President Donald Trump is prepared to “unleash hell” if negotiations with Iran fail, the White House said Wednesday, after Tehran rejected an initial U.S. proposal and thousands of American troops were enroute to the Middle East.
“Iran should not miscalculate,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing, adding that if Iran refuses to make a deal to end the war, “President Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before.”
Iran considers the initial U.S. ceasefire proposal delivered through intermediaries “excessive” and issued its own counterproposal, reported Press TV, Iran’s state-run English broadcasting service. Egypt’s foreign minister called for continued negotiations and said Cairo is prepared to host peace talks.
The developments come after President Donald Trump on Monday delayed strikes on Iran’s power plants, citing “very good and productive” talks between the two countries that Iran has repeatedly denied. Leavitt on Wednesday said those talks were ongoing.
Thousands have been killed since the war began in late February, including about 1,500 people in Iran and over 1,000 in Lebanon, where Israel is moving to occupy territory. Iran maintains its stranglehold on oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, causing gas prices to spike and threatening the global economy.
Michael Loria
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday slammed the war against Iran, saying that silence in the face of U.S. military strikes on Iran is not “loyalty” but “an act of cowardice and complicity.”
“In a few words, this is an absolute disaster,” Sanchez, leader of Spain’s Socialist Workers’ Party, said in an address before congress in Madrid. “And being silent in the face of an unjust and illegal war is not prudence or loyalty, but cowardice and complicity.”
Sanchez’s address in Madrid comes as Spain moves forward with a massive relief plan to help citizens impacted by rising energy prices because of the war. The prime minister said he supported the plan because “clearly every bomb that falls on the Middle East winds up hitting the wallet of our families.”
Spain under Sanchez has stood firmly against President Trump’s war on Iran. The prime minister listed some of his government’s efforts, including blocking American use of military bases in southern Spain for the war, evacuating from the Middle East 8,000 Spanish citizens and sending humanitarian aid to Lebanon, where hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by Israeli strikes in the country.
“We’re a sovereign country that doesn’t want to participate in an illegal war,” Sanchez said.
Callie Carmichael
Several Americans trying to flee the Middle East amid the United States war with Iran are expressing their frustrations with the State Department’s efforts to get them out of the region.
Emaan Abbass, a beauty consultant from the United States, had been living in Dubai for more than nine years. In an interview with USA TODAY, she said she’d felt secure and safe living in there until the war with Iran began on Feb. 28. By March 2, she enrolled in the STEP program, a free service for U.S. citizens and nationals so that the State Department can contact them in case of an emergency. Abbass took it upon herself to book a flight out to Cairo, where she had family.
Her first official correspondence from the department came on March 10 via email. “We have booked you on an evacuation flight out of Dubai tomorrow,” meaning March 11. She responded that she was releasing her seat to someone else because she had already gotten out.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told USA TODAY in an email that “the State Department has reached out to every American who has registered interest in our support and offered them personalized assistance. ”
Michael Loria
U.S. forces have struck and destroyed over 92% of the Iranian navy’s large vessels, U.S. Central Command Adm. Brad Cooper announced Wednesday afternoon.
“For decades Iranian warships have roamed regional waters, threatening and harassing global shipping. But those days are now over,” Cooper said in a recorded statement. “My operational assessment is that they have now lost the ability to meaningfully project naval power and influence around the region and around the world.”
The admiral’s update on the Operation Epic Fury campaign comes about a month into the war. According to Cooper, U.S. forces have struck 10,000 military targets; Iran’s missile and drone strike rates have fallen by 90%, signaling reduced capabilities; and American strikes have destroyed around 66% of Iran’s military manufacturing facilities to ensure the country cannot rearm. Israel has leveled thousands of strikes against Iran, Cooper said.
Maps of military strikes in Iran provided by human rights groups show the targets span across the country, with some sites over 1,000 miles apart or about the distance of Denver to San Francisco.
Michael Loria
The Postal Service announced Wednesday that it plans to raise the cost of shipping a package by 8% amid rising fuel costs.
“Transportation costs have been increasing, and our competitors have reacted with a number of surcharges,” the independent agency said in a statement. “We have steadfastly avoided surcharges and this charge is less than one-third of what our competitors charge for fuel alone, so even with this change, the Postal Service continues to offer great value in shipping with some of the lowest rates in the industrialized world.”
The agency announcement comes as the average price of a gallon of diesel rose to $5.37, according to AAA. That’s almost 50 cents shy of the record of $5.82 for a gallon of diesel recorded in June 2022 when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drove up global fuel prices. Nationwide regular gas prices averaged $3.98 a gallon on Wednesday, according to AAA.
According to the Postal Service, the change was approved by the agency’s governors on Tuesday and will take effect April 26. The price change is slated to remain in place until Jan. 17, 2027.
Andrea Riquier
Oil remained below $100 a barrel March 25 as Washington and Tehran traded demands. Brent crude, the global benchmark, was around $98, down 2%, at the close of trading on Wall Street.
Stocks cheered the decline. The S&P 500 closed about 0.5% higher, the Dow added 0.7%, and the Nasdaq jumped 0.8%. The benchmark U.S. 10-year note tumbled more than 6 basis points Wednesday, a sign investor fears about inflation may be waning slightly.
Nationwide gas prices averaged $3.978 a gallon in the afternoon, according to GasBuddy’s tracker, down a penny from Tuesday.
Investors also took in stride the other big news of the day: shares of Meta and Google all closed slightly higher even as both companies were found liable in a court case about social media addiction.
Christopher Cann
Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with Iranian state television that there were no talks being held with the U.S. and that Iran does not “plan on any negotiations.”
Araghchi added that the exchange of messages through mediators “does not mean negotiations with the U.S.”
However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the United States and Iran were continuing talks after Iran rejected a 15-point plan to end the war.
Christopher Cann
Iran’s parliament speaker said on Wednesday that it will attack the “vital infrastructure” of any neighboring country that assists the U.S. or its allies in occupying one of the country’s islands.
“Based on some data, Iran’s enemies, with the support of one of the regional countries, are preparing to occupy one of the Iranian islands,” Mohammad Qalibaf said on X. “All enemy movements are under the full surveillance of our armed forces. If they step out of line, all the vital infrastructure of that regional country will, without restriction, become the target of relentless attacks.”
Thousands of U.S. soldiers are enroute to Iran, including 1,000 troops from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, a rapid-response force capable of conducting parachute assaults to forcibly enter territory. President Donald Trump and other White House officials have refused to rule out putting troops on the ground.
In recent days, Trump has refused to rule out seizing control of Kharg Island, a small landmass 15 miles off Iran’s coast where 90% of the country’s crude oil exports are processed. The U.S. has already bombed dozens of targets on the island since the war began.
Christopher Cann
After a classified briefing on the war in Iran, several Republican members of Congress on Wednesday said the Pentagon has failed to assuage their concerns about the United States’ operations in the Middle East.
Rep. Mike Rogers, chair of the House Armed Services Committee, told reporters that troop deployments should be “thoughtful and deliberate” and the Pentagon has failed to explain to lawmakers “what’s going on, what the options are and why they’re being considered.”
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-South Carolina, in a post on X said: “Just walked out of a House Armed Services briefing on Iran. Let me repeat: I will not support troops on the ground in Iran, even more so after this briefing.”
“The justifications presented to the American public for the war in Iran were not the same military objectives we were briefed on today in the House Armed Services Committee,” she said. “This gap is deeply troubling. The longer this war continues, the faster it will lose the support of Congress and the American people.”
Bart Jansen
To help ease gas prices, the Environmental Protection Agency announced March 25 it would waive summer restrictions on the sale of gas made with 15% ethanol.
Such blends are typically not permitted during warmer months. The waiver takes effect May 1 for 20 days and can be extended. Analysts said the waiver could shave several cents of the price of gasoline, with the average price of a gallon running $3.98, according to AAA.
“We foresee potential for a disruption to the American fuel supply,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told reporters in Houston.
Bart Jansen
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied portions of the 15-point peace plan that news organizations have published about Trump’s talks with Iran, but she refused to spell out what was wrong or right.
“We’re not going to get into the nitty gritty details that have been exchanged between the United States and Iran at this time,” Leavitt said.
Trump’s stated objectives from the war include preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, eliminating its missiles and drones and sinking its Navy. Leavitt said peace talks continue and productive.
“I saw a 15-point plan that was floated in the media. I would caution reporters in this room from reporting about speculative points or speculative plans from anonymous sources,” Leavitt said. “The White House never confirmed that full plan. There are elements of truth to it, but some of the stories I read were not entirely factual, so I am not going to negotiate on behalf of the president here at the podium.”
Christopher Cann
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration does not intend to seek congressional approval for the war in Iran.
“At this moment, it’s unnecessary,” she said, adding that the conflict is on track to last “four-to-six weeks” as the Pentagon had initially estimated.
Bart Jansen
Despite the peace talks between U.S. and Iranian officials, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said she couldn’t say when the Strait of Hormuz would reopen to oil shipping.
“I don’t have a specific timeline for you today but it’s obviously something the administration is working towards as quickly as we can,” Leavitt said.
Trump has taken other steps to relieve the rising cost of fuel, including offering risk insurance, lifting sanctions on stranded Iranian oil at sea and the release of 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves around the world. The Environmental Protection Agency announced March 25 it would waive summer restrictions on the sale of gas made with 15% ethanol.
“As far as tankers through the strait, it’s something we’re tracking very closely,” Leavitt said.
Bart Jansen
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied reports that Vice President JD Vance distanced himself from Trump over the war in Iran and said he remains an active participant in war planning.
Leavitt said Vance has been Trump’s “right-hand man and a key member of the national security team” through Israel’s 12-day war against Iran and the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
“The vice president has been by the president’s side every step of the way,” Leavitt said. “Any reporting otherwise is just completely false.”
Christopher Cann
The White House remains mum on who exactly U.S. envoys are negotiating with in Iran.
“We are not going to get into the details of these negotiations,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at a briefing on Wednesday. “They are very sensitive diplomatic discussions.”
Earlier in the week, President Trump said U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were in communication with a “top person.” Iran previously denied negotations were taking place.
“We are dealing with a man that I believe is the most respected, not the supreme leader, we have not heard from him,” Trump told reporters on Monday, March 23.
Christopher Cann
When asked about Iran’s reported rejection of the United States’ proposal, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said negotiations “have not” broken down.
“Talks continue,” she told reporters on Wednesday.
Leavitt said she would not discuss the details of the U.S. proposal.
Bart Jansen
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump has been in productive talks with Iranian leaders for three days about ending the war, but that he was prepared “to unleash hell” if the talks go nowhere.
Leavitt said the U.S. military is “very close” to achieving the core objectives of ending Iran’s nuclear program, eliminating its missiles and drones, and sinking its Navy. She said the destruction left Iranian leaders “looking for an exit ramp.”
But she added Trump doesn’t bluff and if he believes Iran is stalling, he could attack energy facilities as threatened.
“He is prepared to unleash hell,” Leavitt said.
Cybele Mayes-Osterman
The Pentagon is sending a thousand troops from the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team to the Iran war, according to a defense official and a U.S. official. Some personnel from the division’s headquarters will also deploy to the war, the officials said.
The 82nd Airborne Division is known as the Army’s rapid-response force, capable of conducting parachute assaults to forcibly enter territory. A combat aviation brigade within the unit was already scheduled to deploy to the Middle East as part of a routine, scheduled rotation. The division is based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
Christopher Cann
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said he supports President Trump’s efforts to resolve the war against Iran through negotiations.
In a post on X, Graham, who has long supported military action against Iran, said he has “confidence” Trump’s negotiators will be able to secure a deal that would include Iran dismantling its ballistic missile program, ending its support of proxies across the Middle East and ending any and all ambitions to obtain a nuclear weapon.
“If diplomacy can achieve these objectives, I would not only support it, but I would also prefer it because war literally is hell,” Graham said.
Kim Hjelmgaard
One of the key demands made by the Trump administration and Israel and relayed to Iran as part of a 15-point plan aimed at bringing the war to an end includes that Tehran would dismantle all of its existing nuclear capabilities and commit to never pursuing a nuclear weapon, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity. Iran has already rejected the proposal, state media reported.
Christopher Cann
Iran rejected the U.S. ceasefire plan and issued a counterproposal with the following demands, according to Iranian state television:
Christopher Cann
The United Nations’ Secretary-General António Guterres called for the end to the war in the Middle East, saying it has “gone too far.”
“My message to the United States and Israel is that it is high time to end the war as human suffering deepens, civilian casualties mount and the global economic impact becomes increasingly devastating,” he said in a video address.
Guterres also called for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and stop attacking neighboring Arab Gulf countries. In addtion, he urged Hezbollah to stop attacking Israel from Lebanon, where more than a million people have been displaced and more than 1,000 have been killed in Israeli strikes.
Christopher Cann
House Speaker Mike Johnson said the U.S. operation in Iran “is almost done,” but that Iran should take note of the buildup of American troops in the Middle East.
“Operation Epic Fury is almost done. I think the mission that was very clearly defined in the beginning, the objectives have been met,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Johnson continued: “The buildup of troops is very different than boots on the ground. We don’t have boots on the ground. I don’t think that’s the intention, but I think Iran should watch that buildup, and they need to take note of that.”
Christopher Cann
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called on continue negotations after Iran rejected the United States’ ceasefire proposal.
“We have to continue our efforts, it’s all about diplomacy and negotiations,” Abdelatty said at a news conference on Wednesday. He added that Cairo supports President Donald Trump’s attempts to negotiate with Iran and said Egypt is prepared to host peace talks.
A day earlier, Pakistan’s prime minister said his country is “ready” to facilitate negotiations to end the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Christopher Cann
Iran has rejected the 15-point peace plan sent by the U.S. as part of a stated effort to end the war, reported Press TV, Iran’s state-run English broadcasting service, citing a senior political-security official.
The official described the proposal as “excessive” and unrealistic, and said the war will end “when Iran decides it should end,” the outlet reported. Reuters, citing an unnamed Iranian official, said Iran’s response to the U.S. proposal wasn’t positive, but that it was still being reviewed.
The proposed plan included several conditions under which Iran would end the war, including a complete halt of bombardments, reparations and recognition of Tehran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
Andrea Riquier
The oil price tumbled and Wall Street opened higher Wednesday after U.S. officials presented Iran with a peace plan that might end the nearly month-long war.
Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, was down about 5%, near $95 a barrel, in the 9 a.m. hour ET. The major stock indexes added about 1% each at the opening bell and the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 6 basis points.
The average cost of a gallon of gas was $3.986 nationwide, according to GasBuddy’s tracker. If oil’s decline holds, gas will likely follow a day or two later.
On Friday, the University of Michigan will release its closely-watched consumer sentiment index. Economists and investors are waiting to see how much of a battering households have taken from the past several weeks of higher gas prices. Some analysts believe it will essentially cancel out the benefits expected from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s tax cuts.
Bart Jansen
The leader of Hezbollah, a Shiite militia in Lebanon that serves as a proxy for Iran against Israel, said his fighters are prepared to continue “without limits.”
In a speech on a Hezbollah-affiliated television station, Naim Qassem also called for unity as the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran continues after nearly a month.
Bart Jansen
Middle East countries told the United Nations Human Rights Council they face an “existential threat” from Iran’s retaliatory missile and drone attacks in the nearly month-long war.
“We are seeing an existential threat to international and regional security,” Naser Abdullah Alhayen, Kuwait’s ambassador, told the told the Geneva-based council. “This aggressive approach is undermining international law and sovereignty.”
Jamal Jama al Musharakh, the United Arab Emirates ambassador, denouncing Iran’s “attempt to destabilize the international order through reckless adventures of expansionism.”
Iran defended its actions, saying more than 1,500 civilians had been killed in the U.S.-Israeli strikes so far.
“We fight on behalf of all of you against an enemy that, if not restrained today, will be beyond containment tomorrow,” Ali Bahreini, Iran’s ambassador, said of Israel.
Michael Loria
The number of military members wounded in the war climbed to 290, U.S. Central Command said Wednesday morning.
“Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 290 U.S. service members have been wounded,” Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said in a statement. “The vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and more than 255 troops have already returned to duty.”
The number of wounded marks an increase of 90 military members since Hawkins’ last update on March 16.
Christopher Cann
Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Qalibaf, said Wednesday that the regime is “closely monitoring all US movements in the region, especially troop deployments.”
His statement comes as thousands of U.S. soldiers have been deployed to the region.
“Do not test our resolve to defend our land,” Qalibaf added in a statement on X.
Michael Loria
Around 1,500 civilians, including over 200 children, have been killed in strikes on Iran, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, a U.S.-based organization that focuses on human rights issues in Iran.
The group has been keeping a running tally of the impact of the war on Iran. Nearly 1,200 Iranian military personnel have been killed in strikes and nearly 700 deaths remain unclassified, the group said.
Among sites targeted on Tuesday were a base in Iran’s capital Tehran associated with a paramilitary group close to the regime and a swimming pool and sports complex near the border with Iraq.
Michael Loria
A move to curb President Trump’s war powers and end the conflict in Iran failed to pass in the Senate on Tuesday evening.
The vote on the Iran War Powers resolution failed 47-53, with senators voting largely along party lines.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., broke from his party to vote against the measure. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the lone Republican to vote in favor of the resolution.
The vote comes about a week after a similar measure to check Trump’s war powers failed.
Michael Loria
A top Israeli official announced Tuesday that amid the country’s war on Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel will occupy the southern part of the country.
“Israel’s policy in Lebanon is clear,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. “Where there is terror and missiles − there are no homes and no residents − and the IDF will control the security zone up to the Litani.”
The Litani is a river that originates in the Beqaa Valley east of Beirut, runs south and cuts west across the country to exit into the Mediterranean Sea north of Tyre, over 15 miles north of the border with Israel.
Israel’s planned move has been met with swift condemnation by some.
“Canada strongly condemns Israel’s plans to occupy territory in southern Lebanon,” Canada’s foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday. “Lebanon’s sovereignty & territorial integrity must not be violated. Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel must cease and they must disarm.”
The U.S.-Israel war on Iran has sparked intense fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, a Shia militia in Lebanon allied with Iran. Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed over 1,000 people, according to the country’s health ministry.
