Epic Fury. The Bush Carrier Strike Group last deployed in 2022, returning to its homeport in Norfolk in August 2023.
Two carrier strike groups, led by the USS Gerald R. Ford and the USS Abraham Lincoln, have been in the Middle East for the first few weeks of the operation against Iran, until the Ford suffered a fire aboard. Earlier this week, it arrived at a naval port in Souda Bay in Crete for repairs.
The Ford has been deployed since last June. The carrier strike group was directed to the Caribbean last November for operations against Venezuela before getting the order earlier this year to deploy to the Middle East.
By James LaPorta, Eleanor Watson, Jennifer Jacobs
- https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-oil-tanker-israel/#post-update-a3d0fa3b link copied
U.S. stock market closes out its worst week since start of the Iran war
U.S. stocks closed out their worst week since the Iran war began, and their fifth losing week in a row. The S&P 500 fell 1.6% and is now 8.7% below the all-time high it reached in January.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.7%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 2.1%. Crude oil prices rose again with no clear end in sight for the conflict.
Investors fear that the war will disrupt the Persian Gulf’s energy industry for a long time, setting off a punishing wave of global inflation by keeping large amounts of oil and natural gas out of global markets.
By The Associated Press
- https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-oil-tanker-israel/#post-update-56d890a4 link copied
Vance emerging as central player in diplomacy with Iran, sources say
Vice President JD Vance is emerging as a central player in the diplomacy with Iran, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
Vance is seen as a possible successor to President Trump in 2028, and so his sign-off on a possible deal would carry an implicit guarantee of maintaining the terms of a deal, rather than tearing it up.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, also remain involved, per two sources familiar.
On Friday, Witkoff said that the Iranians have had the 15-point U.S. peace proposal for “a bit of time,” and optimistically said that there could be meetings as soon as next week to discuss it. He mentioned that it included demands for zero stockpiling of nuclear material.
The last detailed diplomatic deal with Iran was the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, which was codified as an international accord at the United Nations, but not a U.S. treaty by Congress. Mr. Trump exited it in 2018.
- https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-oil-tanker-israel/#post-update-73feeae1 link copied
U.S. telling allies a diplomatic deal with Iran will take time, sources say
The White House is privately telling allies to expect that it will take time for the U.S. to reach a diplomatic deal with Iran, two sources familiar with the situation told CBS News, adding that the U.S. estimates that the kinetic activity of the war itself will last another two to four weeks.
Two sources close to Iranian officials said that Tehran expects the diplomacy to take time. The sources said the Iranian regime remains skeptical of U.S. interest in a potential deal, and that Tehran believes that high energy prices provide leverage in Iran’s favor.
Iran is also skeptical that the U.S. and Israel have the same shared timeline for an end to combat, the two sources said. Israel Defense Forces had previously said it expects combat to continue until around Passover, which is the first week of April.
- https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-oil-tanker-israel/#post-update-dfe578a2 link copied
Iran says it will help humanitarian aid pass through Strait of Hormuz
Tehran has agreed to “facilitate and expedite” humanitarian aid through the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said Friday.
Ali Bahreini said Tehran has accepted a request from the U.N. to let humanitarian aid and agricultural shipments move through the critical waterway, even as it endured strikes on its nuclear facilities.
The aid plan would be the first breakthrough at the shipping chokepoint after a month of war. While markets and governments have largely focused on blocked supplies of oil and natural gas, the restriction of fertilizer threatens farming and food security around the world.
“This measure reflects Iran’s continued commitment to supporting humanitarian efforts and ensuring that essential aid reaches those in need without delay,” Bahreini said in a post on X.
The U.N. earlier announced a task force to address the ripple effects the Iran war has had on aid delivery.
By The Associated Press
- https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-oil-tanker-israel/#post-update-a4e87b56 link copied
Why seizing Iran’s nuclear material would be “one of the riskiest” missions in U.S. history
President Trump has said eliminating Iran’s nuclear weapons capability is a key objective of his military campaign, but U.S. military experts say it would be one of the riskiest missions ever attempted.
Last June, the United States significantly degraded Iran’s nuclear infrastructure with massive “bunker buster” bombs designed to reach deeply buried material. But the International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran still maintains about 972 pounds of 60% enriched uranium, a short step away from the 90% enrichment levels needed for high-yield military warheads.
Without a diplomatic deal to remove or destroy the stockpile, a military operation involving boots on the ground deep in Iran is probably the only option.
U.S. Special Forces commandos have been training for decades to seize or neutralize Tehran’s uranium. They’ve practiced repeatedly at sites in the U.S. designed to replicate the tunnels that lead to the underground stockpile. These are the military’s most elite forces, who have undergone intensive physical and technical training for this type of mission.
But an operation to move or destroy the highly enriched uranium would be more difficult and complex than anything U.S. Special Operations forces have ever attempted, experts told CBS News.
“This would not only be one of the riskiest special operations missions in American history, but very possibly the largest,” said CBS News national security analyst Aaron MacLean, a Marine veteran who deployed to Afghanistan in 2009-10.
- https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-oil-tanker-israel/#post-update-01596908 link copied
U.S. using Tomahawk missiles in Iran at rate far outpacing procurement, sources say
The U.S. has used hundreds of Tomahawk cruise missiles against Iran, according to two sources familiar with the matter. One of the sources said over 850 have been used so far in the conflict, roughly nine times the number of Tomahawks the Pentagon buys each year on average.
The Washington Post was the first to report the figure.
Production of the Tomahawk cruise missile has struggled to keep pace with its growing use. In recent years, the United States has produced only a dozen to a few hundred missiles annually under standard procurement cycles, according to Defense Department budget documents, a rate far below what could be expended in even a short, high-intensity conflict.
Officials and defense analysts have long said that the constraint is not simply funding, but structural limits in a defense industrial base designed for predictable demand rather than rapid wartime expansion.
By Eleanor Watson, James LaPorta, Jennifer Jacobs
- https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-oil-tanker-israel/#post-update-e009d716 link copied
Iran’s foreign minister says Israel launched strikes in coordination with U.S.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that Israel had hit multiple sites in the country. Araghchi alleged that Israel claimed it acted in coordination with the U.S., which he said “contradicts (President Trump’s) extended deadline for diplomacy.”
U.S. and Israeli officials have not addressed Araghchi’s comment.
“Iran will exact a HEAVY price for Israeli crimes,” Araghchi wrote on X.
Araghchi said the strikes hit two of Iran’s largest steel factories, a power plant and civilian nuclear sites, among other infrastructure.
By Kerry Breen
- https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-oil-tanker-israel/#post-update-5187b40e link copied
Iran’s men’s soccer team honors victims of deadly elementary school strike
The Iranian men’s national soccer team on Friday honored the victims of a deadly missile strike on an elementary school in southern Iran.
During the national anthem ahead of a World Cup tune-up game against Nigeria, the players held small pink and purple school backpacks in front of them. Video of the ceremony also showed the players wearing black armbands in remembrance of those killed since the war began.
More than 165 people, most of them children, were killed when a Feb. 28 strike hit the school. Neither the U.S. nor Israel has accepted responsibility for the attack. The U.S. military has said it would never target civilians, but an early assessment showed the United States was “likely” responsible.
