President Trump said negotiations with Iran were going well and that, as a sign of respect, Tehran would allow 20 oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, he also warned that negotiations with Iran can be unpredictable and implied military options remain on the table.
In a Financial Times interview, Trump said the United States could seize Iranian oil and said he was weighing sending U.S. forces to take control of the Kharg Island oil terminal. He told the paper that seizing Kharg was one of several options and that any occupation would require U.S. forces to remain on the island for a period of time.
This is coverage from day 31 of the wider Iran conflict.
Regime change
On the flight to Joint Base Andrews, Trump said the U.S.-Israeli campaign had produced what he described as a form of regime change, pointing to the deaths of senior Iranian officials during the fighting. He referenced the replacement of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei earlier in the month by his son Mojtaba Khamenei, whom observers say appears to represent continuity with Iran’s hardline theocracy and whose public absence has fuelled speculation about his condition.
Clash over religious access
Tensions between wartime restrictions and religious observance flared when Israeli police prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for private Palm Sunday prayers. Authorities cited wartime limits on gatherings in the Old City; public events in Israel are currently capped at 50 people amid the conflict and missile threat from Iran. The closure drew condemnation from world leaders and the pope, and U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee criticized Israel publicly. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later announced the cardinal would be granted full access.
Fighting continues: Tehran, Lebanon
Despite diplomatic rhetoric, fighting continued. The Israel Defense Forces said it struck weapons-production facilities in Tehran overnight, including a site linked to assembly of long-range anti-aircraft missiles, and maintained strikes in Lebanon, targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs. Iran-backed Hezbollah reported rocket attacks on bases in northern Israel and on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. The IDF said two soldiers were seriously wounded in southern Lebanon after anti-tank fire; a Connecticut-born Israeli soldier had been killed in a separate operation the previous day.
Market impact
Oil surged to about $116 per barrel on Monday following Trump’s comments about potentially seizing Iranian oil and Kharg Island, and Asian stock markets fell. Brent crude has risen more than 50 percent since early March, surpassing the previous monthly spike tied to Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer held talks with energy companies including BP and Shell, and Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to accelerate clean-energy measures to reduce exposure to global price shocks. Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced a temporary cut to fuel and diesel taxes for at least four months to ease consumer costs.
Attacks on infrastructure
Iran reported its national grid remained operational after strikes caused localized power cuts. State media said shrapnel from weekend strikes damaged electrical equipment in Tehran and nearby Karaj, producing hours-long blackouts. Israel said it struck roughly 140 targets in Iran over the weekend; Tehran says some strikes hit university facilities and has threatened retaliatory measures against U.S. campuses in the Middle East.
Russia’s state nuclear firm Rosatom warned that strikes have worsened conditions at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency said bombing had rendered Iran’s Khondab heavy-water production plant inoperable, confirming severe damage while noting the site contains no declared nuclear material.
Regional retaliation
Iran carried out strikes across the region over the weekend, hitting an industrial zone in southern Israel and sparking a fire at a chemical plant that raised concerns about leaks. Iranian forces also attacked a power and desalination plant in Kuwait, where officials said an Indian worker was killed; desalination facilities are vital to Gulf water supplies. After Israeli strikes damaged two of Iran’s largest steel plants, Tehran struck aluminum factories in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain; Emirates Global Aluminum reported significant damage at its Abu Dhabi facility.
Reporting contributions: Jerusalem, Van (Turkey), Dubai and Johannesburg.