The senior official indicated that the United States is willing to allow Iran to use nuclear in a civilian capacity.
“We’re not bothered at all by the idea of civilian power plants in Iran. What we’re bothered by is the type of infrastructure that would allow them to jump from civilian power generation to nuclear weapons development, and that’s what they’ve had for a very long time,” they said.
Speaking with CNN’s Senior International correspondent Frederik Pleitgen in Tehran Sunday, Baghaei said the exchange of messages continued through Pakistani mediators.
“The main problem of negotiating with this administration is that you have to face so many changing positions, moving the goal posts, different statements, contradictory remarks by different officials, so it makes the whole process very cumbersome,” Baghaei said.
There were quite a number of sticking points, he said, “but the main issue is that the Americans must understand that they have to recognize Iran’s rights,” including its right to peaceful nuclear enrichment under the international non-proliferation treaty.
In an exclusive interview with CNN Senior International Correspondent Frederik Pleitgen in Tehran on Sunday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei acknowledged that messages continue to pass between Tehran and Washington via Pakistani intermediaries.
“The main problem of negotiating with this administration is that you have to face so many changing positions, moving the goal posts, different statements, contradictory remarks by different officials, so it makes the whole process very cumbersome,” he said.
The secret deployment to Azerbaijan, reported by CNN for the first time, was one of several military positions Israel maintained across the Middle East that gave its military unprecedented reach, highlighting the role Iran’s neighbors played — some with permission, some likely without — in facilitating operations against Tehran and becoming entangled in the conflict.
The locations in Azerbaijan were among numerous covert military sites and bases in multiple countries, the sources told CNN, including in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Somaliland. The forces, initially planned as potential rescue teams in the event of an emergency, expanded in scope to become military and intelligence gathering positions.
He’s launched strikes in seven countries so far this term — Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen — after also attacking some of those countries in his first term. That doesn’t even count the strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, which have targeted nearly 60 vessels and killed more than 190 people.
He has also threatened or left open the possibility of strikes against seven others this term: Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Greenland (which is part of Denmark), Mexico, Panama and now Oman. He also threatened Mexico and North Korea in his first term.
But, the sources cautioned, the US government may not be able to definitively determine who was responsible because of a lack of forensic evidence left by the hackers.
CNN has requested comment on the ATG hack from the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The FBI declined to comment.
Lawmakers can revoke a president’s war powers at any time, but Democratic efforts to do so this time around have so far failed. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who has criticized how Trump has gone about the war, has talked about pushing an authorization to put guardrails on how the war is prosecuted, but has not yet followed through.
One recent proposal from the Iranian side would involve a 10-year pause on enrichment, followed by another decade where Iran would agree to only enrich to levels well below weapons grade, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Meanwhile, Trump has told reporters that he wants no enrichment indefinitely and is against even the 20-year pause.
The Trump administration is also considering unfreezing $20 billion in Iranian assets as part of ongoing negotiations with Tehran, CNN previously reported. The step would come in exchange for Iran turning over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
How flexible each side is on their terms will ultimately dictate whether a deal can be reached.
2 hr 22 min ago
What we covered
By CNN staff
• Widespread protests: “No Kings” demonstrations have taken place from coast to coast today, with attendees rallying against President Donald Trump’s policies, the rising cost of living and the war with Iran.
• On the ground: Throughout the day, crowds gathered to march, sing, dance and wave signs in major cities, suburbs and small towns across red and blue states, with huge marches taking place in Los Angeles and New York. A marquee event in Minnesota featured a Bruce Springsteen performance and a slate of high-profile speakers.
• Third round: Last year, millions of people attended largely peaceful protests on two “No Kings” days. Since then, Trump’s nationwide immigration enforcement blitz has come and gone in several major cities. Now, Americans are facing skyrocketing gas prices and a flagging economy due to the war.
CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten breaks down international support for US military action in Iran as President Donald Trump is asking for other countries to help secure shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz.
Together, the names of those in Epstein’s inner circle appear thousands of times across the newly released files. Though they haven’t had the same level of scrutiny that more famous people who appear in the files have received, that may start to change. Over the coming months, several of them are scheduled to testify in front of the House Oversight Committee.
Richard Kahn, Epstein’s longtime accountant, and Darren Indyke, his personal attorney, both of whom are co-executors of Epstein’s estate, are slated to testify on March 11 and March 19. Lesley Groff, Epstein’s executive assistant, was asked by the committee to appear on June 9.
Ten days in, Trump still hasn’t settled on a consistent rationale for why he went to war. Now, he’s hinting that peace might soon be at hand — even while he and top aides simultaneously warn the fighting might get more intense and last longer.
(…)
Tumbling stock markets and spiking oil prices have raised the possibility that a prolonged conflict could shatter the global economy. Days of Iranian retaliatory drone and missile strikes on Gulf states stoked fears of a wider conflagration.
The political clock is now ticking faster inside the United States, where Trump and his allies fret reverberations will worsen the cost-of-living misery that threatens the GOP’s midterm election prospects.
Columnist Charles Blow questions whether the Trump administration is using Iran as a distraction, after the DOJ released files related to uncorroborated claims against President Donald Trump. Radio Host Jason Rantz says that accusation is using victims to score political points. The NewsNight panel debates.
CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen reports from Tehran’s Shahran oil depot, where thick black smoke rises behind him after a strike hit the facility. Iranian state media said fuel and oil storage tanks in several areas of the capital were targeted in Israeli and US strikes. CNN operates in Iran only with government permission. #cnn #iran #tehran #shahranoildepot #usisraelistrike
(March 5, 2026)
After crossing into Iran today, CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen says he and his team are now trying to make it “to the capital Tehran as fast as possible,” having a received a visa from the government to report inside the country.
Here‘s the latest
• Strikes in Iran: Explosions lit up the sky in Tehran after Israel said it had begun a “broad-scale wave of strikes” there. CNN saw thick black smoke in the capital, while state media reported that a busy shopping street was hit. Tehran residents tell CNN they experienced the “worst night” of airstrikes since the war began.
• Panic in Beirut: Fresh strikes also hit Beirut, hours after Israel said it targeted Hezbollah overnight in the latest strikes on the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs.
(March 4, 2026)
Washington and Erbil, Iraq —
The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, multiple people familiar with the plan told CNN.
The Trump administration has been in active discussions with Iranian opposition groups and Kurdish leaders in Iraq about providing them with military support, the sources said.
Several Epstein victims have said that they’ve scoured the DOJ’s website in recent weeks for files documenting their own interviews with the FBI – only to come up empty handed.
“All of us have been looking for our victim statements,” Jess Michaels, who was assaulted by Epstein when she was 22 years old, told CNN after the file release. Heavily redacted and missing interview reports suggest that “this Department of Justice is actually gaslighting the entire country,” Michaels argued.
• The Justice Department is releasing more than 3 million pages of files related to the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein today, with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche saying the department has now completed its review of the Epstein files.
• Blanche said the White House had “no oversight” of the review of documents and firmly stated that “we did not protect President Trump.” He said any member of Congress can view unredacted versions at the Department of Justice.
• CNN reporters are going through the documents now, and we will share information here as we learn more. The new tranches of Epstein files have an age verification page.
“The idea of turning Greenland into America’s rare-earth factory is science fiction. It’s just completely bonkers,” said Malte Humpert, founder and senior fellow at The Arctic Institute. “You might as well mine on the moon. In some respects, it’s worse than the moon.”
Despite its name, approximately 80% of Greenland is covered with ice. And mineral extraction — or just about anything — in the Arctic can be five to 10 times more expensive than doing it elsewhere on the planet.
It’s not often that Europe speaks with one voice – or responds with such urgency.
But US President Donald Trump’s announcement Saturday of sanctions against several European countries that reject any US claim to Greenland, a Danish territory, was one of those moments.
An emergency meeting of EU ambassadors will take place in Brussels on Sunday in response to Trump’s threat, which he made after an estimate quarter of the population of Greenland’s capital Nuuk joined protests against any potential annexation.
CNN‘s Jake Tapper speaks with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to break down the timeline of events before and after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, as well as the Trump administration‘s response.
(January 9, 2026)
Video captured by ICE agent Jonathan Ross gives a raw, up-close perspective of the pivotal moments surrounding his fatal shooting Wednesday of Renee Good in Minneapolis. Warning: The video is disturbing.
(12 hours ago)
As he approached Renee Good’s vehicle on a Minneapolis street on Wednesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross held up his phone camera and recorded video.
Less than a minute later, he was still recording when he drew his weapon and fatally shot Good as she accelerated.
That extraordinary footage, along with video shot by bystanders and a 3D model created by CNN of the confrontation, shows Good and her wife challenging ICE officers – but also raises new questions about Ross’s tactics and decision to use deadly force.