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Iran and the United States received a draft proposal on Sunday calling for a 45-day ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, The Associated Press reported, citing two Mideast officials speaking on condition of anonymity.
According to the AP, the proposal comes from Egyptian, Pakistani and Turkish mediators hopeful that the 45-day window would provide ample time for talks to reach a permanent ceasefire. Iran and the U.S. have not responded to the proposal.
The AP noted that the head of intelligence for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was killed Monday in an attack targeting him, according to Iranian state media. The Israeli military later confirmed to the AP that the airstrike that killed Maj. Gen. Majid Khademi took place in Iran’s capital Tehran.
The conflict has already killed more than 1,900 people in Iran and dozens more across the broader region, as tensions steadily escalate and the scope of the war widens.
President Donald Trump has stepped up his threat to hit Iran's critical infrastructure hard if it doesn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline.
Trump continued with his threat in a social media post, saying Tuesday will be "Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran."
Meanwhile, new developments included a high-risk U.S. rescue operation inside Iran to recover a downed F-15 airman, underscoring the increasingly complex and dangerous nature of the conflict.
A boy carrying a teddy bear holds his father's hand while visiting the site of last month's missile strike on April 5, 2026 in Beit Shemesh, Israel. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Here is the latest on Monday:
Trump insists Iranians want US to keep bombing
2:10 p.m. ET: Asked why Iranians would want him to follow up on his threat to blow up the country’s infrastructure, President Donald Trump says everyday citizens are "willing to suffer ... in order to have freedom."
"‘Please keep bombing. Do it,’" Trump claimed U.S. officials have heard Iranians say via "intercepts."
"And these are people that are living where the bombs are exploding," he said.
He added, "And when we leave and we’re not hitting those areas, they’re saying, ‘Please come back, come back, come back.’"
Trump says some military personnel opposed rescue operation
2:05 p.m. ET: President Donald Trump made the disclosure in response to a reporter’s question, according to the Associated Press.
"Not everybody was on board," Trump said. He continued: "There were military people that said, ‘you just don’t do this.’"
Referring to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Trump made sure to clarify: "These two were totally on board."
US warplane that crashed amid search for downed aviators was hit by enemy fire, general says
1:35 p.m. ET: The Associated Press reported that a U.S. aircraft that crashed amid the search for the downed airmen was hit by enemy fire while engaging Iranian forces, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday.
Caine, speaking at a briefing at the White House, said that a U.S. A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft was "violently suppressing and engaging the enemy in a close-in gun fight to keep them away" from the pilot of a downed F-15 fighter jet while also being "primarily responsible for communicating with the downed pilot."
Caine said that after being hit, "this pilot continued to fight, continued the mission, and then upon exit, flew his aircraft into another country and determined that the airplane was not landable."
The pilot then made the decision to eject over friendly territory and, according to Caine, "was quickly and safely recovered, and is doing fine."
More details on the rescue of the airman
1:25 p.m. ET: President Trump described the operation to rescue the second airman in more detail, saying it took 155 aircraft.
Trump said that number included four bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refueling tankers, and 13 rescue aircraft.
Most of the effort, Trump said was to throw off the Iranians, who were also looking for the service member.
"We were bringing them all over and a lot of it was subterfuge," Trump said. "We wanted to have them think he was in a different location."
Trump says downed officer rushed to get away from crash site
1:15 p.m. ET: According to the Associated Press, President Donald Trump says the downed weapons officer followed his training to get as far away from the crash site as possible.
When a plane crashes in hostile territory, "they all head right to that site, you want to be as far away as you can," Trump said.
Trump says the officer was "bleeding profusely" but was able to climb mountainous terrain and contact U.S. forces to communicate his location. Rescuers mobilized a massive response that included subterfuge to confuse the Iranians about where they were looking.
Trump says 21 aircraft came to help rescue airmen who crash in Iran
1:10 p.m. ET: The Associated Press reported that President Donald Trump began describing the rescue efforts from Friday and over the weekend after two airmen ejected and landed alive "deep in enemy territory" in Iran.
Trump said 21 aircraft were deployed to help with the search and rescue in the first wave, flying for hours under "very, very heavy enemy fire." He said the U.S. has one helicopter with many bullets in it.
Trump suggests Kurdish groups have held onto guns meant for Iranian protesters
12:50 p.m. ET: According to the Associated Press, President Donald Trump appeared to confirm that the U.S. had intended to arm Iranian protesters after mass demonstrations against the government broke out throughout Iran in late 2025 and continued early into this year.
Thousands of anti-government protesters were killed during the crackdowns by government forces. Fox News reported on Sunday that Trump had told the network’s Trey Yingst in a telephone interview that Kurdish groups who were supposed to be delivering the U.S.-provided weapons held on to them.
"They were supposed to go to the people so they could fight back against these thugs," Trump told reporters on Monday about the weapons intended for protesters. "You know what happened? The people that they sent them to kept them because they said, ‘What a beautiful gun. I think I’ll keep it.’ So, I’m very upset with a certain group of people and they’re going to pay a big price for that."
Trump says he’d prefer to ‘take the oil’
12:05 p.m. ET: The Associated Press reported that President Donald Trump said that he’d prefer to use U.S. military power to take control of Iran’s vast oil reserves but acknowledged there’s not much appetite for such a move among the American electorate.
"Take the oil because it’s there for the taking," Trump said. "There’s not a thing they can do about it. Unfortunately, the American people would like to see us come home. If it were up to me, I’d take the oil. I’d keep the oil. I would make plenty of money."
Trump warns Iran they’re making a mistake by not capitulating
11:59 a.m. ET: According to the Associated Press, shortly after state media reported Iran had rejected a ceasefire proposal, President Donald Trump offered a new harsh warning to Iran.
"They just don’t want to say ‘uncle,’" Trump told reporters as he and first lady Melania Trump hosted the White House Easter Egg Roll. "They don’t want to cry as the expression goes ‘uncle,’ but they will. And if they don’t, They’ll have no bridges. They’ll have no power plants. They’ll have no anything."
Trump added another warning, "I won’t go further because there are other things that are worse than those two."
US stocks hold steady while crude oil prices waver ahead of Trump’s Iran deadline
10 a.m. ET: The Associated Press reported that the U.S. stock market is making only hesitant moves, while oil prices are unsettled as officials try to proceed on a ceasefire agreement ahead of a deadline President Donald Trump has set to bomb Iranian power plants.
According to the AP, the S&P 500 rose 0.1% in early trading Monday. The index is coming off its first winning week in the last six. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 107 points, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%.
Oil prices flipped between gains and losses as uncertainty continued about what will happen in the war with Iran and how long it will slow the flow of oil and natural gas.
Israeli military and Mossad helped rescue downed American airman in Iran, Huckabee says
8:30 a.m. ET: U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee wrote in a social media post on Monday that Israel’s military and Mossad secret service had assisted in the U.S. effort to rescue an airman whose plane was downed by Iran.
The Associated Press noted that Huckabee thanked Israel for helping the U.S. military and intelligence agencies in the post to X.
Israeli officials have said Israel provided support, including intelligence, in the rescue, but troops weren’t actively involved on the ground.
Iranian media says attacks target South Pars natural gas field
7:15 a.m. ET: The Associated Press reported that attacks targeted facilities Monday at Iran’s South Pars natural gas field, Iranian media outlets reported.
The semiofficial Fars news agency and the judicary’s Mizan news agency both reported the attack, blaming the U.S. and Israel.
Neither country immediately claimed any attack at Asaluyeh in Iran’s southern Bushehr province.
Iran condemned the first Israeli strike on South Pars in March, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warning of "uncontrollable consequences" that "could engulf the entire world." The attack on South Pars saw Iran increasingly target Gulf Arab oil and natural gas sites.
U.S. President Donald Trump has warned of possible attacks on power plants and bridges this week if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by The Associated Press. This story was reported from Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.