CENTCOM Says US Reaches 'Milestone' In Naval Blockade
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that the United States reached a "significant milestone" on April 29 in its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
US forces had redirected the "42nd commercial vessel attempting to violate the blockade," CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said in a statement on X. "Right now there are 41 tankers with 69 million barrels of oil that the Iranian regime can't sell."
"That's an estimated $6 billion-plus from which Iran's leadership cannot financially benefit," Cooper added, calling the blockade -- effect since April 13 -- "highly effective."
Russia-Iran Axis Expanding The Battlefield, US Senator Thom Tillis Warns
WASHINGTON -- Senator Thom Tillis, a co-chair of the Senate NATO Observer Group and a self-described “plain-spoken” Republican from North Carolina, has a message for those who view the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East as isolated events: they are not.
In an era of shifting global alliances, Tillis argues that the world is facing a resurrected "Axis of Evil" led by Russia and Iran -- a partnership he believes has moved far beyond a marriage of convenience into a deep, strategic military alliance.
In an interview with RFE/RL on April 29, Tillis, one of the few internal critics in the Republican party, discussed the high stakes of the current geopolitical landscape, the "unacceptable" prospect of a frozen conflict in Ukraine, and why he believes Vladimir Putin is personally responsible for American deaths.
To read the full interview, click here.
We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.
Iranian Soccer Federation Officials Turn Back After Arrival In Canada Over 'Insult'
Iranian soccer federation officials -- including a former member of Iran's hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) -- said they turned around at Toronto's main airport this week and left the country, claiming "inappropriate behavior" by Canadian immigration officials.
The officials were scheduled to participate in a pre-World Cup FIFA gathering in Vancouver.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said he could not discuss specific cases due to privacy laws but added that IRGC members were not welcome in Canada.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported that the delegation, including federation President Taj and Secretary-General Hedayat Mombeni, refused to enter the country upon arrival despite holding valid visas because of what they said was "inappropriate behavior of immigration officials."
The delegation was to travel on to Vancouver for the April 30 FIFA Congress that was scheduled to bring together representatives of all 211 member associations ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which is being co-hosted by Canada, the United States, and Mexico.
The Iranian soccer federation said the delegation returned to Turkey on the first available flight because of the behavior of immigration officials at the airport "and the insult to one of the most honorable organs of the Iranian nation's armed forces," likely referring to the IRGC.
Iran's participation in the World Cup -- the most-watched sporting event in the world -- has been in question since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war with Iran. The Iranian team's first three matches are scheduled for US sites.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week said Iran's soccer players would be welcome, but he warned that the US would bar entry to members of the Iranian delegation it judged to have ties to the IRGC, which is designated a terrorist organization by the US several other governments.
With reporting by Reuters and AFP
Trump Tells Netanyahu To Avoid Full Resumption Of War In Lebanon
US President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel should only conduct "surgically" designed military strikes in Lebanon and avoid a full resumption of the war, the president told Axios in an interview.
"I told Netanyahu he has got to do it more surgically. Not knock down buildings. He can't do it. It is too terrible and makes Israel look bad," Trump told Axios in the interview published on April 29.
Trump said that he likes the leadership of Lebanon and believes the troubled Middle East nation can "make a comeback."
"Iran ruined Lebanon. Their proxy [Hezbollah] ruined Lebanon. When Iran gets taken out, Hezbollah automatically gets taken out," Trump added.
A militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the US, while the European Union has blacklisted its armed wing but not its political branch.
Israel has launched devastating air strikes against believed Hezbollah sites, mainly in southern Lebanon and near Beirut. Hezbollah has fired rockets and drones into Israel.
The fighting is ongoing despite a cease-fire agreed to by the Lebanese and Israeli leaders and announced by Trump.
Trump Tells Putin To Focus On Ending Ukraine War After Russian President Offers Help On Iran's Uranium
US President Donald Trump said Russian leader Vladimir Putin made proposals regarding Iran's enriched uranium -- a key issue to any US-Iran peace deal -- but Trump said he would prefer that the Kremlin focus first on ending its war with Ukraine.
"I said, 'I'd much rather have you be involved with ending the war with Ukraine,'" Trump related, summing up details from his April 29 phone call with Putin.
"I said, before you help me, I want to end your war," Trump added.
Trump did not provide the details of Putin's offer to help on Iran, but the Kremlin has previously proposed that it could take enriched uranium out of Iran to be safeguarded, s suggestion most Western leaders have flatly rejected.
Trump has demanded that Tehran give up its nuclear program and hand over any already enriched uranium -- which could be used in an atomic bomb -- as prerequisites to a peace deal.
Iran has insisted its nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes and has rejected handing over its enriched uranium supply, which reportedly is buried in sites deep underground.
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said Putin in the call "highlighted the inevitable and extremely damaging consequences not only for Iran and its neighbors, but also for the entire international community, should the US and Israel resort to military action once again.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump reiterated his demand that Tehran give up any plans for a nuclear bomb.
“At this point, there will never be a deal unless Iran says it will never have nuclear weapons.”
Trump also repeated his assertion that the US military has destroyed Iran’s navy and air force and devastated the country’s economy.
The US president said he was not ready to send negotiators to meet the Iranian team in Islamabad for Pakistani-mediated peace talks because, in his words, flying 18 hours to be handed a piece of paper with demands you know you will not accept makes no sense.
“We are doing talks telephonically,” he added. He went on to say that Iran “has gone a long way” already negotiating a peace deal with the US, but “we’ll have to see if they will go far enough.”
Trump made the comments during a ceremony honoring the Artemis II astronauts, who earlier in the month circled the moon and returned safely to Earth.
Hegseth Defends War With Iran, Lashes Out At Democrats
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the war with Iran in a fiery speech to Congress on April 29, insisting it had "not turned into a quagmire."
He also took a swipe at Democratic lawmakers for criticizing the conflict.
"You call it a swamp, when you're giving propaganda fodder to our enemies? You should be ashamed of yourself for saying that," he said at a hearing of the US House Armed Services Committee.
Hegseth went on to describe congressional Democrats as "irresponsible, ineffective, and defeatist."
On April 22, the US Senate rejected Democrats' attempt to limit President Donald Trump's authority to use military force against Iran by a vote of 51 to 46.
It was the fifth such effort by Democrats since the start of the eight-week war. The proposal, led by Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, would have called for the withdrawal of American forces from the conflict with Iran without congressional authorization.
Democrats say they will continue to push for a vote on war powers.
Pentagon: US War With Iran Has Cost $25 Billion
A senior US Defense Department official announced that the cost of the country's war with Iran has reached $25 billion so far, a figure that is considered the first official estimate of the costs of the conflict.
Jules W Hurst, who currently serves as the Pentagon's chief financial officer, told lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee on April 29 that the bulk of the spending was on ammunition.
The United States began its attacks on Iran on February 28, and the two sides are currently maintaining a fragile cease-fire.
'Endgame' For Iran's Oil Sector? How US Blockade May Impact Tehran's Calculus
Weeks of US and Israeli air strikes, sanctions, and restrictions have hit Iran hard, but it could be geology that eventually pushes it into making concessions in its ongoing standoff with the United States.
As the US naval blockade of Iran approaches the end of its third week, data from shipping and industry monitors suggests that tankers have been unable to move Iranian crude through the Strait of Hormuz toward markets in Asia.
This means that Iranian oil storage capacity is rapidly filling, and the clock is ticking before Iran will need to cease production. That's the problem for Tehran, analysts say, as it tries to withstand US pressure to negotiate a peace agreement.
To read the full news analysis by Ray Furlong, Hannah Kaviani, and RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.
Iran's Conservative Camp Split Over US Talks To End War
- By Kian Sharifi
In the face of a devastating US-Israeli bombing campaign, Iran's rival political factions cast aside their differences to unite behind the country's decision-makers.
But since a cease-fire with the United States came into force on April 8, deep-rooted political differences in the Islamic republic have spilled out into the open.
The public rupture over Tehran's attempts to negotiate an end to the two-month-long war has pitted Iran's small but vocal faction of ultraconservatives against more moderate conservatives, a confrontation that has been laid bare in the halls of parliament and on the front pages of state-affiliated media.
To read the full report, click here.