President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military and government sites.
Trump set a deadline for Iran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face broad strikes on its critical infrastructure. Hours before the deadline expired, Trump said he had agreed to suspend planned bombing for two weeks if Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi then said that "safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran's Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he supported the ceasefire with Iran, but that Lebanon -- where intense Israeli strikes continued -- was not covered by the agreement, despite Iranian protests.
DOJ will 'vigorously prosecute' buyers or sellers of sanctioned Iranian oil, Blanche says
The Department of Justice will "vigorously prosecute anyone who buys or sells sanctioned Iranian oil," according to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Blanche made the announcement in a post on X Sunday afternoon, accompanied by an image of President Donald Trump's statement on social media from earlier in the day in which he announced that the U.S. Navy would blockade the Strait of Hormuz "effective immediately" after negotiations with Iran Saturday ended without an agreement to end the war.
"The Justice Department fully supports our Commander in Chief and our military," Blanche's post concluded.
Apr 12, 2026, 12:52 PM EDT
Putin offers to mediate US-Iran talks, Kremlin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call Sunday with his Iranian counterpart, President Masoud Pezeshkian, offering his support after negotiations between the U.S. and Iran failed to reach an agreement to end the conflict, despite 21 hours of trilateral talks in Pakistan.
According to the Kremlin, Putin said he was ready to mediate a settlement to the war.
“Vladimir Putin emphasized his readiness to continue to facilitate the search for a political and diplomatic settlement to the conflict and to mediate efforts to establish a just and lasting peace in the Middle East” the Kremlin said in its readout of the call.
According to Iran’s semi-official news agency, Tasnim, Pezeshkian told Putin that U.S. “double standards” and a “totalitarian approach” remain the main obstacles to reaching a fair agreement in talks between Tehran and Washington.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran is fully prepared to reach a balanced and fair agreement that ensures lasting peace and security in the region. If the United States adheres to international legal frameworks, reaching an agreement is not far off," Pezeshkian said, according to Tasnim.
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have both said that Iran's alleged refusal to abandon its nuclear program is the main sticking point in the peace talks. Trump said in a Sunday post on his social media platform that "most points were agreed to" during the talks Saturday, but further said that the agreements "don't matter" if Iran is allowed to have nuclear power.
-ABC News' Claire Bower and Dragana Jovanovic
Apr 12, 2026, 12:06 PM EDT
2,055 killed in Lebanon since March 2, health ministry says
Israeli forces have killed at least 2,055 people and wounded another 6,588 in Lebanon since March 2, according to the latest tally from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Over the past 24 hours, 35 people were killed and 152 others were injured, the health ministry said Sunday.
Among those killed since March 2 were 165 children and 87 health care workers, the health ministry said. Meanwhile, another 644 children and 190 health care workers were among the injured, according to the health ministry.
-ABC News' Morgan Winsor and Ghazi Balkiz
Apr 12, 2026, 10:45 AM EDT
Despite blockade announcement, Trump urges Iran to open Strait of Hormuz
Despite his announcement Sunday of a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump also urged Iran to open the critical maritime waterway in a subsequent post on his social media platform.
“As they promised, they better begin the process of getting this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST!” Trump wrote, immediately after the post announcing the blockade.
The president claimed that “Iran promised to open the Strait of Hormuz, and they knowingly failed to do so,” adding that this has caused “anxiety, dislocation, and pain” to the world.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media, before boarding Air Force One on his way to Virginia, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, April 10, 2026.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Trump proceeded to rail against the leaders of Iran, despite his previous insistence that there was regime change there and that the new leaders were more “reasonable.”
“There is great dishonor and permanent harm to the reputation of Iran, and what’s left of their 'Leaders,' but we are beyond all of that,” Trump wrote, adding that they were “very unyielding" during negotiations.
Trump did not go into detail about the negotiations but repeated what Vice President JD Vance said Saturday night about Iran allegedly refusing to give up their nuclear ambitions.
“I could go into great detail, and talk about much that has been gotten but, there is only one thing that matters – IRAN IS UNWILLING TO GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR AMBITIONS!” the president wrote.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance meets with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during their meeting, on April 11, 2026, at Islamabad, Pakistan.
Jacquelyn Martin, Pool via Getty Images
Trump also acknowledged that the "meeting went well" and "most points were agreed to," though he further said that the agreements "don't matter" if Iran is allowed to have nuclear power.
"In many ways, the points that were agreed to are better than us continuing our Military Operations to conclusion, but all of those points don’t matter compared to allowing Nuclear Power to be in the hands of such volatile, difficult, unpredictable people," the president wrote.
