Day 58 of Middle East conflict - Iranian FM lands in Russia

Our live coverage has moved • Get the latest updates on the war with Iran here. Read more All Catch Up 33 Posts Link Copied! Key developments • Hectic diplomacy: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has landed in Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin and discuss the status of negotiations , according to state media, after visiting with key mediators in Pakistan and Oman this weekend. Araghchi said earlier that it’s not clear if Washington is “truly serious about diplomacy” after US President Donald Trump scrapped plans for his envoys to visit Pakistan. • Peace talks stalled: Trump said talks will continue by phone after Iran declined to meet directly with American negotiators amid ongoing tensions over the Strait of Hormuz . “If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us,” Trump said Sunday and reiterated that the war would “come to an end very soon .” • In Lebanon: The fragile ceasefire is under growing pressure as Israel and Hezbollah have increased attacks on each other despite a US-brokered extension to the ceasefire that was supposed to halt fighting for three more weeks. Read more Link Copied! Iranian FM arrives in Russia for Putin meeting By Lex Harvey Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia, ahead of a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. Telegram/s_a_araghchi Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia, ahead of a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday, Araghchi said on his official Telegram account. Araghchi said he will also meet with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia on Monday. IRNA Read more Link Copied! Video shows Iranian military parading Shahed drones in city square By Lex Harvey and Manveena Suri Fars/X A video posted by Iranian state media Fars shows the military parading Shahed 136 drones in the city of Tabriz’s Saat Square. Shahed drones, sometimes called “suicide drones” or “kamikaze drones” are Iranian-designed unmanned aerial vehicles which fly toward specified targets and explode on impact, according to the Open Source Munitions Portal. Nightly pro-government rallies have been reported in Tehran and other Iranian cities after the war began. Last week, an apparent ballistic missile was paraded at one of the rallies. Read more Link Copied! Iran foreign minister and Putin to focus on "advancing joint programs," ambassador says By Lex Harvey Vladimir Putin and Abbas Araghchi. Getty Images Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin will focus on “coordinating interactions and advancing joint programs at the regional and international levels,” Tehran’s ambassador to Mocow, Kazem Jalali, said in a post on X Sunday. Araghchi is set to meet Putin Monday during an overseas tour, which also included meetings with key mediators in Pakistan and Oman Sunday, amid stalled talks with the US. Russia has remained a critical diplomatic ally for Iran throughout the war with the US. It has offered to take custody of Iran’s enriched uranium, proposing to store or reprocess it on Russian soil. Iran and Russia present “a united front in the campaign of the world’s totalitarian forces against independent and justice-seeking countries, as well as countries that seek a world free from unilateralism and Western domination,” Jalali added. Read more Link Copied! US says 38 ships turned around by its blockade of Iranian ports By Brad Lendon US troops boarding the M/T Tifani on Aril 21, 2026. @DeptofWar/X The two-week-old US blockade has prevented 38 ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports, US Central Command said on social media early Monday. “American forces have directed 38 ships to turn around, or return to port,” the post said. Central Command did not give locations of where ships were stopped and turned back. Last week US forces boarded tankers linked to Iran’s shadow fleet far out into the Indian Ocean, making good on a pledge to track Iran-linked vessels anywhere in the world. Read more Link Copied! Iran steps up regional diplomacy as Hormuz stays choked and US talks stall: Catch up on the latest By Mohammed Tawfeeq In this photo released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, meets with Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq in Muscat, Oman, on Sunday, April 26, 2026. Iranian Foreign Ministry/AP Iran has intensified its diplomatic efforts as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, with Washington-Tehran talks aimed at ending the war now stalled. In the US, President Donald Trump on Sunday defended his decision to cancel his envoys’ planned trip to Pakistan, saying Iranian authorities “can call” if they want to talk — and reiterating his claim that the war could “come to an end very soon,” adding the US is “going to be very victorious.” What we know now: Araghchi leaves Pakistan: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has left Islamabad, and his departure marks the end of two visits to Pakistan in 48 hours, as hopes for further face-to-face US-Iranian talks dissipated. Earlier in the day, Araghchi made a short stop in Muscat, Oman, before returning to Islamabad for another meeting. Next stop Russia: After visits involving mediators in Pakistan and Oman, Araghchi is heading to Russia, underscoring Moscow’s role as a major diplomatic backer of Tehran during the conflict. Shipping through Hormuz remains near-standstill: Vessel traffic is still severely reduced compared to pre-war levels, according to MarineTraffic data, with only a handful of crossings reported Sunday. (CNN notes shipping data can be affected by signal gaps and spoofing.) Trump-Starmer call focuses on reopening sea lanes: Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed the “urgent need” to get shipping moving again through Hormuz, Downing Street said, as thousands of seafarers remain trapped and oil prices have surged. Starmer warned of major global economic and cost-of-living impacts. Trump’s blockade claim disputed by experts: Trump also claimed Iran’s oil lines could “explode” within three days because exports are blocked; experts told CNN this is overstated, saying producers typically cut output as storage fills rather than face inevitable explosions. Tehran doubles down on Hormuz pressure: Iran’s Deputy Parliament Speaker Ali Nikzad warned the Strait of Hormuz will “under no circumstances” return to its previous state, Mehr reported, citing an order from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Nikzad said the war showed that choking Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab could affect “25% of the world’s economy.” Israel-Lebanon fragile ceasefire: The Israeli military ordered evacuations for seven villages in southern Lebanon on Sunday, saying Hezbollah ceasefire violations require action against “terror infrastructure.” The fragile ceasefire in Lebanon is under growing pressure as Israel and Hezbollah have increased attacks on each other. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said that since March 2, at least 2,509 people have been killed and 7,755 wounded. Read more Link Copied! Israeli military says it will examine allegations of looting in southern Lebanon By Max Saltman Israeli soldiers walk amid destroyed buildings in Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, on Sunday. Shir Torem/Reuters The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday that it will “examine” allegations of looting by soldiers in southern Lebanon, after a report in the newspaper Haaretz quoted anonymous soldiers who said that theft from Lebanese civilian homes and businesses is widespread. “The IDF views any harm to civilian property and any acts of looting with utmost severity and strictly prohibits them,” the Israeli military said in a statement. “Any allegation or suspicion of such conduct is thoroughly examined and dealt with in full accordance with the law.” The statement added that when provided sufficient evidence, “disciplinary and criminal measures are taken, including prosecution,” and that the Military Police Corps “conducts inspections at the northern border crossing during exit from the combat zone.” The looting report in Haaretz follows several other misconduct complaints against Israeli soldiers in Lebanon. The military said yesterday that it is investigating a video that appears to show earth-moving equipment damaging solar panels and a vehicle outside the southern Lebanese village of Debel. “The actions seen in the video are not aligned with the values of the IDF and the behavior expected from its soldiers,” the IDF said in a statement to CNN on Saturday. “The incident is under review. Steps will be taken in accordance with the findings.” Debel is the same village where an Israeli soldier was photographed vandalizing a statue of Jesus Christ earlier this month, causing international outrage. The town is currently occupied by Israeli troops, who residents say restrict most travel in and out of the community. The IDF and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later apologized for the statue’s desecration, jailing two of the soldiers involved for 30 days and removing them from combat duty. Read more Link Copied! Trump's claim that Iran's oil lines will explode within 3 days are overstated, experts say By Auzinea Bacon This March 12, 2017 file photos shows the Kharg Island oil terminal, which sits about 25 km off Iran’s coast in the Persian Gulf. Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images/File President Donald Trump claimed that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports has prevented Iran from effectively distributing its oil and will result in explosions within three days because of mechanical and geological issues. “When you have, you know, lines of vast amounts of oil pouring through your system, if for any reason that line is closed because you can’t continue to put it into containers or ships — which has happened to them; they have no ships because of the blockade — what happens is that line explodes from within, both mechanically and in the earth,” Trump said in a phone interview on Fox News’ “The Sunday Briefing.” “It’s something that happens where it just explodes,” Trump added. “And they say they only have about three days left before that happens. And when it explodes, you can never … rebuild it the way it was.” Experts told CNN that Trump is vastly overstating what happens when an oil-producing state can no longer export. Iran’s oil facilities are unlikely to explode, since many have been shut down, the experts explained. “When tankers are no longer available to load oil production, the onshore inventories begin to fill up. As onshore facilities fill up, one begins to cut production. That has already happened in Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE. There have been no explosions in this regard, as yet,” Andy Lipow, of Lipow Oil Associates, told CNN over email. But shutting wells could result in decreased oil production in the future once facilities are reopened, he noted. Ultimately, “the oil will not explode,” Lipow said. Read more Link Copied! Iranian foreign minister has left Pakistan for Russia, state media reports By Max Saltman and Sophia Saifi Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has left Islamabad and is en route to Russia, according to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB. Araghchi will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday and “consult with Russian officials on the latest status of the negotiations, the ceasefire and surrounding developments,” the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency reported earlier, citing Iran’s ambassador to Moscow. The foreign minister’s departure marks the end of two visits to Pakistan in 48 hours, as hopes for further face-to-face US-Iranian talks dissipated. Soon after IRIB published its report, Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam thanked Pakistani leadership for “their tireless efforts” to end the war. This post has been updated with additional details. Read more Link Copied! Israeli soldier killed in southern Lebanon, military says, bringing toll to 16 By Oren Liebermann An Israeli soldier was killed in southern Lebanon on Sunday, according to the Israeli military. It marks the 16th soldier killed in southern Lebanon since the war with Iran began eight weeks ago. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) identified the soldier as Sgt. Idan Fooks, 19. The IDF said four other soldiers were severely wounded in the incident. Earlier Sunday, Hezbollah announced it had launched on attack on Israeli forces