Although the United States and Iran remain at opposite ends of the spectrum on important issues, there has been progress in diplomatic dialogue between the heads of government.
Important things to know:
• Meetings at the White House: President Donald Trump hosted two closed-door meetings Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt called both talks “positive and productive,” while Netanyahu praised his “one of the best conversations” he had ever had with Trump, citing their close collaboration on Iran and other security issues. All leaders then attended the funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham at the National Cathedral.
• Ukraine-Iran tensions: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha said he had a “frank” telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, stressing the need to avoid “unnecessary escalation.” Iranian authorities have stepped up their threats against Kiev following recent Ukrainian attacks on Iranian ships in the Caspian Sea.
• Iran’s energy consumption: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the United States has prevented Israel from attacking Iran’s energy infrastructure because of economic and energy concerns. Meanwhile, Iranian authorities are urging citizens to reduce energy use and warning of possible power outages, as Iran has lost around 230 million cubic meters of natural gas production capacity per day since the start of the war, according to the Islamic Republic of Iran News Agency (IRNA).
• Weapons production: Iran’s defense industry is expanding production and prioritizing air and sea capabilities, a senior Iranian defense official claimed on Tuesday. This contrasts with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s statement in March that Iran’s defense industrial base was nearing “total destruction” and its ballistic missile production capacity “functionally defeated.” CNN reported in May that Iran was rebuilding its damaged military industrial base faster than expected.
• Strait of Hormuz: The Iranian military has warned that it will block ships belonging to countries or companies using frozen Iranian assets from passing through the strategic waterway, according to state television. The warning came after President Trump said last week that any damage to ships or cargo would be “compensated for with Iranian funds that are owned and controlled by the United States.”
CNN’s Aida Karimi, Viktoria Butenko, Billy Stockwell, Irene Graef, Tal Shareef, Mohamed Tawfik, Mustafa Qadri, Svitlana Vlasova and Dana Karni contributed to this report.
