President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.

Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, initial U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan earlier this month failed to reach a peace deal.

Trump later announced the open-ended extension of the ceasefire and the continuation of the blockade until Iran's proposal is submitted and discussions are concluded "one way or the other."

Apr 28, 10:08 AMTrump says Iran 'informed' the US that it's in a 'state of collapse'

President Donald Trump wrote, without citing evidence, on social media on Tuesday that “Iran has just informed us that they are in a ‘State of Collapse.’” Trump said Iran is asking for the U.S. to lift the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz “as soon as possible.” Trump added that this alleged request from Iran comes as the nation tries “o figure out their leadership situation,” which he said he “believe[s] they will be able to do!” Trump has repeatedly expressed mixed messages about Iran’s leadership, insisting that regime change has occurred, while also claiming that the U.S. does not know who Iran’s leaders are. -ABC News’ Emily Chang

Apr 28, 6:41 AMRubio says competing 'hardliner' factions in Iran complicating talks

Speaking to Fox News in an interview published on Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that competing groups of "hardliners" in Iran are complicating stalled peace talks with the U.S."They're all hardliners in Iran. But there are hardliners who understand they have to run a country and an economy and there are hardliners that are completely motivated by theology," Rubio said.

"The hardliners that are motivated by theology are not just the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] officials, but obviously the supreme leader and the council that surrounds him," Rubio continued."And then you've got the political class -- the foreign minister, the president, the speaker, the majlis, these guys -- they're hardliners too, but they also understand the country has to have an economy. People have to eat. They have to figure out a way to pay salaries in their government," Rubio said."Unfortunately, the hardliners, with an apocalyptic vision of the future, have the ultimate power in that country," Rubio added.-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian and Joe Simonetti

Apr 28, 6:29 AMUS achieved none of its goals in Iran, Araghchi says

Speaking to a reporter in St. Petersburg during his visit to Russia, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the U.S. had achieved none of its goals and was therefore asking for negotiations -- a request Araghchi said Iran is "considering."Regarding bilateral Iranian-Russian relations, Araghchi said the two countries are "strategic partners" and that cooperation between them would continue.

-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian and Joe Simonetti

Apr 28, 5:22 AMCENTCOM says it intercepted vessel trying to reach Iran on Sunday

U.S. Central Command said in a post to X on Monday that the guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta intercepted the M/T Stream vessel "after it attempted to sail to an Iranian port" on Sunday.

Apr 28, 4:48 AMSatellite images show ships seized by Iran at anchor in Strait of Hormuz

Iran relocated two seized cargo vessels -- the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas -- to anchor positions close to Hormuz Island in the northern part of the Strait of Hormuz close to the Iranian coastline, according to satellite imagery taken on April 27.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the seizure of the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas in the eastern part of the Strait of Hormuz last week, accusing the vessels of "attempting to secretly exit the Strait of Hormuz" without coordination with Tehran.The satellite images were captured by the European Union's Copernicus Sentinel 2 satellite.-ABC News' Victoria Beaule

Apr 28, 3:28 AMBessent predicts that Iranian oil pumping 'will soon collapse'

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post to X on Monday that Iran's oil industry is "creaking" under the pressure of the U.S. naval blockade, predicting that the country's ability to pump oil "will soon collapse.""While the surviving IRGC Leaders are trapped like drowning rats in a sewage pipe, Iran's creaking oil industry is starting to shut in production thanks to the U.S. BLOCKADE," Bessent wrote."Pumping will soon collapse. GASOLINE SHORTAGES IN IRAN NEXT!" he added.

Apr 28, 3:05 AMRubio dismisses Iran peace proposal, stresses nuclear issue

Secretary Marco Rubio suggested to Fox News in an interview on Monday that Iran's peace proposal falls short of the U.S. conditions for ending the war, now entering its third month.Two officials familiar with the matter told ABC News that the Iranian proposal consists of a loosening of Tehran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the lifting of the U.S. blockade. Talks on Iran's nuclear program would then be pushed back to an unspecified future date, Tehran's proposal suggested.Rubio, though, said the nuclear issue was at the heart of the U.S. position. "The nuclear question is the reason why we're in this in the first place," Rubio said.

Rubio also said the U.S. would not allow Tehran to retain control over the Strait of Hormuz, or to continue to charge tolls to shipping passing through."Those are international waterways. They cannot normalize, nor can we tolerate them trying to normalize, a system in which the Iranians decide who gets to use an international waterway and how much you have to pay them to use it," he said.Rubio underscored U.S. concerns about the regime's ability to agree to a deal and the status of new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei."One of the impediments here is that our negotiators aren't just negotiating with Iranians. Those Iranians then have to negotiate with other Iranians in order to figure out what they can agree to, what they can offer, what they're willing to do, even who they're willing to meet with," Rubio said.Asked whether he believed Mojtaba Khamenei was still alive, Rubio replied, "We have indications that he is. Obviously they claim that he is. We don't have evidence that he's not.""I think the question between alive and in power are two different questions. You can be alive -- but I think the unresolved questions here are does he have the same credibility as his father did," Rubio said.Rubio also suggested that the Iranian proposal may not have the backing of all factions jostling for influence in Tehran. "I think there are still questions about whether the person submitting it had the authority to submit that offer," he said.Nonetheless, Rubio said he believed the Iranians "are serious about getting themselves out of the mess that they're in."-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston

Apr 27, 11:26 AMIsrael, Hezbollah trade strikes, accuse each other of violating ceasefire

The Israeli military said Monday it was striking Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon and further northeast in the Beqaa Valley area. The Israeli military also accused Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire, saying Hezbollah launched several drones at IDF forces in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah issued two statements referring to these attacks as responses to Israel's own violations of the ceasefire. Hezbollah said the drones targeted an Israeli tank and an Israeli bulldozer "while it was demolishing homes in the city of Bint Jbeil," which it said was "in response to the Israeli enemy’s violation of the ceasefire and the demolition of homes in villages of southern Lebanon." -ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé

Apr 27, 9:56 AMAmericans have no strategy, entire nation is being humiliated by Iran: German chancellor

In an address to students on Monday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the U.S. has “no strategy” with Iran. “I cannot see what strategic exit the Americans are now opting for, especially as the Iranians are obviously negotiating very skillfully -- or, rather, very skillfully not negotiating and letting the Americans travel to Islamabad [in Pakistan] only to leave again without any results,” Merz said. “An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian state leadership, particularly through these so-called Revolutionary Guards." "We offered, as Europeans -- and said that we were willing -- after the end of negotiations to help getting the Strait of Hormuz open again,” he continued. “... We can help there but first the fighting needs to end. And at the moment I do not see how this can be realized in the near future because the Iranians are clearly stronger than one thought and the Americans clearly don't seem to have a convincing negotiating strategy.” -ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé

Click here to read the rest of the blog.