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US awaits Iran’s response to proposal to end war, despite exchange of fire
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Sources: U.S. thinks Mojtaba Khamenei shaping Iran’s war strategy
2:05 • Source: CNN
Sources: U.S. thinks Mojtaba Khamenei shaping Iran’s war strategy
2:05
• War negotiations: The US is awaiting a response from Iran on a proposal to end the war. President Donald Trump previously said his administration was expecting to hear back from Tehran on Friday night.
• Strait of Hormuz: Trump said the US might resume a short-lived operation to guide ships through the waterway. He paused the operation earlier this week, citing progress in negotiations with Iran.
• Fresh sanctions: The US imposed sanctions on several Chinese companies over their links with Iran, just days before Trump is due to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
• Iran’s supreme leader: US intelligence assesses that Mojtaba Khamenei, who has remained out of public view, is still shaping war strategy, according to sources familiar with the matter.
An Iranian official has denied reports in state media that several people are missing after a US attack “on Iranian fishing and cargo vessels” in the Persian Gulf.
The alleged attack by “American warplanes” was reported by the semi-official Mehr news agency, and quoted the governor of Bandar-e-Lengeh, Fawad Moradzadeh.
Bandar-e-Lengeh is a small port near the Strait of Hormuz.
However, Moradzadeh was later quoted by another Iranian news agency, Tasnim, as saying that “what was published in some media outlets, citing me, is false and no official and confirmed statistics or information regarding the occurrence of such an attack has been announced by the relevant authorities.”
The US military said Friday it had fired on two Iranian-flagged oil tankers trying to bypass the ongoing US blockade, disabling them as they attempted to pull into an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman, US Central Command said Friday.
As the US awaits an Iranian response to its latest proposal for ending the conflict that began at the end of February, President Donald Trump’s statements continue to send several distinct messages.
The ideas he repeats include the key points that: the US is in charge; Iran’s military is devastated; and things are going to be over pretty soon. Trump also insists that Iran cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, and that freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz must be restored.
All this makes it very difficult to know how seriously to take his assurances about the proximity of a deal.
“They want to make a deal. We’ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal,” Trump said Wednesday at the White House.
Trump has said similar for more than a month, asserting when he declared a two-week ceasefire on April 8 that “almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two-week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated.”
That ceasefire has been extended, but there is no sign of further talks on a broad deal.
Six people are missing after what Iranian officials have described as a US attack “on Iranian fishing and cargo vessels” in the Persian Gulf.
The attacks by “American warplanes” took place near the Omani port of Khasab on the southern side of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the governor of Bandar-e-Lengeh, Fawad Moradzadeh.
Several people had been taken to hospital in Khasab, he said.
CNN is reaching out to the US military for comment on then claim.
The US military said Friday it had fired on two Iranian-flagged oil tankers trying to bypass the ongoing US blockade, disabling them as they attempted to pull into an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman, US Central Command said Friday.
“A US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet from USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) disabled both tankers after firing precision munitions into their smokestacks, preventing the non-compliant ships from entering Iran,” the release on X said. The tankers disabled were the M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda.
The disabling of the two tankers comes after the US carried out strikes on several Iranian targets on Thursday in what Central Command said was a response to Iran’s attacks on US warships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Very little shipping is passing through the Strait, according to marine tracking sites, as both Iran and the United States exercise blockades in or near the waterway.
A US fighter jet disabled two Iran-flagged tankers on Friday by firing precision munitions into their funnels, the US military said, demonstrating the precision of the weapons in use.
US Central Command, which oversees Middle East military operations, released a video it says shows the tankers – the Sea Star III and the Sevda – being hit by a US Navy F/A-18. It said the vessels were violating the US blockage of Iranian ports.
The video shows slight puffs of smoke from the Sea Star’s smokestack, and then darker smoke rising from it after the strike.
In the Sevda clip, a burst of flame is followed immediately by plumes of heavy black smoke.
No damage beyond the funnel, or smokestack, area is evident in the videos provided by CENTCOM. The release did not mention any casualties on the tankers.
Military experts told CNN the Navy fighter jet likely used 500-pound laser-guided bombs to hit the tankers with such precision.
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Farmer slams Trump Administration for high costs: ‘They don’t know what the heck they’re doing’
3:01 • Source: CNN
Farmer slams Trump Administration for high costs: ‘They don’t know what the heck they’re doing’
3:01
Global food prices rose in April for the third straight month, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday, as conflict in the Middle East fuelled global supply concerns and pushed up the cost of fertilizer.
Prices of cereals, vegetable oil and meat all rose, though dairy and sugar prices fell, according to the FAO’s Food Price Index, which tracks a basket of internationally traded food commodities.
“Despite the disruptions linked to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, global agrifood systems continue to show resilience,” said FAO Chief Economist Máximo Torero. “Cereal prices have increased only moderately so far, supported by relatively strong stocks and adequate supplies from previous seasons.”
The FAO said it expects global cereal supplies to hold up through 2026, with production forecast to rise 6% year-on-year, but that uncertainty remains over next year’s wheat output as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz drives up energy and fertilizer costs.
Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for 26 attacks on Friday, including two on targets inside Israel for the first time since the ceasefire agreement.
Friday’s attack on a military base in Israel marked the first time the Iranian-backed militant group has publicly claimed responsibility for a cross-border strike since a delicate truce between Israel and Lebanon was ordered in mid-April.
In a statement, Hezbollah said it targeted an Israeli military base south of the city of Nahariya on Friday afternoon.
Later on Friday, Hezbollah said it launched an attack on Israel’s Meron military base, which the Israeli military said was intercepted with some projectiles falling in open areas.
Israel also carried out attacks on Hezbollah in south Lebanon, according to the country’s military, which said it had targeted more than 85 sites linked to the group in the past 24 hours.
At least 16 people, including four children, were killed by Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon on Friday and 54 people were wounded, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported multiple airstrikes on Friday in the south, as well as two on Nabi Sheit area east of Bekaa Valley.
Both Israel and Hezbollah have accused each other of violating the extended ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon.
Eugenia Yosef contributed reporting.
People in developed economies are cutting savings to maintain living standards, as higher costs linked to the Iran war are pushed directly onto households, an economist told CNN.
“Companies are effectively passing costs on to the end consumer,” said Paul Donovan, global chief economist for UBS Wealth Management.
His comments come as consumer sentiment in the US continued to decline this month, hitting a record low as the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz rattles global energy markets.
Donavon also warned that rising energy prices could leave households with less room for other everyday spending, as customers will prioritize higher fuel and utility bills.
“The problem comes in when consumers are no longer willing to keep cutting back on their savings rate,” Donavon said. “Then you would start to see consumption have to be cut back in order to pay for the higher energy costs.”
US intelligence assesses that Iran’s new supreme leader is playing a critical role in shaping war strategy alongside senior Iranian officials, according to multiple sources familiar with the intelligence. The reports found that precise authority within a now-fractured regime remains unclear, but that Mojtaba Khamenei is likely helping direct how Iran is managing negotiations with the US to end the war.
Khamenei has not been seen in public since he sustained serious injuries during an attack that killed his father and several of the country’s top military leaders at the beginning of the war, leading to speculation about his health and role in the Iranian leadership structure.
The Trump administration continues to pursue a diplomatic end to the conflict as a ceasefire stretches past a month with US intelligence assessing that Iran continues to dig out from the US bombing campaign that left significant Iranian military capabilities intact and the ability to survive months more of an American blockade, according to sources.
Khamenei was announced as Iran’s new supreme leader replacing his father days after the strike that injured him, but to date the US intelligence community has not been able to visually confirm his whereabouts, the sources said.
Part of the uncertainty stems from Khamenei not using any electronics to communicate, instead only interacting with those who can visit him in-person or by sending messages via a courier, one of the sources added.
Days ahead of a critical summit between US President Donald Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, the United States has placed fresh sanctions on a number of Chinese firms for links with Iran.
On Friday, the State Department sanctioned four firms, three of which are based in China, linked with providing satellite imagery it said enabled Iranian strikes on US forces in the Middle East.
The US Treasury Department, meantime, designated 10 individuals and companies, including several based in China, on Friday, which it said helped Iran secure weapons and materials needed to build ballistic missiles and drones.
“Today’s action holds China-based entities accountable for their support to Iran,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement Friday. “The United States will take all necessary action at its disposal to target third-country entities and individuals aiding Iran’s military and defense industrial base.”
The US recently imposed sanctions on several Chinese refineries over purchases of Iranian crude oil, prompting a pushback from China which ordered companies not to comply.
Beijing’s foreign ministry has consistently said it opposes “unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law” and will safeguard the rights of Chinese citizens and companies.
Trump is expected to travel to China next week.
President Donald Trump told CNN on Friday that his administration was expecting to hear back from Iran later that evening about a US proposal aimed at ending the conflict.
Asked by CNN’s Kristen Holmes whether he had received a response from Iran, Trump said, “We’ll hear from them supposedly tonight.”
Pressed on whether he believed the Iranians were slow-rolling negotiations, Trump replied that he did not know. “We’ll find out soon enough,” he said.
As at Saturday morning Eastern time, it is not clear if Iran has responded to the US.
The president’s comments came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US expected a response from Iran on Friday regarding a proposal intended to end the war.
Other headlines to know:
CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo, Haley Britzky, Zachary Cohen, Billy Stockwell, Brad Lendon, Eleni Giokos, Tim Lister, Aida Karimi, Sana Noor Haq, Jennifer Hansler, Sarah Tamimi, Charbel Mallo, Eugenia Yosef, Kevin Liptak, Kaanita Iyer and Mustafa Qadri contributed to this report.
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