What to know about the Iran war today:The Iranian government insists it demanded only the country's "legitimate rights" and no "concessions" in its response to the latest U.S. peace proposal. PresidentTrump has rejected Iran's reply as "totally unacceptable." Oil prices surged again Monday after Mr. Trump's dismissal of the Iranian counter-proposal, with international benchmark Brent crude topping $100 a barrel in early trading.Mr. Trump is expected to encourage China to pressure Iran into making a deal to end the costly war during his visit to Beijing later this week, when he will meet with President Xi Jinping. Trump tells CBS News he intends to suspend gas tax "for a period of time"
President Trump told CBS News on Monday that he intends to suspend the federal gas tax "for a period of time" and phase it back in "when gas goes down."
The president made the comments in a phone interview with CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes. Suspending the excise taxes — 18.4 cents per gallon on gas and 24.4 cents a gallon on diesel — requires an act of Congress. Congress has so far shown little interest in suspending it to bring down costs. Gas prices have soared over 50% since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28, hitting a high of over $4.52 on Sunday,according to AAA.
"And yep, we're going to take off the gas tax for a period of time, and when gas goes down, we'll let it phase back in," the president said. "But no, we're gonna, we'll, we'll be doing something on that. Yes."
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Israeli soldiers to spend weeks in military prison for desecration of Christian statue
Israel's military said Monday that two soldiers will spend weeks in a military prison for the desecration of a Christian statue in southern Lebanon. One soldier, who stuck a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary, was sentenced to 21 days, and a soldier who filmed the incident was sentenced to 14 days, a military spokesperson said.
"The IDF views the incident with great severity and respects freedom of religion and worship, as well as holy sites and religious symbols of all religions and communities," Lt. Col. Ariella Mazor wrote on X.
The incident came days after images of an Israeli soldier wielding an ax against a fallen statue of Jesus on the cross in the southern village of Debelsparked widespread condemnation. Soldiers who participated in hacking down the crucifix also received time in military prison, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that they would face "harsh disciplinary action."
Israeli forces took control of the area as part of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, which began on March 2 when the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group fired missiles over the border two days after the U.S. and Israel launched their war with Iran. Israel then launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon and its forces have remained despite a weekslong truce.
Head of Saudi state energy giant ARAMCO says "energy supply shock" is worst ever seen, and could get worse
The CEO of Saudi Arabia's state-owned energy giant Saudi Aramco, Amin al-Nasser, issued a stark warning Monday that the ongoing gridlock of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz caused by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran had already brought the biggest shock global energy markets had ever seen, and that it could still get worse.
"The current energy supply shock is the largest the world has ever witnessed," al-Nassertold Saudi Arabia's state-run Al-Arabiyanetwork.
Already, he said an "unprecedented supply loss of about a billion barrels of oil" had been caused by the war, adding that "if the current disruptions continue at this rate, the market will lose around 100 million barrels for every week the Strait of Hormuz remains closed."
If that happens, al-Nasser said it could take global energy markets until 2027 to return to pre-war levels. Even if the strait were to reopen tomorrow, he said it would still take months for markets to stabilize.
Weeks to avert humanitarian crisis as Strait of Hormuz standoff keeps fertilizer from farmers, U.N. warns
Tens of millions of people could face hunger and starvation iffertilizer shipmentsare not soon allowed through the Strait of Hormuz, the head of a United Nations task force aimed at averting a humanitarian crisis told the French news agency AFP on Monday.
"We have a few weeks ahead of us to prevent what will likely be a massive humanitarian crisis," Jorge Moreira da Silva, executive director of the U.N. Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and leader of the task force, told AFP. "We may witness a crisis that will force 45 million more people into hunger and starvation."
Hopes for a lasting peace deal took a hit Sunday when President Trump dismissed Iran's response to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal as "totally unacceptable."
Iran has gridlocked shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which serves as the gateway to the Persian Gulf and its major oil and gas producers, by carrying out and threatening vessels in the region in response to the joint attacks launched on Feb. 28 by the U.S. and Israel.
India's leader asks people to work from home, save fuel however possible "in these difficult times"
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged people in the country to work from home and save fuel as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran keeps global energy prices high.
"We worked from home during the COVID-era … the difficult time demands we restart it now," Modi said during a public meeting Sunday in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, which is home to several global tech companies. "It will be in the nation's interest."
Modi linked his appeal directly to the Middle East crisis, and he strongly urged citizens to take a number of other austerity measures, "in these difficult times."
Modi urged people to use public transport or carpool wherever possible to save fuel, and to avoid foreign travel and foreign weddings for a year - even to halt buying gold for a year - all in the interest of public finances.
"Fuel has become so expensive all around the world, the prices have risen several folds. It's our duty to save the foreign exchange that's spent on buying petrol and diesel," Modi said.
"Patriotism is not only about the willingness to sacrifice one's life on the border. In these times, it is about living responsibly and fulfilling our duties to the nation in our daily lives," he said.
India imports about 90% of its crude oil, and the Iran war has sent national fuel expenses soaring as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed.
Iran says U.S.-Israeli strikes disrupted U.N. nuclear watchdog's monitoring of atomic sites
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman criticized the head of the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency on Monday and said it was the U.S.-Israeli strikes on his country that had ended the IAEA's monitoring of Iranian nuclear sites.
Asked during a daily briefing whether Iran would give the IAEA access again to the country's nuclear facilities, which were seriously damaged in attacks by the U.S. and Israel in June 2025, ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei accused the U.N. agency's director general, Rafael Grossi, of straying "from his technical and professional mandate."
"What can restore the Agency's standing is for the Director General and the IAEA to immediately condemn the illegal actions of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran's nuclear facilities, and to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in the future," said Baqaei. "Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities have always been under continuous IAEA inspection. What disrupted those inspections was the illegal attack by the United States and the Israeli regime. This is a reality the IAEA Director General must take into account."
Iran's oil minister acknowledges challenges amid U.S. blockade, but claims production not decreasing
Iran's oil minister acknowledged Monday that the industry has "faced challenges" due to the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and vessels, but he claimed countermeasures taken by the government meant "production did not decrease."
"Our production didn't decrease and the export process was favorable," insisted Mohsen Paknejad in an interview with Iranian state TV, while admitting there have been some hurdles.
"Naturally, in the days following the [U.S.] blockade, we have faced challenges, but measures were taken and this process continues," he said, offering no specifics.
Paknejad dismissed reports of damage to the country's oil wells as "unrealistic fantasies."
Oil prices surged again Monday after President Trump rejected Iran's response to the latest U.S. peace proposal as "totally unacceptable."
Several tankers, including one Iran says coordinated with its military, seen transiting Strait of Hormuz
Several liquid natural gas (LNG) tankers and other vessels have transited the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, following several days of no visible movements in or out of the strait.
The Qatari-flagged LNG tanker Al Kharaitiyat transited the strategic waterway on Saturday and was headed to Pakistan.
TheReuters news agency saidit was the first Qatari LNG tanker to make the trip since the war began, and that the fuel shipment was authorized by Iran in a bid to boost confidence with both Pakistan, which has acted as a mediator in the war, and Qatar.
The supertanker Agios Fanourios I transited the strait on Sunday, tracking data show, and Iran said it had done so in coordination with its authorities. Another tanker, the Kiara M, linked to Russia's shadow fleet, suddenly re-appeared off the Omani coast on Sunday, east of the strait, after last being seen on May 6 in the northern Persian Gulf.
The British navy's Marine Traffic Operations center previously said no tanker movements had been tracked between May 6 and 8, and that no cargo vessels were known to have transited between May 6 and 9.
Iran demands that all vessels wishing to transit the strait do so in coordination with its military, which is believed to be charging tolls for passage.
Iran "defeated, but that doesn't mean they're done," says Trump
President Trump says Iran's leaders "are defeated, but that doesn't mean they're done,"
In remarks aired Sunday on whether combat operations against Iran had been concluded, Mr. Trump said: "They are defeated, but that doesn't mean they're done."
"We could go in for two more weeks and do every single target," he said. "We have certain targets that we wanted, and we've done probably 70% of them, but we have other targets that we could conceivably hit."
The president dismissed Iran's terms for a potential peace deal as "totally unacceptable" Sunday. Iran said Monday that it asked only for the country's "legitimate rights" and no "concessions" in its response to the latest U.S. peace deal proposal.
Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continues in Lebanon despite ceasefire
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The parallel war between Iranian-backed Hezbollah and the Israeli military continued over the weekend and into Monday, with the Israel Defense Forces warning more civilians to evacuate their villages as the death toll in Lebanon nears 3,000.
The violence has continued despite a ceasefire signed by the Lebanese and Israeli governments a month ago, and the fighting has complicated efforts to broker a wider peace deal between Washington and Tehran.
On Monday, Hezbollah released video purportedly showing strikes on IDF troops in southern Lebanon, with the Iranian proxy group claiming multiple "confirmed hits."
IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee, in hislatest urgent warningto Lebanese civilians via social media, told residents of nine villages in the country's south to evacuate their homes.
An IDF strike on a village where residents received no such warning killed eight members of the same family on Saturday, according to theNew York Times. On Sunday, hundreds of mourners gathered in the coastal town of Sidon for the family's funerals. Among the dead were a couple, three of their children, and a 6-month-old grandchild, according to the Times.
IDF and Hezbollah strikes have intensified in recent days. More than 450 people in Lebanon have been killed since the ceasefire was signed. Israeli officials say 18 military personnel and two civilians have been killed since the fighting with Hezbollah escalated at the beginning of March.
Lebanon's Ministry of Public Healthsaysat least 2,846 people have been killed since March 2, while more than 1 million have been forced to flee their homes.
Netanyahu tells 60 Minutes Iran war "not over," as nuclear material still "has to be taken out"
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the joint war that his country and the U.S. launched on Feb. 28 has "accomplished a great deal, but it's not over."
Netanyahu told CBS News' Major Garrett for an interview with 60 Minutes that the war cannot be over, "because there's still nuclear material, enriched uranium that has to be taken out of Iran. There is still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled. There are still proxies that Iran supports. There are ballistic missiles that they still want to produce. Now, we've degraded a lot of it. But all that is still there, and there's work to be done."
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Iranian president says nation will "never bow down to the enemy"
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that the country would "never bow down to the enemy," vowing that the ruling Islamic Republic regime would "defend national interests with strength."
"If talk of dialogue or negotiation arises, it does not mean surrender or retreat," he said in a message posted onsocial mediabefore President Trump rejected Iran's response to the latest U.S. peace proposal.
"The goal is to uphold the rights of the Iranian nation and to defend national interests with resolute strength," said Pezeshkian.
Iran will "fight whenever it is necessary," vows foreign ministry spokesperson
Iran is prepared to fight "whenever it is necessary," foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baqaei said Monday, adding that the regime would also continue using diplomacy, "whenever we deem it appropriate."
Speaking to reporters Monday, Baqaei was asked how Iran would respond if the U.S. were to launch new attacks on the country.
'We fight whenever it is necessary," he said. "Whenever we deem it appropriate, we use diplomacy as a tool to secure the interests of the Iranian nation."
Baqaei said Iran had "shown that it is serious about pursuing its national interests and legitimate rights" through a "diplomatic processes in good faith and in a reasonable manner."
"The other side must prove itself," he said, referring to the U.S. "It must demonstrate that it is serious in this regard. So far, it has failed."
He earlier said Iran had not demanded any concessions in its response to the latest U.S. peace proposal: "The only thing we demanded was Iran's legitimate rights."
President Trump dismissed Iran's response on Sunday as "totally unacceptable."
Trump expected to discuss Iran with China during summit this week
President Trump is expected to fly to Beijing on Wednesday for a summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, and the Iran war is likely to be on the agenda.
Mr. Trump is under mounting pressure to end the war and calm energy markets that have sent fuel prices spiraling upward for two months. He's expected to try to lean on President Xi to use his influence with Tehran to get them to agree to a deal.
"I would expect the president to apply pressure" over Iran, a senior administration official speaking on condition of anonymity told reporters Sunday, according to the French news agency AFP. The official said Mr. Trump had raised concerns about China continuing to bolster state coffers in Iran and Russia by purchasing oil - despite U.S. sanctions - "multiple times" during phone calls with Xi, as well as China's sales of military-civilian dual-use goods.
"I expect that conversation to continue," the official said.
U.S. sanctions against Chinese entities over the Iran war are also likely to come up, the official told AFP.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei voiced hope on Monday that China would instead use the visit to reinforce Tehran's positions and push back on U.S. demands for a peace agreement.
"Our Chinese friends know very well how to use these opportunities to warn about the consequences of the U.S.' illegal and bullying actions on regional peace and security," he said, "as well as on economic stability and international security."
Iran says it didn't demand concessions in response to U.S. peace proposal
Iran's Foreign Ministry said Monday that it had called for an end to the war across the region and the release of frozen Iranian assets abroad in its response to the latest U.S. peace proposal, which President Trump rejected on Sunday.
"We did not demand any concessions. The only thing we demanded was Iran's legitimate rights," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Monday during a weekly briefing.
He said Tehran's demands included "an end to the war in the region," ending the U.S. naval blockade of Iran's ports and vessels, and the "release of assets belonging to the Iranian people, which have for years been unjustly trapped in foreign banks."
Mr. Trump on Sunday rejected the Iranian response as"totally unacceptable."
"Our focus is on what is urgent," Baqaei said Monday. "What is urgent is ending war in all its forms, including in Lebanon."
Baqaei said Iran was also keen to ensure "safe maritime navigation in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz" while "stopping illegal actions and acts of maritime interference by the United States against commercial vessels."
Iran's approach is, he said, "very responsible and reasonable … to prioritize immediate issues and focus on resolving them, rather than discussing topics whose history shows they have, on at least two occasions, led to war."
The Trump administration has insisted so far that any peace deal include a commitment by Iran to severely curb, if not completely end its nuclear enrichment program.
Oil prices jump after Trump calls Iran's reaction to U.S. peace proposal "totally unacceptable"
President Trump branding Iran's terms for ending the Middle East war"totally unacceptable"raised the possibility of renewed hostilities and sent oil prices sharply higher in early Asia trade on Monday.
President Trump said on hisTruth Socialplatform that he "just read the response from Iran's so-called 'Representatives.' I don't like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!"
Global energy markets were unnerved with no indication of an imminent agreement to end the war and to reopen the shipping lanes of the Strait of Hormuz. The price of a barrel of international benchmark Brent crude wasback above $100 a barrelearly Monday.
The benchmark U.S. oil contract West Texas Intermediate also surged back toward the $100 a barrel mark ahead of Monday morning trade, as investors braced for further disruptions to supplies through the strait, where Tehran has imposed a near total blockade.
U.S. Gulf allies say Iran launched new drone attacks amid shaky ceasefire
The shaky ceasefire inthe Iran warwas tested again Sunday when a drone caused a small fire on a ship off the coast of Qatar, while the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait reported drones entering their airspaces.
The UAE blamed Iran for the latest attack, the latest threat to a month-old ceasefire, which the Trump administration says is still in effect.
There were no casualties reported, and no one immediately claimed responsibility.
