Secretary of State Marco Rubio was optimistic and urged patience as peace talks between Israeli and Lebanese diplomats began in Washington.
“Our hope here, and I know this will be a process, all of the complexities of this matter are not going to be resolved in the next six hours, but we can begin to move forward to create the framework,” Rubio told reporters before the parties began discussing possible ways to end the conflict.
Talks have emerged afterIran-backed Hezbollah launched strikes on northern Israel in support of Tehran. Israel responded with a punishing bombing campaign that devastated parts of Beirut and a ground invasion of a large section of southern Lebanon.
The meeting in Washington comes after President Donald Trump urged Israel to scale back its offensive in Lebanon, which threatened the ongoing ceasefire. Hezbollah has called on the Lebanese government to cancel the meeting and vowed to continue confronting Israeli attacks. Ahead of the meeting on Tuesday, airstrikes were reported in southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the United States is still imposing a Navy blockade on Iranian ports and coastlines. Iran has effectively blocked shipping traffic through the narrow waterway since the start of the war in February, driving up global fuel prices while granting passage to vessels linked to its own oil exports. President Donald Trump responded Monday by moving to block Iran’s ships.
Escalating tensions on the water come amid a fragile ceasefire that’s set to expire on April 21. Trump administration officials are asking Iran to suspend its nuclear enrichment program for at least 20 years, a source familiar with the matter told USA TODAY. Iran reportedly rejected that and offered to suspend the program for five years, The New York Times reported, citing a U.S. official and two Iranian officials.
Terry Collins
President Donald Trump said talks between the US and Iran could restart “in the next two days.”
In an interview with the New York Poston April 14, the president said that talks with Iran could resume in Pakistan “could be happening over the next two days.”
Trump said Asim Munir, Pakistan’s chief of defense forces, was doing a “great job” in mediation. The president did not say who would represent the U.S. in a possible second round of talks, but confirmed he wouldn’t take part.
The president said he wasn’t pleased with reports that the U.S. had asked Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment program for at least 20 years during talks with Iran last weekend that didn’t lead to the end of the war.
“I’ve been saying they can’t have nuclear weapons,” Trump told the newspaper. “So I don’t like the 20 years.”
Christopher Cann
In the first day of the U.S. Navy blockade on Iranian ports, six commercial vessel complied with American forces’ demands to turn around, according to U.S. Central Command.
The half dozen commercial ships were ordered to reenter one of the Iranian ports located on the Gulf of Oman, the military said, adding that “no ship managed to breach the American blockade.”
More than 100,000 sailors, Marines and Air Force personnel were involved in the effort that involved 12 warships and dozens of aircraft, U.S. Central Command said.
The blockade, which went into effect at 10 a.m. on Monday, applies to all ships that stop at Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The blockade does not apply to ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz “en route to and from non-Iranian ports.”
Terry Collins
Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed optimism and patience before peace talks between Israeli and Lebanese diplomats were set to begin on April 14 at the Department of State in Washington.
Rubio told reporters that “all of the complexities of this matter are not going to be resolved in the next six hours,” but he hoped the talks would help start future relations.
“Something very positive, something very permanent, so the people of Lebanon can have the kind of future they deserve, and so that the people of Israel can live without fear,” Rubio said.
Rubio said the talks are “a process,” not an event, and will take time.
“But we believe it’s worth this endeavor, and it’s a historic gathering that we hope to build on,” Rubio added. “I hope today that we can build a framework upon which a permanent and lasting peace can be developed.”
Terry Collins
The U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is “dangerous and irresponsible,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian said on social media on April 13, adding the measure will only “aggravate confrontation, escalate tension, undermine the already fragile ceasefire” between the U.S. and Iran.
Jian said China believes that only a complete ceasefire can fundamentally create conditions for easing the situation.
“We urge relevant parties to honor the ceasefire agreement, stick to the direction of peace talks and take concrete actions to de-escalate the situation so that normal traffic via the Strait will be able to resume as soon as possible,” Jian saidin a post on X.
Christopher Cann
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty is expected to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss the ongoing war in the Middle East, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on X.
Egypt, along with other countries such as Pakistan, has been among the intermediaries involved in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran since the war began on Feb. 28.
Andrea Riquier
Oil retreated as investors turned more optimistic about a deal to end the Middle East conflict.
Brent crude was trading just below $98 a barrel in the morning, down about 1.5%. That’s a far cry from the $67 a barrel or so from before the war, but does offer some relief for overheated energy markets.
GasBuddy’s national average for a gallon of gas was still elevated, at $4.097. It takes gas prices a bit longer to catch up with the moves in oil.
Christopher Cann
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said he spoke with President Trump and Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian a day earlier and urged for another round of peace talks.
“I urged the resumption of the negotiations suspended in Islamabad, the clearing up of misunderstandings, and the avoidance of any further escalation,” Macron said on X.
“It is essential, in particular, that the ceasefire be strictly respected by all parties and that it include Lebanon,” Macron continued. Macron added that it’s “equally important” that the Strait of Hormuz be reopened “unconditionally, without restrictions or tolls, as soon as possible.”
“Under these conditions, negotiations should be able to resume quickly, with the support of the key parties concerned,” Macron said.
Francesca Chambers
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will hold peace talks, aimed at ending the conflict in Lebanon, on Tuesday in Washington. They will begin at 11 am at the State Department.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh will attend the session that marks the first direct diplomatic talks between the Middle Eastern nations in more than three decades. U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and other State Department officials will also participate.
Lebanon was not included in the two-week ceasefire that U.S. and Israeli forces agreed to with Iran, and Israel has carried out strikes in Lebanon against Iranian proxy group Hezbollah since negotiations with Tehran began in April.
Michael Loria
Trump administration officials are asking Iran to suspend its nuclear enrichment program for at least 20 years, a source familiar with the matter told USA TODAY.
Confirmation of the White House’s position follows reporting by The New York Times that U.S. officials wanted the country to suspend its uranium enrichment program for two decades and Iran countered by offering to suspend the program for five years.
Iranian officials have long insisted the country is enriching uranium for civilian purposes. Experts say the level of enrichment they achieved surpassed levels necessary for civilian purposes. The Trump administration has defended the war as necessary in order to prevent Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Confirmation of the White House’s position also follows comments from Vice President JD Vance earlier Monday that over the course of negotiations in Pakistan, Iran “moved in our direction” on nuclear issues. Vance did not elaborate.
The Times cited two Iranian officials and a U.S. official in their reporting on Iran’s offer.
Michael Loria
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said at a public forum Monday that energy prices will remain high and “maybe even rising” over the next few weeks.
“We’re going to see energy prices high and maybe even rising until we get the ships, meaningful ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz,” Wright said at the 2026 Semafor World Economy summit. “That’s probably some time in the next few weeks.”
The Trump appointee described earlier estimates that gas prices will fall by the summer as “aggressive.”
“The longer the conflict goes, the longer the rebound is,” Wright said.
According to GasBuddy, the average price of a gallon of gas across the U.S. was about $4.11 on Monday evening, up from $2.81 at the start of the year before the war.
Michael Loria
Chinese Defense Minister Admiral Dong Jun reportedly warned U.S. officials not to interfere with Chinese ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
“Our ships are moving in and out of the waters of the Strait of Hormuz. We have trade and energy agreements with Iran. We will respect and honor those agreements and expect others not to interfere in our affairs,” said Jun, according to reports in News18 and India Today.
Jun’s comments come as the U.S. military establishes a blockade on ships leaving the narrow waterway off the coast of Iran. China gets about half of its oil from the Middle East, including about 11% from Iran. The country at war with the U.S. sells the vast majority of its oil exports to China.
In response to a request for comment, a White House spokesperson directed USA TODAY to comments Trump made to reporters Monday at the White House.
“We have a very good relationship with China,” the president said.