U.S.-Iran Latest: Talks pause for slain ayatollah’s funeral after Trump and mediators claim progress

Courtesy of CBS News, July 2 2026

By Frank Andrews, CBS

What to know about the Iran war today:

• Qatari and Pakistani mediators said Thursday that the next meetings between Iranian and U.S. negotiators would be scheduled “at the earliest possible time” after funeral commemorations for Iran’s former supreme leader. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, and his funeral is to last from July 4 until July 9. 
• Iran’s chief negotiator on Thursday called on Iranians to avenge Khamenei’s killing by coming out en masse for funeral events. Iranian authorities say 15-20 million people and representatives from 30 countries are expected to attend.
• President Trump said there was progress Wednesday as U.S. and Iranian officials resumed talks in Doha, via mediators, telling reporters “the denuclearization of Iran is moving along well.” Qatar and Pakistan also say “positive progress was made.”

Trump: “This is not a war per se. This is the de-nuking of Iran.”

While discussing the war with Iran in a CNBC interview, President Trump said: “This is not a war per se. This is the de-nuking of Iran.”

At various points in recent months, Mr. Trump has avoided calling the conflict with Iran a war.

He also said of negotiations with Iran, “I think they’ve agreed to just about everything we need.”

Mr. Trump’s stated goal is to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, but the exact contours of any potential nuclear deal with Iran remain unclear. The president has said he wants Iran to give up all uranium enrichment, an ask that Iran has rejected in the past.

By Joe Walsh

Iranian foreign minister implies U.S. Central Command has destabilized region

The foreign minister of Iran criticized the presence of the U.S. military in the region and said it was contributing to the region being left secure. 

“Has CENTCOM brought security or insecurity to our region? The answer is clear,” Abbas Araghchi said on X.

Araghchi was replying to a post from CENTCOM on X discussing the meeting between Central Command Adm. Brad Cooper and senior military officials from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

The headline on the U.S. post read: “CENTCOM Leads Regional Security Dialogue with 12 Nations in Bahrain.”

The comments from Araghchi, one of the top Iranian officials involved in the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran about a lasting peace, could be a sign talks are not going particularly well.

“Peace in our region can only be sustained when comprehensive and inclusive, with no outside interference,” Araghchi added in his post.

By Mark Osborne

Ship traffic in Strait of Hormuz continues to rebound, experts say

At least 258 ships transited the waterway last week, a period that included Iranian strikes on two commercial vessels, according to marine data and analysis company Lloyd’s List Intelligence. That’s up from 138 ships the previous week.

Traffic has slowed since the Iranian strikes on June 25 and 27. At least 80 more ships passed the strait Monday through Wednesday, according to Lloyd’s and shipping data and analysis firm Windward.

Iran’s attacks “seem to have been forgotten,” Richard Meade, editor-in-chief at Lloyd’s, said Thursday during a webinar.

Ship traffic in the strait remains far below levels seen before the war, when about 130 vessels passed through daily.

By The Associated Press

U.S. should respect Iran’s authority over Strait of Hormuz, Iranian deputy parliament speaker says

The debate over who will control the Strait of Hormuz continues to prove problematic for a lasting peace between the U.S. and Iran.

Hamidreza Haji-Babai, deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament, said on Thursday the U.S. should respect Iran’s authority over the strait.

“The Strait of Hormuz is a symbol of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s authority, and the United States must respect the power of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in this strategic waterway,” he told the state-owned IRNA news agency.

The U.S. has repeatedly said Iran will not be allowed to charge tolls for use of the waterway. Oman, a U.S. ally, which has said it does not support tolls, began negotiations Monday with Iran about how to handle administration of the strait going forward. 

By Mark Osborne

Down-blending Iran’s highly enriched uranium “is not a solution,” analyst says

Down-blending Iran’s stockpile of about 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium, which will make it not as close to weapons grade, is listed as a “minimum methodology” to resolve that point in the Iran-U.S. memorandum of understanding.

The highly enriched uranium is believed by U.N. experts to be buried under Iran’s Isfahan nuclear facility, which was severely damaged by U.S. strikes in June 2025, so reaching it will be complicated.

If and when experts do access the material, Spencer Faragasso, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Science and International Security, said “down-blending the enriched material is not a solution” for the U.S. 

“While it sets Iran back, it still leaves them with a long-term path to a nuclear weapons capability,” he said. “Removing all the enriched uranium from Iran is the only concrete solution, but we haven’t observed Iran concede on that point.”

Faragasso said there has been “no indication that major concessions by Iran on its nuclear program have been made.”

“We have observed continued construction at Pickaxe Mountain, a nuclear facility under construction just south of Natanz, which indicates that Iran is progressing with its plans at the facility and possibly using this future facility as a hedge in case negotiations collapse,” he said. “The facility is likely large enough to hold an enrichment plant.”

Meanwhile, he added, “Iran is currently earning potentially billions of dollars from its oil exports from waivers granted by the U.S. government.” 

“It desperately needs this money to fill its coffers, rebuild its war industry, finance state security forces, and provide a much-needed cash injection to its proxy forces,” he said.

By Frank Andrews, CBS News

U.S.-Iran negotiations have “not wrestled with the toughest issues,” analysts say

President Trump struck a positive note Wednesday when describing indirect talks between U.S. and Iranian officials in Qatar, saying “the denuclearization of Iran is moving along well.”  

The memorandum of understand that both sides signed on June 17 committed them “to negotiating and achieving” a final deal to formally end the war in a “maximum 60 days.” 

This week was only the second time the two sides have engaged since then, and Robert Murrett, an academic and former U.S. Navy Vice-Admiral, says “the negotiations that have taken place thus far have not wrestled with the toughest issues.” 

Iran’s hope to retain some nuclear enrichment capacity, and how its existing stockpile of highly-enriched uranium can be removed or destroyed, are among the major points still to be resolved. 

They “have been largely deferred to later discussions,” Murrett said. 

It’s hard to know how much progress the talks have really made, Mark Cancian, a retired Colonel in the U.S. Marines Corps who’s now a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CBS News on Thursday, “since little information has been provided, and there are frequent public disagreements between the United States and Iran over what was agreed to.” 

“There seems to be a potential deal on the table regarding nuclear materials,” he added. “Iran would agree not to enrich for 10 to 15 years, would downblend its existing enriched uranium, and allow some sort of international monitoring. Maybe the nuclear materials would be held by a third country.” 

“The Strait of Hormuz is a more difficult issue because the two sides have irreconcilable demands,” said Cancian, referring to the strategic waterway that Iran largely closed-off right after the war started.

“Iran demands recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait, jointly with Oman, while the United States demands complete freedom of navigation, which has been the practice to date.”

By Frank Andrews, CBS

Top Syrian diplomat reassures Lebanese leaders on Beirut visit

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani told Lebanon’s president Thursday that Damascus had no intention of intervening militarily in his country, according to the Lebanese presidency, despite U.S. pressure to do so.

Shaibani is visiting Beirut, where he met parliament speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group based in Lebanon, for the first time.

President Trump has repeatedly said Syria could “take care of Hezbollah,” criticizing Israel’s strategy in its war with the U.S.-designated terrorist group.

But Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has said he has no intention of intervening.

Shaibani told Aoun he wanted “to clear up the confusion sparked by reports of a potential Syrian military intervention in Lebanon,” adding that Syria has “no intention of undertaking such a move,” according to the statement from the Lebanese presidency.

After meeting Berri, al-Shaibani told reporters he would not rule out the possibility of a meeting with Hezbollah officials in the future.

Syria’s new government, led by Sharaa, is hostile to Hezbollah, which was allied with the country’s former longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad, and it has announced arrests of alleged cells affiliated with the group.

Hezbollah denies having any presence in Syria.

Since late 2024, Hezbollah’s former Syrian supply routes have been cut and Damascus authorities say several attempts to smuggle weapons to Lebanon have been foiled.

CBS/AFP

Analyst says 60-day U.S.-Iran negotiating period likely to be extended

The memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran signed on June 17 gave them 60 days to reach a wider deal to end the war, but that period is likely to be extended, an analyst tells CBS News.

Under the terms of the MoU, both sides committed “to negotiating and achieving the final deal” to formally end the war in a “maximum 60 days.” 

So far, the two sides have engaged only twice – once directly, once indirectly, and negotiations have now stopped for at least a week for the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the former Iranian supreme leader killed by a U.S.-Israeli strike on the first day of the war.

The key issue of Iran’s denuclearization, which the MoU lists among the matters to resolve during the 60 days of talks, seems barely to have been touched.

The negotiation period, according to the terms of the MoU, is “extendable with mutual consent.” 

And Robert Murrett, an academic and former U.S. Navy Vice-Admiral, told CBS News on Thursday that “many of us expect that there will be extensions after the initial 60-day period.” 

By Frank Andrews, CBS

Iran and U.S. appear to prioritize Strait of Hormuz, “delaying discussions” on Iran’s nuclear program, analyst says

President Trump and mediators from Qatar and Pakistan said progress was made during this week’s indirect U.S.-Iran talks in Doha, only the second time the two sides have engaged since they signed a memorandum of understanding to extend a ceasefire on June 17.

But do we have any indication that difficult issues like Iran’s nuclear program and the lifting of sanctions were actually tackled? Was there real progress, or did the discussions this week go back over already trod ground?

“In Doha this week, both sides supposedly discussed the future administration of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran in dialogue with Oman,” Eric Lob, a nonresident scholar in the Carnegie Middle East Program, told CBS News. “They also apparently addressed unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets in Qatar and elsewhere.”

Both of those matters are included in the 14 points of the memorandum signed two weeks ago.

And despite President Trump’s remark on Wednesday that “the denuclearization of Iran is moving along well,” Lob said “it does not appear that the issue was tackled in an in-depth manner, if at all.”

“Both sides seem to be prioritizing the Strait of Hormuz and delaying discussing the complex and contentious nuclear program,” he said.

Mr. Trump has pushed hard for ship traffic through the strait to return to pre-war levels, as the constrained flow of oil and gas tankers drove up global energy prices significantly. The war saw Iran effectively shut down the waterway, while the U.S. blockaded Iranian ports and ships in response. 

“Earlier in the talks, President Trump stated he would be willing to be flexible with the 60-day deadline involving the nuclear issue,” said Lob. “It will likely take more time for both sides to reach a comprehensive agreement, given it took President Obama and his administration approximately two years, if not longer, to do so with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2015.”

“Then again, President Trump and his administration are not starting from scratch. Since 2025, they have engaged in two rounds of negotiations with Iran, which were both abruptly interrupted by Israeli and American attacks.”

By Frank Andrews, CBS

When did the 60 days start? Shorter timeline for talks “serves Iran’s interests,” analyst says

With the largely indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran entering a pause of at least a week for the funeral of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, some key questions about the talks remain unanswered. 

Under the terms of the memorandum of understanding signed two weeks ago, both sides committed “to negotiating and achieving the final deal” to formally end the war in a “maximum 60 days, extendable with mutual consent.”

But when exactly did the countdown begin, and how many days of actual talks can be counted? 

“The Iranians seem to think the 60-day negotiating period started in mid-June with the signing of the memorandum of understanding,” Eric Lob, a nonresident scholar in the Carnegie Middle East Program, told CBS News. “During indirect negotiations in Doha this week, the Iranians supposedly stated that they would impose tolls on oil tankers, container ships, and other commercial vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz in mid-August, after the 60-day window ended.”

The MoU was intended to completely reopen the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping and end the fighting in Iran – and in Lebanon – while negotiators got down to the more contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear program, during the 60 days of talks.

So far, U.S. and Iranian negotiators have engaged only twice since the agreement was signed on June 18 – once for direct talks in Switzerland on June 21, and this week, via mediators, for a day in Qatar.

Neither the U.S. nor Iran have said whether only those two days count against the 60 provisioned by the MoU, or if they are counting all 14 days since it was signed. 

It’s also unclear if the two sides are even counting the same way, but Lob said that given the terms of the MoU, which prohibit Iran from collecting any fees from ships in the strait during the negotiations, for instance, Tehran may be crossing days off on the calendar, regardless of what talks are actually taking place.

“Unlike with the nuclear issue, a condensed timeline serves Iran’s interests by formalizing its control over the strait and reaping the financial benefits from it sooner,” said Lob, “especially with all the economic challenges Tehran confronts.”

By Frank Andrews, CBS

Lebanon will not yield “a single inch” of territory to Israel, says president

Lebanon will not surrender “a single inch” of territory to Israel, President Joseph Aoun said Thursday, defending negotiations with Israel.

“We will not relinquish a single inch of Lebanese land,” he said in a statement posted by the country’s presidency on X, “and let judgment be passed on us through implementation, for the goals we have set before our eyes do not differ from the goals of all Lebanese.”

“I commend the tremendous effort exerted by the Lebanese negotiating delegation, both civilian and military, in the American capital,” he added, referring to talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that Israeli troops would remain in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip in so-called security zones “until further notice.”

Hezbollah has called negotiations with Israel “appeasement.”

By Frank Andrews, CBS

Cathay Pacific to resume Middle East flights

Hong Kong’s flagship airline Cathay Pacific announced Thursday that it will resume flights to the Middle East, after the United States and mediators in talks with Iran said that there had been progress in negotiations.

Following the two sides’ indirect discussions in Doha on Wednesday, President Trump, as well as Qatar and Pakistan, signaled that diplomacy was holding, despite exchanges of fire earlier in the week.

Cathay suspended flights to Dubai and Riyadh at the end of February after the war broke out.

The airline has raised fuel surcharges several times as the conflict has driven up oil prices.

It said Thursday it would resume daily passenger flights to Dubai and four-times weekly passenger flights to Riyadh from September 1. Freighter services to Riyadh will resume from August 1.

“Cathay will continue to closely monitor the evolving situation in the Middle East prior to the resumption dates,” the company said.

CBS/AFP

Iran chief negotiator calls to avenge supreme leader’s death with massive funeral turnout

Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf called on Thursday for massive turnout at Ali Khamenei’s funeral to avenge the supreme leader’s death in U.S.-Israeli strikes at the start of the war.

“I invite all the Iranian people … to write a glorious page in the history of Islamic Iran through your presence” at the funeral ceremonies starting Saturday, said Ghalibaf, who is also Iran’s parliament speaker.

“The nation’s call for vengeance must ring in the ears of the whole world,” he added in a statement.

Khamenei’s funeral, initially delayed at the height of the war, will take place after President Trump and Qatari and Pakistani mediators claimed there had been positive progress in indirect talks this week.

The ceremonies are expected to draw between 15 and 20 million mourners, according to officials, which would make it the biggest state funeral in the country’s history.

Iran “is preparing to experience one of the most significant moments in its history,” Ghalibaf said.

It remains unknown if Khamenei’s son and successor Mojtaba, who has not been seen in public since becoming supreme leader, will be present.

Representatives from around 30 countries are expected to attend the funeral, with people pouring in from neighbouring Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

CBS/AFP