On the first day of the pause, Iran fired missiles and launched drones in the region. It said an oil refinery on Lavan Island had been attacked. Israel continued its strikes in Lebanon.
Since the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, authority has shifted to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Younger military leaders have come to the fore.
The United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, starting a weekslong war that spread to neighboring countries and rocked global markets.
In an expletive-laced social media post, the president said Iran should open the Strait of Hormuz or he would bomb bridges and power plants.
The United States and Israel have done significant damage to Iran’s military capabilities. But Iran still fires missiles, has nuclear material and coordinates with militias in the region.
President Trump and his aides have made contradictory statements on whether the United States and Israel have transformed the Iranian government through violence.
As leaders are killed and replaced, Iranian negotiators may not know what their government is willing to concede in any negotiations.
President Trump suggested that Iran’s current leaders were “much more reasonable” as he sought to show progress in his war aims. Iran’s power structure appears firmly in control despite a month of U.S.-Israeli attacks.
The fighting continued while conditions for a possible cease-fire were debated.
The fighting continued while conditions for a possible cease-fire were debated.