Iran has named a former Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander as the new secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council this week.
The new official, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, reached the rank of brigadier general in the IRGC before serving as the secretary of Iran's Expediency Council.
The previous security secretary, Ali Larijani, was killed in an airstrike last week.
President Donald Trump has touted the speed with which the U.S. and Israel eliminated Iran's top leadership at the outset of the conflict.
He gloated to a crowd in Memphis, Tennessee, on Tuesday that Iran's top leaders have been eliminated many times over in the weeks since the conflict began.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., avoided answering whether he believed Iranian officials over President Donald Trump regarding war discussions on CNN Monday.
Van Hollen was asked by CNN's Kasie Hunt on her show "The Arena with Kasie Hunt" who he believed was telling the truth regarding discussions to potentially end the war. Trump reported that the U.S. had "very good" talks with Tehran, but Iranian state media has denied any talks took place.
Though Van Hollen did not specify whether he believed Iranian officials, he emphasized that Trump was "lying" about the war.
"Unfortunately, we‘ve learned that Donald Trump has been lying to the American people from the start, and he keeps lying to the American people, which is never a good thing," Van Hollen said.
"Do you believe the Iranian officials over the President of the United States?" Hunt asked.
"I believe that based on all the information that’s available and Donald Trump‘s track record of lying, including the big lie, which he told the American people during the campaign that he was going to keep us out of war in the Middle East. He broke that promise," Van Hollen answered.
He added, "He lied about Iran being an imminent threat to the United States. And Israel launched this strike. He lied about Iran being on the precipice of getting a nuclear weapon. We know that because Tulsi Gabbard just testified just the opposite recently. And yes, we know he‘s lying when he says that the Iranians are talking with us, and they‘re about to give Donald Trump everything he wants. Yes, that‘s a lie."
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Lindsay Kornick.
President Donald Trump called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday to discuss the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Modi announced the phone call on Tuesday, saying the conversation was a "useful exchange."
"Received a call from President Trump and had a useful exchange of views on the situation in West Asia. India supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest. Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world. We agreed to stay in touch regarding efforts towards peace and stability," Modi wrote in a statement on X.
{{#rendered}}Jet fuel prices in the U.S. have more than doubled in a matter of weeks as Middle East tensions squeeze supply, fueling concerns airlines could run short of fuel.
Prices jumped from about $2.17 to $4.56 per gallon by March 20, according to the Argus U.S. Jet Fuel Index. Airlines warn inventories could run dry within weeks, raising the risk of higher airfares and flight cancellations.
Airlines are already adjusting. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the carrier will cut about 5% of planned flights in the near term as fuel costs surge, warning that if prices persist, jet fuel alone could add $11 billion in annual expenses.
United is also scaling back service during off-peak periods and suspending select international routes, including Israel and Dubai due to the conflict.
Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said on Tuesday the jet fuel spike added as much as $400 million in costs in March alone. Speaking at a J.P. Morgan industrial conference, Bastian said airlines are moving quickly to pass those higher costs on through fare increases.
American Airlines expects fuel to add about $400 million to its first-quarter expenses.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Amanda Macias.
U.S. Central Command released footage of warplanes taking off from the USS Abraham Lincoln as it continues to support Operation Epic Fury on Tuesday.
"Flight operations aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) continue in support of Operation Epic Fury, as the aircraft carrier sails across regional seas," CENTCOM wrote in a statement on X.
The video showed an F-35 and other warplanes catapulting off the flight deck to carry out missions in the region.
{{#rendered}}The Philippines has declared a national state of emergency in response to the war in Iran and subsequent energy shortages.
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced the move on Tuesday, saying the conflict poses an "imminent danger" to the nation's energy supplies.
“The declaration of a state of national energy emergency will enable the government ... to implement responsive and coordinated measures under existing laws to address the risks posed by disruptions in the global energy supply and the domestic economy,” he said.
The Philippines is one of many Asian countries that rely heavily on oil flowing out of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has closed amid the war with the U.S. and Israel.
The Lebanese Foreign Ministry ordered Tehran’s diplomatic representative in Lebanon to leave by this coming Sunday, declaring him persona non grata this week.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Denise Rahme said the Iranian Embassy will still have a charge d’affaires to head its diplomatic mission.
The removal of the ambassador marks a culmination in the deterioration of Lebanon’s relations with Iran since the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2024.
Iran's neighbors in the region have grown increasingly frustrated with Tehran, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE condemning Iranian missile strikes on their territory.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose country has been fighting a war against Russia for years, said Kyiv has evidence that Moscow is supplying Iran with intelligence support.
"Report by Chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Oleh Ivashchenko. First, we have irrefutable evidence that the Russians continue to provide intelligence to the Iranian regime. Russia is using its own signals intelligence and electronic intelligence capabilities, as well as part of the data obtained through cooperation with partners in the Middle East," part of a post on Zelenskyy's X account notes.
"There is growing evidence that the Russians continue to provide the Iranian regime with intelligence support," Zelenskyy noted in part of another post. "By helping the Iranian regime stay afloat and strike more accurately, Russia is effectively prolonging the war. There must be a response."
The U.S. and Israel launched a war against Iran over three weeks ago.
U.S. President Donald Trump indicated in a Monday Truth Social post that the U.S. is engaging in talks with Iran.
In the all-caps post on Monday morning, the president said in the last two days the U.S. and Iran had engaged in discussions about resolving the conflict. He said the talks would continue during the week and that he had ordered the War Department to postpone attacks against energy infrastructure in Iran for five days.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Alex Nitzberg.
{{#rendered}}President Donald Trump paused planned U.S. strikes on Iran just hours before a self-imposed deadline, citing diplomatic progress that Tehran immediately denied, even as U.S. forces continued moving into position, a split signal that leaves the next move uncertain.
The move creates a narrow five-day window in which the administration is signaling diplomacy while preserving the ability to strike, raising the stakes for whether talks materialize — or whether the delay simply sets up near-term escalation.
The abrupt shift follows a weekend ultimatum in which Trump warned the U.S. would begin targeting Iran’s power infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened, a threat that rattled global oil markets and heightened fears of imminent conflict.
By Monday morning, however, Trump announced a five-day delay, pointing to what he described as "very good and productive conversations" tied to a broader framework that includes nuclear disarmament.
The rapid shift from ultimatum to pause in less than 48 hours resets the clock, opening a five-day window for diplomacy before a decision on strikes.
The whiplash shift, from strike threat to sudden pause, adds to the uncertainty around Washington’s next move.
The White House and the Iranian mission to the United Nations could not immediately be reached for comment.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Morgan Phillips.
Direct talks between the United States and Iran on ending the war could be held in Islamabad as early as this week, Reuters reported on Monday.
Until now, intermediaries including Egypt, Pakistan, and several Gulf states have been relaying messages between Washington and Tehran, a European official also told the news agency.
Iranian media also reported that President Masoud Pezeshkian and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed the war’s impact on regional and global security during a phone call earlier Monday.
President Donald Trump teased that talks began as early as Sunday night.
Live Coverage begins here