• Latest on the war:Vice President JD Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine raised concerns about escalating the war as President Donald Trump weighed the possibility during a White House meeting, according to
• Apparent pause:The US military did not announce new strikes against Iran on Friday and Saturday after attacking the country for 13 straight nights. While it’s not clear if there was no US military action against Iran on those days, a Department of Defense not reported fresh attacks by Iran so far this weekend
• Red Sea tensions:Houthi rebels in Yemen said they targeted Saudi sites on the Red Sea coast Saturday, a day after Saudi Arabia launched strikes in retaliation for the rebel group’s attacks on commercial vessels
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A man pumps fuel into his vehicle at a petrol station in Tehran, Iran, on March 26.
Amid high inflation and widespread damage to infrastructure, the Iranian government has warned that heavily subsidized petrol prices may have to be raised
The issue is a sensitive one among Iranians. When the government raised fuel prices by 50% in 2019, nationwide protests quickly escalated into broader anti-government unrest and were met with a sweeping security crackdown and an internet blackout
A change in petrol prices or fuel rationing is certain, government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said Saturday
“We certainly need strategies for managing gasoline consumption because, as we know, the government is naturally subsidizing the price at which gasoline is sold to the public,” she said
“It is obvious that a solution must be adopted to balance gasoline consumption … As for whether it will involve changes to the quota or to the price, the public will certainly be informed carefully, transparently, clearly, and honestly,” Mohajerani added
Petrol is sold in Iran using three different tiers. Last December, the government introduced a higher rate for drivers consuming more than 160 litres (42 gallons) of petrol per month
The head of Iran’s state fuel distribution company also warned of shortages in an interview on Sunday
If high fuel consumption continues and production and import constraints persist due to damage to facilities, “it may become necessary to adopt measures aimed at maintaining the stability of fuel supply and the country’s energy security,” said Mohammad Sadegh Azimifar, CEO of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution company
Speaking to the news outlet Khabaronline, Azimifar acknowledged the sensitivity of the issue
“The government will not catch people by surprise over petrol. If any decision is to be made, it will first be announced publicly, public opinion will be taken into account, and only then will implementation take place.”
Iranian officials have sought to paint the apparent pause in strikes by the United States as a victory, with one military spokesman saying the US had failed to dent Iran’s defenses and was suffering from strategic fatigue
The comments to Iranian state media outlets on Sunday follow reports that US Vice President JD Vance and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine both raised concerns about escalating the war in Iran during a White House meeting on Friday
The US military has not announced any fresh strikes for the last two nights – after nearly two weeks of consecutive nights of attacks
Operations are “on a hold,” a Department of Defense
“We still cannot identify any clear strategy on the part of the Americans,” Iranian army spokesman Amir Akraminia told Iranian state television on Sunday, asserting the US was “experiencing strategic decision-making fatigue.”
The US had failed to force open the Strait of Hormuz or weaken or destroy Iran’s defensive capabilities, Akraminia said
He added, “We now see that the geography of the war has extended to Bab al-Mandeb,” in the Red Sea, where the Iranian-backed Houthis have declared a blockade of Saudi shipping
A spokesman for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebi, claimed that Israel was “trying to keep the United States in the region by provoking the US president and providing him with false information.”
Earlier this month Israel was reported to have provided the US with intelligence on an assassination plot against Trump
Mohebi claimed that in the last two weeks Iran had destroyed a wide variety of US military facilities across the region. The US has acknowledged damage to some facilities, such as in Jordan, where three US soldiers were killed in one strike
The deputy foreign ministers of Iran and Oman held talks in Tehran about the Strait of Hormuz over the past two days, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a Telegram post Sunday
He said the talks were constructive and that progress had been made
Therehas been no change of status of maritime traffic through Strait of Hormuz, he said, adding that the Omani delegation has left and technical and political consultations between the two sides are continuing
This weekend’s apparent pause in military action against Iran may hint at US moves to ease tensions in the Middle East, a former US national security adviser told CNN
“It looks like Washington is just trying to cool the temperature, trying to enforce some form of deescalation,” said Negah Angha, former senior adviser at the US State Department and National Security Council during the administration of former President Joe Biden
She added that Washington could be testing whether Tehran would reciprocate with similar restraint
“Everyone is trying to find these diplomatic off-ramps and this could be one of those scenarios,” she said
Some context:Earlier, a Department of Defenseirst time in almost two weeks
Both Vice President JD Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine raised concerns about escalating the war in Iran during a Friday meeting with President Donald Trump, according to a
Operations are “on a hold,” a Department of Defensection against Iran after striking the country for 13 straight nights
US Central Command did not announce new strikes against Iran on Friday and Saturday
It’s not clear if that was because there was no USmilitary action against Iran in the past two days. CNN has reached out to CENTCOM for comment
Regional US allies have not reported fresh Iranian attacks so far this weekend
More headlines on the conflict:
- Latest from Washington: Vice President JD Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine raised concerns about escalating the war as President Donald Trump weighed the possibility during a White House meeting on Friday, sources told CNN.
- Mixed messages: The US and Iran remain at odds – at least publicly – over the state of peace talks. Trump recently said Tehran was “getting more serious” about negotiationsand would “love to make a deal,” but an Iranian military official contradicted those statements on Saturday.
- Red Sea attacks: TheIran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they attacked Saudi installations on the Red Sea coast on Saturday, after Riyadh targeted the group in strikes a day earlier.
- US blockade:The US military said it boarded a tanker on Saturday as part of its blockade of Iranian ports, adding that the “naval blockade against Iran remains in full effect.”
- Fallen soldier identified: The Defense Department confirmed that Staff Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad was among the service members killed by Iranian strikes in Jordan earlier this month.
- Pain at the pump: US gas prices are back on the rise. The average price of a gallon of gas rose to $4.11 on Saturday, now up 11 cents in the past week. The volatility in the Red Sea is the latest factor impacting oil trade.
CNN’s Zachary Cohen, Jim Sciutto, Eyad Kourdi, Mitchell McCluskey, Tim Lister, Ibrahim Dahman, Farida Elsebai, Auzinea Bacon and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn contributed reporting
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on March 7, 2026.
Vice President JD Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine both raised concerns about escalating the war in Iran as President Donald Trump weighed the possibility during a White House meeting on Friday, a
On Friday night, the US appeared to pause its bombing campaign on Iran after nearly two weeks of consecutive nights of strikes. Operations are “on a hold,” a Department of Defense
On Friday, Caine specifically raised concerns about the US munitions stockpile and other potential negative implications, according to themilitary they could carry out the options available to him and be successful but then warned of the possible implications
The stockpile concern was one of many raised to Trump during the meeting, bothg about escalation were the primary reasons why the US paused consecutive nights of strikes or whether it will continue to do so
“Combined with successful sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy and 13 straight days of strikes against military targets in response to their repeated aggression, it would be wise for Iran to work towards a negotiated deal. Otherwise, they know what will happen,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement
“We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement
CNN has also reached out to Vance’s office for comment
Read the full story here
Katy Perry responded with strong words against the use of her hit 2010 song “Firework” by the White House in a video of declassified images of the US striking Iran
Katy Perry upset at White House post featuring her music
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CNN
Katy Perry upset at White House post featuring her music
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The Houthi rebels have long been backed by Iran and reviled by Saudi Arabia. A Shia group from the mountains of northern Yemen, they have controlled the capital Sanaa and much of Yemen’s Red Sea coast since 2014
Key background:The Saudis launched a large-scale offensive against the militant group in 2015, and the ensuing seven-year conflict provoked one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world
The Houthis survived, with help from Iran and other pro-Iranian groups such as Hezbollah, carrying out missile and drone strikes against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both of which supported the UN-recognized government the Houthis had driven from Sanaa
In 2023, the Houthis launched ballistic missiles against Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza, and disrupted Red Sea shipping. That provoked a campaign of US strikes early in 2025, which degraded their capabilities. But they remained defiant, almost relishing their resistance role
The Trump administration’s determination to eradicate the threat posed by the Houthis ended without success. Ultimately, analysts say, only a ground offensive involving tens of thousands of troops is likely to remove them
The latest developments:The Houthis have managed to survive a long blockade by Saudi Arabia and last week threatened a campaign against Saudi shipping in the Red Sea unless the blockade was lifted
They subsequently claimed to have hit two Saudi tankers. Saudi Arabia acknowledged at least one vessel was struck and retaliated with airstrikes against Hodeidah, the main port under Houthi control
Who are the Houthis and how are they making a power play in Iran-US war?
Oil topped $100 a barrel for the first time since May after Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted Saudi ships in the Red Sea, threatening to cut off another route for oil exports already choked by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. CNN’s Nic Robertson explains who the Iran-backed rebel group is
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CNN
Who are the Houthis and how are they making a power play in Iran-US war?
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Big picture:Analysts now see a real risk of uncontrolled retaliation as each side targets the other, with the growing importance of the Red Sea as a route to export Saudi oil an additional ingredient in a combustible situation
In firing ballistic missiles early Saturday at two Saudi provinces, the Houthis “ended their recent restraint in targeting strategic infrastructure inside Saudi Arabia,” says analyst Mohammed Basha. “It also indicates an expanded target set that now includes critical energy infrastructure and maritime assets.”
The southern city of Jizan, which the Houthis said they targeted in strikes on Saturday, is a significant container port for Saudi Arabia and a key site for energy products and electricity generation. Protecting Jizan from regular Houthi strikes has been a prime motivation for past diplomatic efforts
CNN’s Nic Robertson contributed to this report
TheIran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen say they carried out attacks against Saudi installations on the Red Sea coast on Saturday, after Riyadh targeted the group in strikes a day earlier — as a new front in the Middle East conflict threatens to escalate
In a statement, the Houthi armed forces said they had “carried out two qualitative military operations.”
“The first targeted sensitive Aramco-affiliated facilities in Jizan with dozens of ballistic missiles and drones. And the second operation targeted sensitive Aramco-affiliated facilities in Yanbu with a number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones,” the statement said
Video geolocated by CNN shows large fires burning in an industrial area of Jizan, which is home to a huge oil refinery
Saudi Arabia has not yet commented on the Houthi claims, but issued security alertsearly Saturday for residents of both Yanbu and Jizan
Referring to the Saudi strikes on Friday against the Yemeniport of Hodeidah, the Houthis said they confirmed “the Saudi enemy’s determination to continue its siege of our people and its violation of our country’s sovereignty.”
“This criminal enemy will find nothing from us but resistance and confrontation from our righteous position,” the Houthi statement added, reaffirming that the blockade against Saudi shipping declared earlier this week “remains in effect.”
“We will not hesitate to expand our operations and escalate our actions based on developments in the coming hours and days,” the statement added
