The Dictatorship
US, Iran say they have agreed to a two-week ceasefire
Today’s live updates have ended. Follow more live coverage on the Iran war.
Major developments we’re following:
- The United States and Iran said Tuesday they have agreed to a two-week ceasefire in the war that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. President Donald Trump initially had said Iran proposed a “workable” 10-point plan that could help end the war launched by the U.S. and Israel in February. But he later called it fraudulent, without elaborating. Neither Iran nor the United States said when the ceasefire would begin.
- Trump said he’s pulling back on his threats to widen attacks on Iran. Trump’s latest threat over the Iran war hit a new extreme earlier Tuesday when he warned, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if Iran failed to make a deal that included reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz. Trump’s threat did not seem to account for the harm to civilians, prompting Democrats in Congress, some U.N. officials and scholars in military law to say such strikes would violate international law.
- The two-week ceasefire plan includes allowing both Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, a regional official said Wednesday on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The strait is in the territorial waters of both Oman and Iran. The world had considered the passage an international waterway and never paid tolls before.
- Israel is still attacking Iranaccording to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations Wednesday. Moments earlier, the White House said Israel had agreed to the terms of the two-week US-Iran ceasefire agreement. Iran also kept up fire on Israel.
Key bridge between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain reopens
The King Fahd Causeway, a key bridge linking Saudi Arabia and the island kingdom of Bahrain, reopened Wednesday morning after an hourslong closure over possible incoming fire from Iran.
The King Fahd Causeway Authority said in its announcement on X that vehicle traffic has resumed.
UN chief welcomes two-week ceasefire and urges end to hostilities
Secretary-General António Guterres calls on all parties “to abide by the terms of the ceasefire in order to pave the way towards a lasting and comprehensive peace in the region,” his spokesperson said.
Guterres also calls on the parties to comply with their obligations under international law, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement late Tuesday.
International law requires the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.
“The secretary-general underscores that an end to hostilities is urgently needed to protect civilian lives and alleviate human suffering,” Dujarric said.
Jean Arnault, the secretary-general’s personal envoy, is in the region “to support efforts toward lasting peace,” the spokesperson said.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq says it will halt operations for two weeks
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed Iraqi militias, said in a statement early Wednesday that it will halt its operations in Iraq and the region for two weeks.
The announcement came hours after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire.
Iran-backed militias in Iraq have claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks on U.S. bases and other facilities in the country in solidarity with Tehran since the war began.
Israel says ceasefire with Iran doesn’t include war in Lebanon against Hezbollah
In a statement Wednesday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it supports Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, but that it doesn’t include the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
It said the ceasefire is subject to Iran immediately opening the Strait of Hormuz and stopping all attacks on the U.S., Israel and countries in the region.
The statement said Israel also supports U.S. efforts to ensure Iran no longer poses a nuclear or missile threat.
JUST IN: Netanyahu says Israel backs US ceasefire with Iran but that deal doesn’t cover fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon
Governments in Asia and the Pacific welcome ceasefire
The Australian government says it “welcomes the agreement by the United States, Israel and Iran to a two-week ceasefire to negotiate a resolution to the conflict in the Middle East.”
“The Australian government has been calling for de-escalation and an end to the conflict for some time now,” Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a joint statement Wednesday.
“Iran’s de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, coupled with its attacks on commercial vessels, civilian infrastructure, and oil and gas facilities, is causing unprecedented energy supply shocks and impacting oil and fuel prices,” they added.
They said Australia had been working with international partners in support of diplomatic efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz so critical supplies can flow to those who need it, including the most vulnerable.
In Japan Minoru Kihara, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, said his nation “welcomes the announcement as a positive development. We hope they reach an agreement.”
Winston Peters, New Zealand’s foreign minister, said on X, that his nation welcomed the effort to end the war.
“While this is encouraging news, there remains significant important work to be done in the coming days to secure a lasting ceasefire,” he wrote.
Australia says Trump’s threat to Iranian civilization was not appropriate
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Trump’s threat to the Iranian population was not appropriate.
Albanese referred to Trump’s threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if Iran failed to make a peace deal that included reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate to use language such as that from the President of the United States. And I think it will cause some concern,” Albanese told Sky News television on Wednesday.
“We’ve said very clearly that the conduct of any conflict must be within international law and that provides for making sure that civilians — who aren’t parties to the conflict — are given every protection possible,” Albanese added.
Albanese described the agreement reached by the United States, Israel and Iran to a two-week ceasefire to negotiate a resolution to the conflict as “positive news.”
Pro-government demonstrators take to the streets in Tehran
Pro-government demonstrators in the streets of Iran’s capital Wednesday morning after the ceasefire was announced screamed: “Death to America, death to Israel, death to compromisers!”
Organizers tried at one point to calm demonstrators, but they continued the chants.
They also burned American and Israeli flags in the street.
It shows the ongoing anger from hard-liners, who had been preparing for what many assumed would be an apocalyptical battle with the U.S.
JUST IN: Pro-government demonstrators in Iran’s capital scream: ‘Death to America, death to Israel, death to compromisers!’
Iran includes ‘acceptance of enrichment’ in Farsi version of its ceasefire plan
Iran in the Farsi-language version of its 10-point ceasefire plan included the phrase “acceptance of enrichment” for its nuclear program, something that was missing in English versions shared by Iranian diplomats to journalists.
It wasn’t immediately clear why that term was missing.
However, Trump had said ending Iran’s nuclear program entirely was a key point of the war.
Trump after Iran issued its 10-point plan had described it as fraudulent, without elaborating.
Iran’s mission to the U.N. declined to comment late Tuesday on discrepancies between English and Farsi versions of the ceasefire deal Tehran put out.
JUST IN: Iran includes ‘acceptance of enrichment’ in Farsi version of its ceasefire plan, something missing from English versions
Israel is still attacking Iran, says military official
The official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said early Wednesday morning that Israel was still attacking Iran.
Moments earlier, the White House said Israel had agreed to the terms of the two-week US-Iran ceasefire agreement.
Iran also kept up fire on Israel.
JUST IN: Israeli military official says the country is still attacking Iran, after White House said Israel agreed to ceasefire
Israeli strike kills at least eight people in southern Lebanese coastal city
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said another 22 people were wounded in the strike on Sidon.
The strike came without warning, and the Israeli military did not immediately specify who it was targeting.
At least 1,530 people have been killed in the latest war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group.
Pakistan invites Iran and the US to talks in Islamabad on Friday
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he is inviting Iran and the United States to meet in Islamabad and have further discussions.
In a post on X, Sharif said that both parties have agreed on the ceasefire.
“I warmly welcome the sagacious gesture and extend deepest gratitude to the leadership of both the countries,” he said. “And invite their delegations to Islamabad on Friday, 10th April 2026, to further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes.”
There has been no public response from the U.S. or Iran to the invitation.
US confirms release of journalist kidnapped by Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia in Iraq
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed in a statement that American journalist Shelley Kittlesonwho was kidnapped last week in Iraq, has been released.
Kittleson was abducted by the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah from a street corner in Baghdad on March 31.
Rubio said in a statement posted on X, “We are relieved that this American is now freed and are working to support her safe departure from Iraq.”
He thanked Iraqi authorities, as well as the FBI and U.S. defense department and other U.S. agencies for their work toward securing Kittleson’s release.
Vance was involved in talks as deadline drew closer
As the clock inched closer to Trump’s proposed 8 p.m. deadline with no resolution in sight, U.S. Vice President JD Vance got roped into the conversation late Tuesday, according to an official from one of the mediating countries who was briefed on the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive diplomatic discussions.
Vance’s office did not immediately have a comment.
Vance is currently traveling in Hungary.
Neither Iran nor the United States has offered any time for the ceasefire to begin
But a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, said American forces had halted offensive operations.
Iran continued to fire at Gulf Arab states and Israel, despite Pakistan saying the ceasefire had taken hold immediately.
JUST IN: Abu Dhabi officials say its Habshan gas-processing facility is ablaze after earlier reporting incoming Iranian fire
Chinese officials encouraged Iran to find path to ceasefire with US, AP sources say
China, which is Tehran’s biggest trade partner, spoke with the Iranians to get them on board, according to two officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Chinese officials were in touch with Iranian officials to encourage Tehran to find a path to a ceasefire deal as the negotiations were evolving, the officials said.
Beijing primarily had been working with intermediaries, including Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt, as it tried to use its influence, said one of the officials, who was not authorized to comment publicly on the diplomatic matter.
The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier Tuesday, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, said, “All parties need to demonstrate sincerity and quickly end this war that should not have happened in the first place.” She said China was “deeply concerned” about the impact the conflict has on the world economy and energy security.
JUST IN: Chinese officials encouraged Iran to look for a path toward a ceasefire in war with the US, AP sources say
Iran, Oman to charge for Strait of Hormuz passage
The two-week ceasefire plan includes allowing both Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, a regional official said Wednesday.
The official said Iran would use the money it raised for reconstruction. It wasn’t immediately clear what Oman would use its money for.
The strait is in the territorial waters of both Oman and Iran. The world had considered the passage an international waterway and never paid tolls before.
The official, who had been directly involved in the negotiations, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
Pentagon press briefing set for Wednesday morning
The announcement of the press conference with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, comes after the president announced the ceasefire agreement.
JUST IN: Pakistan, which brokered ceasefire between US and Iran, says it extends to Israel and Hezbollah fighting in Lebanon
Israel has agreed to the terms of the two-week US-Iran ceasefire agreement, White House official says
The official was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
There are concerns in Israel about ceasefire agreement, says AP source
That’s according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the media.
The person said Israel would like to achieve more in the war with Iran.
Leavitt says negotiations will continue
Asked for clarity on what Trump meant by the Iranian peace proposal being “workable,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “President Trump’s words speak for themselves: this is a workable basis to negotiate, and those negotiations will continue.”
“The truth is that President Trump and our powerful military got Iran to agree to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and negotiations will continue,” Leavitt said in a statement.
Oil prices plunge after Trump pulls back on threats to widen attacks
Futures for U.S. crude oil sank 18% to around $92.60, while Brent crude oil futures fell about 6% to $103.40.
Both prices remain well above where they were at the start of the war.
Futures for the S&P 500 rose 2.4%.
US signaled to Israel that strikes were meant to show Iran what could come, official says
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Some Israeli officials had begun speculating as Trump neared his self-imposed deadline that he was edging towards finding an off-ramp even as he offered increasingly menacing rhetoric toward, according to person privy to internal deliberations.
The U.S. administration had signaled to Israelis that the strikes on military assets on Kharg Island earlier Tuesday and the targeting of Iran’s two main petrochemical hubs, Mahshahr and Assaluyeh, were sending a clear message to Tehran of what would come if Trump chose to further intensify the bombardment, according to the person who requested anonymity to discuss the matter.
Israeli officials were skeptical and believed the apparent breakthrough could unravel and lead to further escalation if the Iranians don’t make good on quickly opening the Strait of Hormuz, the person added.
US military has halted all offensive operations against Iran, US official says
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive military operations, noted that defensive measures and operations would still be in effect.
It comes after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire agreement with the Islamic Republic.
JUST IN: US military has halted all offensive operations against Iran, US official says, but continues defensive actions
JUST IN: Oil prices plunge and US stock futures jump after Trump pulls back on Iran threats for 2 weeks, pending a ceasefire
White House doesn’t immediately clarify what Trump meant by ‘workable’ Iranian plan
President Donald Trump is seen on television monitors in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
President Donald Trump is seen on television monitors in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
The White House on Tuesday night did not answer messages on why the president described Iran’s 10-point peace plan as “workable.”
Among the points communicated by Tehran were an easing of U.S. sanctions on Iran and “the withdrawal of United States combat forces from all bases and points of deployment within the region.”
In his social media post announcing a postponement of his threatened bombing campaign, Trump wrote: “We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate.”
The White House did not immediately clarify what Trump meant or provide details on what a “basis” for future negotiations might entail.
Alerts come despite Iran and US saying they’ve reach a cease-fire
Israel and the United Arab Emirates both sounded missile alerts early Wednesday, despite Iran and the United States saying they had reached a two-week ceasefire in the war.
It wasn’t immediately clear what was being targeted in the two countries, which bore the brunt of the missile and drone fire during the war.
Throughout the war, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has called the shots in all decisions. Individual commanders have made decisions on what to strike and when, with the nation’s political leadership sidelined.
Whether they agreed to stop shooting with the declared ceasefire and negotiations being planned in Islamabad remained in question.
However, many Mideast wars see combatants launch last-minute attacks to be able to claim victory with their populations.
JUST IN: Israel says it detects an incoming Iranian missile barrage despite US, Iran saying 2-week ceasefire reached
It isn’t clear what was targeted in the United Arab Emirates
The missile alert sounded early Wednesday morning after the United States and Iran said they reached a two-week ceasefire in the war.
It wasn’t clear what had been targeted, but it showed the chaos of the unfolding diplomatic moves.
JUST IN: Missile alert sounds in the United Arab Emirates after Iran, US say they’ve reached a two-week ceasefire
Also not clear: What Iran means in referencing ‘withdrawal’ of US combat forces
In question is another of the points messaged by the Iranians — “the withdrawal of United States combat forces from all bases and points of deployment within the region.”
The U.S. has maintained a network of military bases through the Persian Gulf for decades after the 1991 Gulf War with Iraq.
The bases have served as the region’s chief security guarantor and provided protection for the energy-rich Gulf Arab states.
Iran did not define, however, what it meant by “combat forces,” potentially giving wiggle room for those bases to remain.
But any step-down in troop levels in the region likely would anger the Gulf Arab states that have suffered through weeks of war.
It isn’t clear if Iran will loosen its chokehold on the waterway that’s crucial to global energy supplies
A cameraman films the Indian flagged LPG carrier Jag Vasant transporting liquefied petroleum gas, at the Mumbai Port in Mumbai, India, after it arrived clearing the Strait of Hormuz, Wednesday, April 1, 2026.(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
A cameraman films the Indian flagged LPG carrier Jag Vasant transporting liquefied petroleum gas, at the Mumbai Port in Mumbai, India, after it arrived clearing the Strait of Hormuz, Wednesday, April 1, 2026.(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Iran’s foreign minister says that ships would be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, over the next two weeks under coordination from Iran’s military.
About a fifth of the world’s oil transits the strait in peacetime.
Araghchi wrote in a statement that: “For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.”
Before the war, there were no “technical limitations.” Over 100 ships a day passed through the water in Iranian and Omani territorial waters in a decades-old traffic system.
The statement did not say whether Iran would seek to charge ships as it had been doing during the war.
JUST IN: Iran’s foreign minister says passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be allowed for next 2 weeks under Iranian military management
Iran’s explanation of its 10-point plan says Strait of Hormuz would be subject to ‘regulated passage’
Iran’s explanation of the 10-point plan included its claimed that the Strait of Hormuz would be subject to “regulated passage … under the coordination of the Armed Forces of Iran.”
It added that would be “thereby conferring upon Iran a unique economic and geopolitical standing.” It also would receive full sanctions relief.
These terms would represent an extraordinary step down by the U.S. after 47 years of hostilities with Iran, starting from the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran says its acceptance of a ceasefire doesn’t mean an end to the war
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said Wednesday it had accepted a two-week ceasefire in the war.
Its statement said it would negotiate with the United States in Islamabad beginning Friday.
“It is emphasized that this does not signify the termination of the war,” the statement said. “Our hands remain upon the trigger, and should the slightest error be committed by the enemy, it shall be met with full force.”
JUST IN: Iran’s Supreme National Security Council says it has accepted a two-week ceasefire in the war
Trump says talks with Pakistani officials helped lead to his decision to delay bombing campaign
In his social media post, Trump said he came to the decision to delay an expansion of U.S. strikes “based on conversations” with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Gen. Asim Munir, Pakistan’s powerful army chief.
Sharif, in a post on X earlier Tuesday, urged Trump to extend his deadline by two weeks to allow diplomacy to advance. Pakistan has been leading negotiations.
Sharif used the same post to ask Iran to open the Hormuz Strait for two weeks.
Trump’s second term has largely been defined by his eagerness to make intimidating threats
And then to retreat if a backlash ensues — a phenomenon his critics have derided as “Trump Always Chickens Out,” or TACO.
The president backed off many of the sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs he first announced in April 2025 after they caused the financial markets to go haywire.
He also largely dropped threats to impose high levies on many imported products from China, Mexico, the European Union and Canada — among other trade partners.
Perhaps the most spectacular example came during a January meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where Trump insisted that he wanted the U.S. to get Greenland “including right, title and ownership” only to switch course and abandon his threat to impose widespread tariffs on Europe to press his case.
Trump says Iran has proposed a ‘workable’ 10-point peace plan that could help end war
The president added in his social media post that Iran has presented “a workable basis on which to negotiate.”
“Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated,” Trump said in the post.
Trump says he’s pulling back on his threats to widen attacks
The president says that includes an array of bridges, power plants and other civilian targets — subject to Iran being ready for a two week ceasefire and to reopen Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on his social media site on Tuesday evening, Trump said Iran could agree “to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz” and said that he’d then “suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks.”
Since the war began in February, Trump has set a series of deadlines threatening escalation of the conflict, only to backoff just before they expire.
JUST IN: Trump says Iran has proposed a “workable” 10-point peace plan that could help end war
JUST IN: Trump pulls back on his Iran threats for two weeks, subject to Iran agreeing to ceasefire and to reopen Strait of Hormuz
Iran threatens to cut US and its allies off from the region’s oil and gas ‘for years’
Iran’s joint military command spokesperson made the warning in a statement responding to U.S.-Israeli attacks.
Ebrahim Zolfaghari said Iran will intensify its attacks on military, security, and economic infrastructure in Israel and on “centers related to” the U.S. in the region.
Zolfaghari said Iran’s continued attacks on the infrastructure of the U.S. and its allies aim to deprive them of the region’s oil and gas supplies “for many years” and “force them to leave” the Middle East.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Thursday night that Vice President JD Vance was delaying a trip to Switzerland, where he’d been set to lead a new round of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program — raising questions about what’s next for the tentative agreement to end the war.
The team led by Vance had been ready to leave but was postponing, the White House said, citing difficult logistics for negotiations. The announcement followed a report from Al-Mayadeen, a pan-Arab satellite channel that is politically allied with the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, that Iran was delaying sending its delegation to Switzerland over Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Lebanon.
Vance, who was initially personally skeptical of the U.S. going to war with Iranhas increasingly become the administration’s face of the conflict and has been outspoken in defending the deal.
Earlier Thursday, he took the relatively unusual step of appearing at the White House to defend the initial deal to extend the ceasefire 60 days and allow for more negotiating — arguing that while it offers concessions, Iran first has to comply with U.S. demands.
“As they dial up their good behavior, we can dial up the economic relief,” Vance said. “If they dial down their good behavior, we can turn it off.”
But the vice president also had said during those remarks that he was not sure of the timing of his planned to Switzerland and that talks might not begin this week. The formal postponement now makes that even less clear.
Vance staying put in Washington came after the U.S. said it had lifted its blockade, allowing oil tankers to begin freely moving through the Strait of Hormuz after months of being unable to use the critical channel. Still, the tentative agreement has drawn sharp criticism from some in the U.S. — including a few congressional Republicans — who worry Washington ceded too much to Iran with relief from sanctions and a potential $300 billion fund to help with rebuilding.
Earlier, a top Trump administration envoy told U.S. lawmakers in a private briefing that Iran will invite the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency to inspect its nuclear sites.
And Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had seemed to endorse direct negotiations for his officials.
“It is obvious that the face-to-face negotiations that will be held in the future will not mean accepting the enemy’s opinion,” he said in a statement read by state media.
It was Khamenei’s first reaction to the agreement, and it was interpreted as a shift in Iran’s approach. Hard-liners, especially Khamenei’s father, the previous supreme leaderhave long opposed direct talks, especially after the U.S. pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
The supreme leader has not been seen in public since he was wounded in a strike at the start of the war.
Lawmakers told Iran will invite UN inspectors to its nuclear sites
The agreement states that Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium must at minimum be diluted under international supervision. It also says that Iran shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons — a commitment it has made previously.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff told members of Congress that Iran will invite the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect its nuclear sites and begin work on identifying and uncovering the locations of Tehran’s enriched material, which is believed to be buried under rubble.
Witkoff’s private briefing was described by two people familiar with the conversation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to share the closed-door details.
The agreement requires Iran to “commit to renounce their nuclear ambitions in writing,” said White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales. The IAEA did not respond to a request for comment.
Witkoff told congressional leadership and members of national security-related committees that the agreement the U.S. struck with Iran did not include any side deals, but a side letter was drafted between Tehran and the IAEA extending the invitation.
Witkoff said the letter to IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi would enable him to bring U.S. nuclear inspectors to Tehran.
Vance defends US-Iran deal and has sharp words for Israel
Before Vance delayed his trip, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif postponed a planned visit to Switzerland, where Islamabad officials had originally planned to host a ceremonial signing ceremony for the agreement. That visit was postponed because the agreement had already been signed by both Iran and the U.S., said two senior officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
President Donald Trump signed the initial pact with Iran on Wednesday while dining with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles. The deal is slated to take immediate effect and extends a ceasefire while giving each side 60 days to hammer out broader agreements on larger issues.
Vance, in his comments at the White House, shrugged off criticism about the confusing rollout of the initial deal, saying, “I don’t think our public messaging has been chaotic.”
He also offered a blunt warning to Israel, which has pushed the U.S. to take a harder stance against Iran and launched attacks on the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon throughout the war, including just before the deal extending the ceasefire was reached. Those attacks complicated the peace efforts with Iran.
Trump “is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time,” Vance said. “And he happens to be the head of state of the world’s superpower.”
Shipping starts to pick up
Trump said he signed the agreement to avoid “economic catastrophe” in the U.S., after the war caused oil prices to skyrocket, made financial markets skittish and fueled inflation. The deal caused gas prices to fall and stock markets to rise — though rallies could be threatened again depending on how the next round of U.S.-Iran talks go.
The vice president said more than 12.5 million barrels of oil went through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday night and said that the U.S. easing its blockade of Iran means “honoring our end of the early part of the agreement on the military side.”
U.S. Central Command said American warships “will remain in the general area to make sure that all aspects of the agreement are adhered to, obeyed and in full force and effect.”
Iranian state media said shipping had “normalized” at Iran’s southern ports but added that the strait remains supervised and under the control of the Iranian military, and transiting through the vital waterway still requires coordination.
Major shipowners began moving vessels through the strait after the agreement was signed, according to maritime data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence, though Lloyd’s did not give data on how many ships have passed through the strait as of Thursday.
In a media briefing, Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of Lloyd’s List, said for the first time in 110 days, ships owned by major companies are transiting the strait after effectively being marooned there since February. It could take weeks or months to fully reopen the strait, and the two alternative routes do not have as much capacity as the strait’s central passage.
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Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad; Aamer Madhani in Zurich; Collin Binkley in Washington; Mae Anderson in New York; and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators on Thursday ordered regional grid operators to help large energy users connect more quickly to the nation’s inefficient and aging electric transmission system, a step they said is needed to accommodate surging demand from power-hungry artificial intelligence data centers.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright had urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to act in an effort to help the United States better compete with China for superiority in the fast-growing AI sector.
Tech companies and data center developers welcomed the chance to connect faster to the country’s power supply for the biggest energy users ever built in the United States, including some that consume more electricity than a small city.
Utilities, states and regional grid operators had worried that the Republican administration’s plan would remove their authority to manage the process, but FERC said the order leaves states in control of retail electric rates, terms and conditions. Clean energy advocates have urged regulators not to undermine state-level efforts to require the use of renewable energies.
The commission’s actions come as a backlash grows against data centers over concerns about the massive amounts of energy and water they use and fears about noise and air pollution, water shortages and a loss of open space or farmland.
Unanimous vote and affordability
FERC members voted unanimously to direct six regional grid operators to ensure that AI data centers and other large power users are “able to connect to the transmission system in a timely and orderly manner.”
Laura Swett, an appointee of President Donald Trump who chairs the commission, called the vote “historic” and said it would push the country’s electricity market into the future while respecting states’ rights, protecting reliable electric service and shielding ratepayers from shouldering the costs of connecting big power users to the grid.
“I know that Americans across the country are concerned about affordability, and so are we,” Swett said, referring to the five-member commission. As chair, “I am taking extremely seriously the mission that Congress has entrusted us to ensure that rates are reasonable,” she said.
The vote comes eight months after Wright asked the independent agency to take more control over ensuring that the vast network of massive computing warehouses needed to power AI are connected quickly to high-voltage transmission lines.
Wright hailed the commission’s action, saying it would “remove barriers, accelerate development and ensure America has the affordable, reliable and secure energy needed to power a new era of prosperity.”
Data centers would pay the full cost of any grid upgrades needed for their connection, under the commission order. But that order can do little to address the tightening energy supplies that are driving up electricity bills in some areas and raising warnings of blackouts as the construction of data centers outpaces the speed of new power plants coming online to serve them.
Robert Montejo, a lawyer who represents data centers, said the most important message from FERC’s action is that AI “has fundamentally changed the electricity landscape. The grid and prior policy were not built for the pace and scale of demand we’re seeing from AI infrastructure, and FERC is signaling that standing still is no longer an option.”
The six regional grid operators under the order serve 200 million Americans, or two-thirds of FERC’s jurisdiction. FERC, meanwhile, invited utilities that handle their regional transmission systems to also participate and analysts said the agency could eventually pressure them, too.
A search for power
Tech giants are scrambling to find enough power for their data centers and report that, in some places, it will take years to connect to the electric grid.
The Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned electric utilities, said FERC’s order builds on regional and state processes already underway while “supporting flexibility and innovation.”
Besides power bottlenecks, the tech industry is running into widespread opposition from communities where residents don’t want to live next to or near a data center.
More than 4,000 data centers now operate in the U.S., according to one estimate, with an additional 3,000 planned or under construction.
Trump has tried to deflect public concerns about AI, seeing the fast-evolving technology as crucial for the U.S. to attract foreign investment and maintain its economic and military prowess. He signed an executive order this month establishing a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to a month before their public release.
In December, FERC took an earlier step to help data center operators get electricity quickly, voting to allow tech companies to effectively plug a data center directly into a power plant and Thursday’s order sought to ensure that option is accessible around the country.
Power demands from data centers
FERC told grid operators to respond within 30 days on how they will ensure there is adequate power supplies for new and future data centers, and within 60 days on plans to integrate large power users in line with the new guidelines. Swett told reporters after the meeting that she hoped faster connection processes are in effect in “as little time as possible.” She didn’t set an exact timeline.
Jeff Dennis, executive director of the Electricity Customer Alliance, said FERC’s order is responsive in particular to big power users and state regulators.
Tech giants are confronting unclear rules to connect data centers to high-voltage transmission systems, while states need more clarity on who should bear the cost of regional transmission projects approved at the federal level, he said.
Rob Gramlich, a Washington-based energy consultant, said states should quickly develop rules to accommodate large power users and prevent cost shifts to residential and business customers. FERC could assert broader jurisdiction over interconnection issues if states don’t act quickly, he said.
Data from the Electric Power Research Institute shows that data centers now account for about 5% of U.S. electricity demand, but could triple by 2035.
Tech companies have continued to raise their spending on building and equipping data centers, but there is evidence that construction is lagging and projects are hitting roadblocks, including permitting delays, growing local opposition or bottlenecks around gas turbines, transformers and skilled labor.
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Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pa.
As talks loom between the U.S. and Iran, negotiators face a simple and daunting task: turning a 14-point memorandum of understanding into a comprehensive nuclear deal within 60 days.
The ticking clock was set in motion on Thursday, according to Vice President JD Vance, following the signing of the MOU one day earlier. That signing brought an official end to military hostilities. What it did not do is resolve the conflict that caused them.
Some agreements took effect immediately upon signing: a cessation of hostilities, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade, the issuing of oil waivers and initial steps to unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets.
But those were the easy parts.
What remains are the metaphorical landmines — the unresolved questions the MOU largely deferred rather than decided, each with the potential to blow up any prospect for a nuclear deal. On Thursday evening, the White House announced that Vice President JD Vance will not attend talks in Switzerland that had been planned for Friday — a decision that may well be read as a signal of just how far apart the two sides are. A White House spokesperson acknowledged in a statement that while the U.S. delegation has been prepared to depart at the first available opportunity, “the logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable.”
Here is what the negotiators will actually have to solve:
The future of the Strait of Hormuz
The MOU ensures safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz “with no charge for 60 days only,” and outsources the negotiating responsibility for ensuring long-term toll-free passage to Gulf allies — ceding responsibility for a key outstanding issue.
“We don’t ever want this to happen again — that’s not about tolling, that’s about ensuring that the Straits are never used as a choke point for the global economy ever again,” Vance said at the White House on Thursday. “If that’s not reflected in the final deal, there’s not going to be a final deal.”
Recognizing the Iranians will “assert their rights as aggressively as they can,” a senior U.S. official was confident Gulf states would preserve their own self-interests and press Iran to allow toll-free passage.
There’s also the matter of demining the waterway. Iran has 30 days for “removing the technical and military obstacles and demining,” but mine removal could take weeks or even months — potentially testing U.S. patience if ship traffic doesn’t recover quickly.
In a joint statement following this week’s G7 summit in France, leaders said a defensive initiative led by France and the UK could help by “protecting merchant vessels, reassuring commercial shipping operators, and supporting verification that all mines are removed.”
Sanctions and frozen assets
Senior U.S. officials have said sanctions relief for Iran would be tied to its performance — but haven’t yet indicated what those benchmarks will be.
“As they dial up their good behavior, we can dial up the economic relief,” Vance said in broad terms on Thursday at the White House. “If they dial down their good behavior, we can turn it off.”
The MOU commits the U.S. to ending all Iranian sanctions — including those imposed by the U.N. Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency — “in an agreed-upon schedule as part of the final deal.” How quickly the U.S. is willing to provide this economic relief could become a sticking point.
Complicating matters further: whether lifting of sanctions would require congressional action, and how the State Department’s designation of Iran as a State Sponsor of Terrorism factors in.
Then there’s the unfreezing of billions of dollars of Iranian assets. Though the Trump administration insists any release would be tied to Iran’s performance, the MOU’s own text undercuts that: Paragraph 13 says the process of releasing assets must begin before negotiations even start, handing Iran an upfront incentive rather than one to earn.
“It’s clearly a huge loophole and a potential for disagreement,” said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East advisor and negotiator for the State Department, calling the text’s language “destructive ambiguity.”
The Lebanon front
The MOU calls for “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
“We expect Hezbollah is not going to be firing rockets and firing drones at the Israelis, and we also expect that the Israelis are not going to be going wild in Lebanon, right? Both sides have to honor their end of the deal,” Vance said at the White House on Thursday.
Yet Israel did not sign the aforementioned “deal.”
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said it’s “unnecessary” for Lebanon to have been included in an agreement between the U.S. and Iran, pouring cold water on the idea that Israel would cease its offensive against Hezbollah and occupation of southern Lebanon — even if Iran says that’s a dealbreaker for negotiations.
“This is something that we simply can’t live with,” Leiter told NPR on Tuesday. “We can’t have jihadi terrorists on our border. … We’re not going to withdraw from South Lebanon, and the mad men of Tehran have no business poking their nose into Lebanon.”
A U.S. official confirmed that U.S.-brokered peace talks between Israel and Lebanon will continue as planned next week at the State Department. Whether the Lebanon provision holds will depend on Iran keeping Hezbollah in check and Trump keeping Netanyahu in line.
Iran’s reconstruction
The MOU promises that within 60 days, the U.S. would work “with regional partners” to develop a plan guaranteeing at least $300 billion for Iran’s “reconstruction and economic development.”
Trump has insisted that there “is no 300 Billion Dollar payment to Iran by the U.S.” using taxpayer money. That may technically be true, but the U.S. has still committed to delivering that sum in the form of investment. That means convincing private corporations and Gulf allies — many of which are dealing with economic disruption and rebuilding costs after facing strikes from Iran — to invest in a country the Trump administration is still threatening to attack again if Iran reneges on its end of the deal.
Vance said there is a “great desire from the Arab world and from outside the Arab world to actually get involved in Iran if they behave properly.” Pressed by MS NOW whether private money would be included, Vance said he assumes countries like the United Arab Emirates would be part of the picture.
But Gulf leaders expressed concern to MS NOW about the agreement’s financial provisions that could strengthen Iran economically at a time when many Gulf states believe pressure should have been maintained.
Iran’s highly enriched uranium and nuclear program
For the duration of negotiations, Iran will “maintain the current status quo of its nuclear program,” per the MOU. What happens after that is the central outstanding question — the one that led to war in the first place.
The MOU provides no consensus on what to do with Iran’s existing stockpile of enriched uranium, only an agreement to “resolve” the matter. It doesn’t distinguish between the roughly 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium — material close to bomb-grade — and the 11 tons enriched to various levels above the 3.67% threshold set by the JCPOA, which Trump withdrew from during his first term.
A senior U.S. official said downblending the stockpile would be the minimum standard, with Washington pushing for “more than that” during negotiations. Vance alluded to “gentlemen’s agreements,” noting that Iran has “promised that they would allow inspectors in to destroy that highly enriched stockpile, and then, of course, it’s not usable anymore, you take it somewhere else.” Iran has not formally agreed to anything beyond a general promise to resolve the issue.
Whether Iran will be permitted to enrich in the future, and to what extent, remains an open question. The MOU commits the two countries to discussing “the issue of enrichment and other mutually agreed matters,” promising a “satisfactory framework” related to Iran’s “nuclear needs” in a final deal.
Notably, the U.S. has already backed down from one of its previous red lines, dropping Trump’s earlier demand for zero enrichment forever in favor of allowing Iran to maintain a civilian nuclear program.
“We’re not bothered at all by the idea of civilian power plants in Iran,” a senior U.S. official said. “What we’re bothered by is the type of infrastructure that would allow them to jump from civilian power generation to nuclear weapons development. … We feel quite confident that if they meet their obligations under this agreement, they’re not going to have that infrastructure to build a nuclear weapon.”
A senior administration official insisted Iran has committed to dismantling its nuclear weapons program, including its nuclear site, noting that the countries would “figure out how to do that in the technical negotiations that will follow.” But abandoning its nuclear program will be a tough domestic sell for the Islamic Republic to make.
Inspections and implementation
Trump has repeatedly hammered the Obama-era JCPOA for not having a strong enough verification and inspections system. But his own MOU offers little clarity on what will replace it, only a vague commitment that “an executive mechanism will be established to monitor the successful implementation of this MOU and the future compliance of the final deal.”
Given that Iran blocked IAEA inspectors from accessing its nuclear facilities under the JCPOA, a stronger inspection system represents perhaps the most important potential U.S. win in final deal talks — if Washington can secure one.
“If we feel comfortable with the inspection and enforcement regime, that is when they will get some of the benefits of negotiation,” a senior administration official told reporters last week, without providing specifics of what that verification regime would entail nor confirming the role of the UN or IAEA.
Miller, the former State Department negotiator, compared the MOU to Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan — a document that pushed the conflict out of the headlines but left unsolved problems on the humanitarian, disarmament and reconstruction fronts.
“I see very little chance, without significant flexibility on the part of both sides, that 60 days is going to be enough” to bridge the “Grand Canyon-like gaps that separate Tehran and Washington,” Miller said.
And though the MOU’s 60-day deadline allows for extension “with mutual consent,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military is “prepared to restart if we need to” if Iran does not show progress in complying with U.S. demands.
Trump, speaking at the G7, was blunter still.
“If it doesn’t get done in 60 days, that’s all right,” Trump said. “We go back to bombing.”
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