Trump says Iran ‘informed’ US that it’s in a ‘state of collapse’
President Donald Trump announced “major combat operations” against Iran on February 28; There were massive joint US-Israeli attacks targeting military, government and infrastructure facilities.
After a two-week ceasefire declaration, First phase of US-Iran talks A peace agreement failed to be reached in Pakistan earlier this month.
Trump later announced that the ceasefire would be extended on an open-ended basis and the blockade would continue until Iran’s offer was presented and negotiations were concluded “one way or another.”
Latest Developments
28 April 13:34
Israeli defense minister says Israel will treat southern Lebanon ‘just like Gaza’
Israel will continue to destroy the terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon “just like it did in Gaza,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the Israeli Armed Forces to destroy every underground and aboveground terrorist infrastructure up to the yellow line in the security zone, just like in Gaza,” Katz said.
“The IDF has now destroyed the underground terrorist infrastructure with a massive explosion inside the new security zone in Qantara, Lebanon,” Katz said.
A ceasefire has been in effect since April 16, but attacks against Hezbollah continue in Lebanon. Hezbollah also continued to target Israeli troop positions in southern Lebanon.
-ABC News’ Dorit Long
28 April 13:19
Iran has openly threatened greater response if attacked again, Iranian military spokesman says
Iran signaled on Tuesday that it would not back down in its relations with the United States amid the war.
Iran said it did not think the war was over. Despite the ceasefire, Iran said it was actively updating targets, continuing training and producing and upgrading weapons. “Conditions remain the same as in wartime,” Iranian Army spokesman Mohammed Akraminia said on Tuesday.
Akraminia said that Iran’s reaction to attacks from the USA will be harsh.
“We have many cards that we have not yet played. We have new battlefields, new vehicles and new methods of warfare based on the experiences of the previous two wars. We have many cards that we have not yet played. We have new battlefields, new vehicles and new methods of warfare based on the experiences of the previous two wars. Of course, we can respond to the enemy more decisively and more overwhelmingly,” he said. “We can certainly respond to the enemy more decisively and more overwhelmingly.”
Majid Asgaripour/Reuters – PHOTO: An Iranian flag in Tehran, Iran, April 27, 2026.
–ABC News’ Desiree Adib
28 April 10:08
Trump says Iran ‘informed’ US it is ‘in a state of collapse’
“Iran has informed us that they are in a ‘Collapse State,’” President Donald Trump wrote on social media Tuesday, without citing any evidence.
Trump said Iran wants the United States to lift its naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz “as soon as possible.”
Trump added that this request, allegedly from Iran, came at a time when the country was trying to “resolve its leadership situation” and said he “believed” it.[s] They will be able to!”
Trump has repeatedly given mixed messages about Iran’s leadership, insisting that regime change has occurred while also claiming that the United States does not know who Iran’s leaders are.
-ABC News’ Emily Chang
28 April 06:41
Rubio says rival ‘hardline’ groups in Iran complicate talks
Rival “hardline” groups in Iran are complicating stalled peace talks with the United States, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News in an interview broadcast Monday.
“All of them in Iran are hardliners. But there are hardliners who understand that they have to run a country and an economy, and there are hardliners who are purely motivated by theology,” Rubio said.
Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images – PHOTO: A man carries an Iranian flag in Tehran’s Sadeghyeh Square on April 27, 2026.
“Hardliners motivated by theology are just [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] Authorities, but obviously the religious leader and the council surrounding him,” Rubio continued.
“And then there’s the political class — the secretary of state, the president, the speaker, the legislature, these guys — they’re tough-minded, too, but they also understand that the country has to have an economy. People need to eat. They need to find a way to pay salaries in their government,” Rubio said. he said.
“Unfortunately, radicals with an apocalyptic vision of the future have ultimate power in this country,” Rubio added.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian and Joe Simonetti
28 April 06:29
Araghchi said the US could not achieve any of its goals in Iran
During his visit to Russia, St. Speaking to a reporter in St. Petersburg, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the United States could not achieve any of its goals and therefore requested negotiations. Araghchi said Iran was “considering” this request.
Regarding Iran-Russia bilateral relations, Araghchi said that the two countries are “strategic partners” and the cooperation between them will continue.
Dmitry Lovetsky/POOL/AFP via Getty Images – PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 27, 2026. They attended the talks at the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library in St. Petersburg.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian and Joe Simonetti
28 April 05:22
CENTCOM announced that a ship trying to reach Iran was captured on Sunday
The guided missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta intercepted the M/T Stream on Sunday “after it attempted to head for an Iranian port,” U.S. Central Command said in a post to X on Monday.
28 April 04:48
Satellite images show ships seized by Iran anchored in the Strait of Hormuz
According to satellite images taken on April 27, Iran repositioned two seized cargo ships (MSC Francesca and Epaminondas) to anchor in positions near the Island of Hormuz in the northern part of the Strait of Hormuz, close to the Iranian coastline.
Copernicus Sentinel 2 – PHOTO: This satellite image shows MSC Francesca and Epaminondas anchored in the Strait of Hormuz on April 27, 2026.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced last week that the MSC Francesca and Epaminondas in the eastern part of the Strait of Hormuz were seized and accused the ships of “attempting to secretly exit the Strait of Hormuz” without coordination with Tehran.
The satellite images were taken by the European Union’s Copernicus Sentinel 2 satellite.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
28 April 03:28
Besssent predicts Iran’s oil pumping will ‘collapse soon’
Iran’s oil industry is “creaking” under the pressure of a U.S. naval blockade, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post to
“While the surviving Revolutionary Guard leaders remain trapped like drowning rats in a sewer pipe, Iran’s creaking oil industry begins to shut down production, thanks to the US blockade,” Bessent said. he wrote.
“Pumping will collapse soon. THEN GASOLINE CUT IN IRAN!” he added.
-/MARINETRAFFIC.COM/AFP via Getty – PHOTO: This screenshot from the April 21, 2026 screen capture of the MarineTraffic website shows a data visualization of maritime traffic in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman from April 18 to April 20.
28 April 03:05
Rubio rejects Iran’s peace offer, emphasizes nuclear issue
Secretary Marco Rubio suggested in an interview with Fox News on Monday that Iran’s peace offer does not meet US conditions for ending the war, which is now in its third month.
Two officials familiar with the matter told ABC News that Iran’s offer includes loosening Tehran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for lifting the U.S. blockade. In Tehran’s proposal, it was claimed that negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program would be postponed to an indefinite future date.
But Rubio said the nuclear issue is at the center of the US stance. “The nuclear issue is the first reason we are in this situation,” Rubio said.
Vahid Salemi/AP – PHOTO: Iranian worshipers perform Friday prayers under portraits of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior military officials killed during the US-Israeli operation at Tehran University in Tehran on April 24, 2026.
Rubio also said the United States will not allow Tehran to maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz or continue to charge ships passing through it.
“These are international waterways. They cannot normalize, and we cannot tolerate them trying to normalize, a system where the Iranians decide who gets to use the international waterway and how much you have to pay them to use it,” he said.
Rubio underlined US concerns about the regime’s ability to reach an agreement and the status of new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
“One of the hurdles here is that our negotiators don’t just negotiate with Iranians. Those Iranians will then have to negotiate with other Iranians to figure out what they can accept, what they can offer, what they’re willing to do, and even who they’re willing to meet with,” Rubio said.
When asked if Mojtaba believes Khamenei is still alive, Rubio said: “We have indications that he is. Frankly, they claim that he is. We have no evidence that he is not.”
“I think the question of being alive and being in power are two different questions. You may be alive, but I think the unresolved questions here are whether he has the same credibility as his father,” Rubio said.
Rubio also suggested that Iran’s proposal may not have the support of all groups vying for influence in Tehran. “I think there are still questions about whether the person who submitted this has the authority to submit this proposal,” he said.
Still, Rubio said he believes the Iranians “are serious about getting themselves out of the mess they’re in.”
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
27 April 11:26
Israel and Hezbollah accuse each other of violating ceasefire during trade strike
The Israeli military said on Monday it had struck Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon and in the Bekaa Valley region further north-east.
The Israeli military also accused Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire and said Hezbollah had launched several drones at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah issued two statements referencing these attacks in response to Israel’s violation of the ceasefire. Hezbollah said its drones targeted an Israeli tank and an Israeli bulldozer “while they were destroying houses in the city of Bint Jbeil” and said it was “in response to the Israeli enemy violating the ceasefire and destroying houses in villages in southern Lebanon.”
-Victoria Beaulé from ABC News
