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CNN Correspondent Jeremy Diamond Q&A with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu
02:46 • Source: CNN
CNN Correspondent Jeremy Diamond Q&A with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu
02:46
• Follow the latest updates on the war with Iran here.
• Wartime funding: US President Donald Trump confirmed he’s seeking $200 billion in new Pentagon funding, calling it a “small price to pay” to equip the military.
• Regional strikes: Middle Eastern countries continued intercepting strikes as dawn broke on Friday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country will heed Trump’s call not to repeat attacks on key Iranian energy sites like the South Pars field. Netanyahu said Israel acted alone in striking a facility linked to the gas field.
• Oil market: Tehran has retaliated with strikes on energy infrastructure in Israel and Qatar. The global oil benchmark hit $115 a barrel Thursday and then retreated as Asian markets opened higher on Friday.
• US aircraft hit: An F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at a US air base in the Middle East after it was struck by what is believed to have been Iranian fire, sources told CNN.
Countries in the Middle East say they are intercepting drones and missiles as dawn breaks on Friday morning. The attacks come as Muslims around the region celebrate the Eid al-Fitr festival, that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reported defenses were activated against “hostile targets” in the east of the capital Tehran. The Israeli military said it had begun a “wave of strikes” across the city.
Israel’s military said it had identified missiles launched from Iran and that its defense systems were working to intercept.
Saudi Arabia shot down at least a dozen drones over the eastern parts of the country and one over its northern Al-Jawf region in the past several hours, its defense ministry said.
The United Arab Emirates said its air defenses were responding to “incoming missile and drone threats from Iran.” Dubai’s government media office said booms heard in the emirate were the result of successful interceptions.
Bahrain’s interior ministry said a fire broke out at a warehouse due to falling shrapnel following an Iranian attack.
Sirens were activated over Kuwait as the army said it was intercepting missiles and drones.
Shares across Asia have opened mostly higher on Friday after a volatile day of trade in Wall Street overnight.
Brent crude was falling toward $105 a barrel.
The retreat comes after comments by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ease concerns over the war with Iran.
On Thursday, Trump told reporters he’s “not putting troops anywhere” in the Middle East region. Meanwhile, Netanyahu said he will heed Trump’s call to refrain from attacking any more Iranian energy sites.
Oil and gas prices have been volatile since the strikes on major energy infrastructure across the Middle East.
On Wednesday, Israel attacked Iran’s South Pars — the world’s largest natural gas reserve. It’s also the most significant Iranian energy site to come under attack in the war.
Iran hit back at a number of energy sites including the Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas facility in Qatar, the world’s largest.
Qatar says the attack could take five years to repair.
Trump tried to downplay the spike in oil prices during his meeting with Japan’s visiting prime minister, telling reporters: “Actually, I thought there was a chance it could be much worse. It’s not bad, and it’s going to be over with pretty soon.”
What might offer some relief to investors – an update from the International Energy Agency.
On Thursday, the IEA released details on emergency crude oil commitments by member nations.
The biggest contributor: The United States with 172 million oil barrels, followed by Japan with nearly 80 million barrels.
This story was updated to reflect latest development in oil prices
CNN’s Richard Quest takes a look at rising fuel costs due to the war with Iran that are trickling down to flyers dishing out more for their flights.
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Ticket prices for flyers are up because of the war with Iran
CNN’s Richard Quest takes a look at rising fuel costs due to the US-Israel war with Iran that are trickling down to flyers dishing out more for their flights.
01:04 • Source: CNN
Ticket prices for flyers are up because of the war with Iran
01:04
The United Nations’ International Maritime Organization said it will start negotiating with countries to establish a humanitarian corridor to free around 20,000 seafarers stranded in the Gulf by the US-Israel war with Iran.
Dominguez did not give a time frame for when talks would begin, nor whether Iran — which has a chokehold on the vital waterway — would cooperate.
The sailors stranded on boats inside the Persian Gulf face drone attacks, mental strain and are in need of basic provisions such as food and water. At least seven seafarers have been killed in attacks on vessels in the Gulf since the war began, the IMO reported.
“Everyone needs to be aware of the risks to innocent seafarers, how imperative the freedom of navigation is for the benefit of all in the world, especially for global food and energy security,” Dominguez said.
Former Iranian futsal player Shiva Amini discusses with CNN World Sport’s Don Riddell the plight of the current women’s national soccer team after being labeled “traitors” by Iranian state TV for failing to sing the national anthem before a game earlier this month.
Amini herself has been exiled from Iran since 2017 after being pictured playing soccer with men and not wearing a hijab.
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Former Iranian footballer discusses dangers facing women’s team
03:57
The price of oil surged, with Brent crude reaching $115 a barrel, after Israeli strikes triggered Iranian retaliation targeting key energy infrastructure. The spike has translated into significantly higher prices for US gasoline.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about the strikes today, which marks a significant escalation in the war.
Here’s a rundown:
- Netanyahu said that US President Donald Trump has told Israel to refrain from attacking Iran’s important energy sites — and that he would comply. His remarks come as Israel continues its campaign against Iranian-linked targets.
- Israel “acted alone” in a striking a processing facility linked to Iran’s South Pars gas field, part of the world’s largest natural gas reserve, Netanyahu confirmed.
- Trump said earlier the US “knew nothing” about Israel’s strike on South Pars gas field, the world’s largest natural gas reserve. Sources contradict that.
- The United Kingdom has sent a small deployment of military planners to work with the US to come up with a “viable collective plan” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a UK defense official said. Meanwhile, US partners have underscored that they are unlikely to send military assets into the strait amid active hostilities.
- A senior Iranian security source warned the Strait of Hormuz “will not return to pre-war conditions,” reiterating earlier threats that the waterway would be disrupted if Iran came under attack. If attacks extended beyond energy sites to broader critical infrastructure, Iran would respond under the doctrine of an “eye for an eye,” the source added.
- The White House has ruled out imposing a ban on crude oil and gas exports as a possible way to ease surging energy prices triggered by its war with Iran, an administration official told CNN. The administration is still considering other options.
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Tal Shalev, Jeremy Diamond, Dana Karni, Nina Giraldo, Alessandra Freitas, Frederik Pleitgen, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Adam Cancryn and Chris Isidore contributed reporting to this post.
More than 2,200 people across the Middle East have been killed since the war in Iran began nearly three weeks ago, according to a CNN tally.
Here’s what else you should know:
- Arab and Islamic foreign ministers called on Iran to immediately cease its attacks and affirmed the right of states to defend themselves under international law. European leaders urged the US and Iran to engage in ceasefire negotiations amid growing concern about the long-term, global impact of the war in the Middle East.
- Rockets fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel wounded at least three people, according to Israeli emergency services and local authorities. An Iranian missile also struck a major oil refinery in northern Israel, sources confirmed to CNN.
- A US F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at a US air base in the Middle East after it was struck by what is believed to be Iranian fire, according to sources. US Central Command said the pilot is in stable condition.
- The Trump administration bypassed Congress to expedite the sale of billions of dollars of weapons to the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, as Gulf allies shoulder Iran’s retaliation for US and Israeli military action.
- Trump is best placed to end the war in the Middle East, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told CNN in an exclusive interview.
- Iran executed three men, including a 19-year-old wrestler, in the first public hangings tied to January protests.
- Iran accused the United Arab Emirates of expelling 2,500 Iranian students and shutting down Iranian schools across the country.
CNN’s Alessandra Freitas, Tal Shalev, Jeremy Diamond, Nick Paton Walsh, Natalie Wright, Brice Laine, Niamh Kennedy, Manu Raju, Jennifer Hansler, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Sebastian Shukla, Charlotte Reck, Haley Britzky and Oren Liebermann contributed to this report.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested Thursday that there is growing instability in Tehran, pointing to uncertainty surrounding the country’s new supreme leader and who is effectively running the country.
Responding to a question from CNN about whether Israel’s campaign could backfire by empowering hardliners, and whether it would ultimately lead to regime change, Netanyahu acknowledged uncertainty about the situation inside Iran, saying he’s “not sure who is running” the country.
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Netanyahu holds first in-person news conference since start of Iran war
CNN’s Jeremy Diamond pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem on Thursday about his regime change goal and whether assassinating Iranian leaders is achieving that. He also pressed him on Israel’s attacks on Iranian oil and natural gas facilities, and whether he could say no to US President Donald Trump.
01:52 • Source: CNN
Netanyahu holds first in-person news conference since start of Iran war
01:52
The prime minister said Israel is beginning to see “cracks” within Iran’s leadership, describing them as part of a broader effort to weaken the country’s regime. “We’re trying to propagate them as fast as we can,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister suggested Iran’s leaders may struggle to consolidate power following recent developments. “The hold Khamenei had won’t be transferred to anyone else,” he said.
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Iranian state media release video from courtroom after three people executed over January protests
00:45 • Source: CNN
Iranian state media release video from courtroom after three people executed over January protests
00:45
Iran has executed three men in connection with nationwide protests that took place in January, including a 19-year-old wrestler whose conviction had drawn criticism from the United States.
The news agency Mizan, which is affiliated with Iran’s judiciary, said the three were hanged in the city of Qom on Thursday, “in the presence of a group of people,” after what it described as the completion of legal procedures that included the presence of defense lawyers and approval by Iran’s Supreme Court.
Human rights groups have described their trials as a sham, with Amnesty International and others saying forced confessions were used in fast-tracked proceedings that “bore no resemblance to a meaningful trial.”
The hangings are thought to be the first carried out in public by Iran in relation to the protests. US President Donald Trump has previously warned Iran against such executions.
Mizan said the three men – whom it identified as Mehdi Qasemi, Saleh Mohammadi and Saeed Davoudi – were convicted for their role in the killing of two law enforcement officers at a police station.
According to Mizan, they used “cold weapons” – including swords, knives and machetes – in separate assaults on the two officers.
The United States has previously said it was “deeply concerned” by reports about the conviction of Mohammadi, who it described as a wrestling champion. In a post on X in January, the US called on Tehran “to halt the execution of Saleh Mohammadi and all individuals who have been sentenced to death for seeking to attain their fundamental rights.”
The Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO on Thursday condemned the hangings of the three men, describing their deaths as “extrajudicial killings” and warning that more executions could take place in the coming weeks. Its director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, said the men were sentenced following “grossly unfair trials” that were based on confessions extracted under “torture and coercion” and said the executions were meant to create terror and suppress dissent.
Nationwide anti-government protests erupted across Iran in early January 2026, fueled by economic turmoil, a collapsing currency and broader anger at clerical rule, in what activists described as the most significant unrest in decades.
Iranian authorities responded with a brutal crackdown that rights groups say killed thousands of Iranians. The killings prompted a warning from US President Donald Trump, who in January warned Iran against executions and told the protesters that “help is on its way.”
The United Kingdom has sent a small deployment of military planners to work with the United States amid efforts to come up with a “viable collective plan” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a UK defense official said Thursday.
The planners will join British personnel who are already working with US Central Command, the official said.
The move comes as the US and allies have scrambled to respond to Iran’s de-facto closure of the key waterway after the US and Israel launched military operations against Iran. US President Donald Trump has publicly called for allied support to reopen the strait but also argued that the US does not need such assistance.
Meanwhile, partners have underscored that they are unlikely to send military assets into the strait amid active hostilities.
“We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the strait,” the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan said in a joint statement Thursday.
CNN’s Jake Tapper breaks down Trump’s mixed messaging this week on how much he feels the US needs its allies:
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Trump sends mixed messages to US allies about Iran
CNN’s Jake Tapper breaks down President Donald Trump’s mixed messaging this week on how much he feels the US needs its allies as the war with Iran continues.
02:50 • Source: CNN
Trump sends mixed messages to US allies about Iran
02:50
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel and the United States are “protecting the entire world” through their military campaign against Iran.
Netanyahu said Israeli strikes have significantly degraded Iran’s military capabilities, claiming Tehran can no longer enrich uranium or manufacture ballistic missiles. However, he did not provide evidence to substaniate the claims.
“We are winning and Iran is being decimated,” he said.
Netanyahu said the campaign aims to eliminate Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile threats “before they are buried deep underground and become immune from aerial attack,” and to “create the conditions for the Iranian people to take their fate into their own hands.”
He emphasized close coordination with US President Donald Trump, saying the two “see eye to eye,” while dismissing claims that Israel had drawn the US into the conflict as “fake news.”
“Does anyone really think someone can tell President Trump what to do? Come on,” Netanyahu said.
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Israel’s Netanyahu claims Israel ‘acted alone’ in South Pars gas field
00:20 • Source: CNN
Israel’s Netanyahu claims Israel ‘acted alone’ in South Pars gas field
00:20
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that US President Donald Trump has told Israel to refrain from attacking Iran’s important energy sites — and that he would comply.
Netanyahu confirmed that Israel “acted alone” in striking a processing facility linked to Iran’s South Pars gas field, part of the world’s largest natural gas reserve.
“President Trump asked us to hold off on future attacks, and we are,” Netanyahu said at a press conference Thursday night.
The strike was a major escalation in the war. Israel had previously attacked a number of Iranian fuel depots, but it had until now refrained from striking Iran’s oil and natural gas production facilities.
In response, Iran attacked major energy facilities in neighboring Persian Gulf states, causing what Qatar said was “extensive damage” at its main energy hub, Ras Laffan. Energy prices spiked soon after, and analysts have warned that the damage at Ras Laffan could trigger a lasting global gas shortage.
Netanyahu’s remarks come as Israel continues its campaign against Iranian-linked targets, with concerns growing over escalation and potential disruptions to global energy markets.
Gas prices could remain high for at least several weeks, Kevin Book of the National Petroleum Council said, and that’s an estimate “on the short side.”
It comes as Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, surged to $115 a barrel this morning after Israeli strikes triggered Iranian retaliation targeting key energy infrastructure. The spike in oil prices has translated into significantly higher prices for US gasoline.
If there is a resolution to the conflict, there could be some relief to prices pretty quickly because “a lot of traders are pricing a lot of risk into the market,” Book said. But, “I don’t think we’re coming all the way back down to where we were any time soon.”
When it comes to oil and gas prices, Book said there are some key things that he is monitoring. First, if Iran begins to target cargo in the Red Sea, that would raise “the risk horizon higher,” he said. A lot of oil from Saudi Arabia is being diverted to the Red Sea as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked by Iran, Book said.
A ceasefire or diplomatic solution would be something that would lower that risk, he said, “Because an organic end to this war militarily doesn’t look like it’s coming anytime soon.”
The Trump administration has been considering a host of options to try to ease surging energy prices triggered by its war with Iran. Book said it could soon look to “bigger interventions” as prices continue to rise.
“That’s sort of the history of how governments respond to this. Nobody who’s in elected office wants to sit there and do nothing — even if sometimes doing nothing and letting the market sort it out is a better solution,” he said.
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At least 3 wounded in rocket strike on northern Israel
00:25 • Source: CNN
At least 3 wounded in rocket strike on northern Israel
00:25
At least three people were wounded after rockets were fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel on Thursday, with one projectile directly hitting a building in the border city of Kiryat Shmona, according to Israeli emergency services and local authorities.
Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA), the country’s national emergency service, said its teams treated two people with abdominal injuries — a man in his 60s in a serious condition and a woman in her 70s in moderate condition. Fire and rescue officials said a third person was also wounded.
The authorities said about nine rockets were launched toward Kiryat Shmona. Israel’s air defense systems intercepted four projectiles, while others struck open areas. One rocket hit a public building, damaging the ceiling of a reinforced safe room. The building was closed at the time.
The latest strike comes as civilian casualties continue to mount. Over the past 24 hours, MDA said it treated eight people wounded in missile attacks, including one fatality. Since the start of Israel’s “Operation Roaring Lion,” the service says it has treated 276 civilians, including 15 killed.
The figures cover civilians inside Israel and exclude areas under the Palestinian Authority.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where cross-border exchanges of fire have intensified in recent days. Lebanon said today that more than 1,000 people in the country had been killed since the start of the conflict.
The head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society has said more than 18,000 civilians have been injured and tens of thousands of civilian structures damaged in ongoing US-Israeli strikes across the country, according to Iranian state media.
Pirhossein Kolivand described the nearly three weeks of strikes as “terrorist attacks” by enemy forces, as cited by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
Kolivand said 204 children have been killed, including 53 under the age of five.
He called the casualty figures “shocking,” adding that more than 3,200 women were injured and that two pregnant women were among those killed.
Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said on March 10 that at least 1,332 Iranian civilians had been killed in the war with Israel and the United States. Authorities have not updated the official death toll since then.
Kolivand also said more than 70,000 civilian structures — including homes, commercial centers, schools and key infrastructure — were damaged between March 3 and March 17.
He said the strikes also hit essential services, with 251 medical centers, 498 schools and 17 Red Crescent facilities reported damaged.
CNN cannot independently verify the Iranian casualty and damage figures.
President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met in the Oval Office today as the US nears three weeks of war with Iran.
The meeting had several notable moments, including a Pearl Harbor joke and Trump’s claim he expected a sharper spike in oil prices even as gas prices reach their highest since 2022.
Here are are other important moments from the meeting:
- Trump confirmed he may seek $200 billion in new Pentagon funding, calling it a “small price to pay” for the war while noting the request would include more than what’s needed for the conflict.
- Trump said he’s pleased with the level of backing he’s seen from Japan on US military actions in Iran, “unlike NATO.” The comment follows a joint statement issued by several European nations and Japan earlier today saying they are ready to “ensure safe passage” through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for about 20% of the world’s oil supply.
- The president said he instructed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop attacks on Iranian oil and gas facilities. Trump said earlier the US “knew nothing” about an Israeli strike on Iranian facilities in the South Pars gas field, the world’s largest natural gas reserve. Sources contradict that.
- Trump said he’s not deploying US troops when asked about Reuters’ reporting that his administration is considering deploying thousands of US troops to the Middle East, but also added, “If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you, but I’m not putting troops.”
Also today, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth held a news briefing in the Pentagon while Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified as part of a House committee hearing.
Here’s what they said about the war:
- For the first time since the war began, Hegseth opened the briefing by acknowledging the sacrifices of American service members killed in action so far.
- Trump could not tolerate Iran getting “closer and closer” to obtaining nuclear capabilities, Hegseth said — despite Gabbard’s prepared remarks yesterday that US airstrikes “obliterated” such capabilities last year and Iran had made no clear efforts to restart its program. Today, Gabbard asserted Iran “maintained the intention to rebuild its infrastructure and nuclear enrichment capability” following last year’s US strikes against its nuclear facilities.
- Hegseth said the US remains “on plan” for its objectives in its war with Iran, while still not providing a definitive timeline of when that war would come to an end.
- Gabbard said objectives laid out by the US and Israeli governments for the war against Iran “are different,” adding that she does not know if Israel would support making a deal with Iran.
Watch analysis of the Pentagon briefing:
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Hegseth backs claim that Trump “knew nothing” about gas field attack, declines to say when war will end
03:50 • Source: CNN
Hegseth backs claim that Trump “knew nothing” about gas field attack, declines to say when war will end
03:50
CNN’s Adam Cancryn, Donald Judd, Lauren Kent, Kevin Liptak, Jeremy Diamond, Kit Maher, Zachary Cohen, Michael Williams and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.
Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker told CNN he doesn’t expect his panel to have an oversight hearing on the Iran war with senior Trump officials until after the two-week Easter recess, which is scheduled to begin at the end of next week.
“I have said that we will have a public hearing,” Wicker said.
But he added: “I think it’s probably not going to fit” before the end of next week, contending there would get a “better response” after the break.
Democrats have hammered House and Senate Republicans for not holding any public hearings with Cabinet officials over the war. Asked by CNN about the lack of hearings, Speaker Mike Johnson pointed instead this week to classified briefings for members of Congress, saying the public can learn from their elected representatives.
But some Republicans say that public hearings will have to happen especially around the White House’s reported upcoming funding request for upwards of $200 billion to pay for the war effort.
“At some point, I think they have to come — particularly if they’re going to ask for a large supplemental,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, a member of the committee.
The Trump administration bypassed Congress to expedite the sale of billions of dollars of weapons to the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait as Gulf allies shoulder Iran’s retaliation for US and Israeli military action.
The administration also expedited the multimillion-dollar sale of “aircraft and munitions support” to Jordan.
According to notices published Thursday by the State Department, “the Secretary of State has determined and provided detailed justification that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale” of the defense articles to the three nations, “thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements.”
The emergency determinations were made for nearly $8.4 billion in combined arms sales to the UAE, including Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs), F-16 munitions, Fixed Site- Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat Systems and long-range discrimination radar integrated with Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).
They were also made for the sale of $8 billion in Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor Radars to Kuwait and $70.5 million in “aircraft and munitions support” to Jordan, which includes “spare parts, consumables and accessories, and repair and return support.”
Iran has targeted US facilities in each of those countries, as well as in other countries throughout the Gulf. It is unclear how quickly the defense systems and support equipment will be delivered to each country.
In early March, the administration made an emergency determination to bypass Congress and immediately sell 12,000 bombs to Israel.
A senior Iranian security source has said Tehran’s confrontation with the United States and Israel has expanded into a regional war, warning of broader retaliation that could target critical infrastructure across the Middle East.
“As promised, we entered a regional war in response to (US President Donald) Trump and (Israeli Prime minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s attack,” the source told CNN in a direct written message on Thursday.
The source added that Tehran “is confident that Trump was and is aware of the details of the attacks on energy infrastructure and the assassinations of Iranian political officials.”
He warned that the Strait of Hormuz “will not return to pre-war conditions,” reiterating earlier threats that the strategic waterway would be disrupted if Iran came under attack.
The remarks come as tensions escalate following what the source described as a new phase of the conflict. He accused the US and Israel of launching an “infrastructure war” against Iran without “proper calculation.”
“We had said that hitting Iran’s energy infrastructure would be equivalent to destroying the energy infrastructure of the entire region, not just Israel. Everyone witnessed this moment and felt it in the markets,” the source said.
He cautioned that if attacks extended beyond energy sites to broader critical infrastructure, Iran would respond under the doctrine of an “eye for an eye.”
“If attacks go beyond energy and target vital infrastructure, the region’s vital infrastructure will be rendered inoperable,” the source said, adding that Iran has both the “capability and the will” to carry out such actions.
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