{"id":207020,"date":"2026-04-09T04:35:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T04:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/us-iran-ceasefire-tested-jd-vance-to-travel-to-pakistan-for-peace-talks-usa-today\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T04:35:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T04:35:27","slug":"us-iran-ceasefire-tested-jd-vance-to-travel-to-pakistan-for-peace-talks-usa-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/us-iran-ceasefire-tested-jd-vance-to-travel-to-pakistan-for-peace-talks-usa-today\/","title":{"rendered":"US-Iran ceasefire tested, JD Vance to travel to Pakistan for peace talks – USA Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vice President JD Vance<\/a> will lead in-person peace talks in Pakistan this weekend, the White House said, as the United States\u2019 ceasefire with Iran faced tests over Israeli attacks on Lebanon<\/a> and the Strait of Hormuz.
Vance will be accompanied by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner for the negotiations in Islamabad, said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Iranian state media said the country again closed the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> on Wednesday in response to Israeli bombardments on Lebanon. Leavitt called those claims \u201cfalse\u201d but reiterated Trump\u2019s demand that the trade route is \u201creopened immediately, quickly and safely.\u201d
Deep confusion also emerged over whether Lebanon was included in the ceasefire. Pakistan, which brokered the deal on Tuesday, and Iran said the pause in fighting would extend to Lebanon. Israel and the White House have denied this, and Israel vowed to continue its war against Hezbollah.
Michael Loria
Israeli strikes killed between 180 and 260 people and left around 1,000 people wounded in Lebanon on Wednesday, local authorities reported.
Lebanon\u2019s health ministry reported 182 deaths. The country\u2019s civil defense service reported 254. The two authorities reported around 1,000 people injured.\u00a0
The death toll in the country bordering Israel is the highest yet for a single day of the war and comes in the wake of an announced break in hostilities. Iran, Israel and the U.S. were at odds about whether the ceasefire included Lebanon, where Israel is waging a campaign against Iran\u2019s ally Hezbollah.
Beirut saw the worst of the strikes. Israeli strikes killed 91 people in Lebanon\u2019s capital city, the civil defense service said. Residents said attacks came without warnings to evacuate.
World leaders not involved in the fighting are slamming what they described as “indiscriminate strikes” that threaten the newly announced ceasefire.\u00a0
“We condemn these strikes in the strongest possible terms,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement<\/a>. “They pose a direct threat to the sustainability of the ceasefire that has just been reached. Lebanon must be fully covered by it.”
Contributing by Reuters<\/em>
Michael Loria
Asked whether President Donald Trump was considering punishing NATO countries<\/a> for not supporting the Iran war, the White House directed USA TODAY to comments from top administration officials slamming countries in the international organization<\/a> for barring U.S. troops from using their bases.
“Why are we in NATO? You have to ask that question,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a Fox News interview, which the White House referred to<\/a> USA TODAY. “Why do we send trillions of dollars and have all of these American forces stationed in the region, if in our time of need, we won’t be allowed to use those bases?”
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Trump was considering<\/a> withdrawing American troops from NATO member countries that haven’t supported the Iran war and closing a military base in Spain or Germany.
American troops are stationed on U.S. bases throughout NATO member countries in Europe. Some NATO countries have moved to stop U.S. troops from using the facilities in connection with the war. Spain<\/a> blocked troops from using bases in the southern part of the country.
Eduardo Cuevas
Support for Israel among Americans hit a new low amid the Iran war, a recent Pew Research Center survey found.
According to results published April 7<\/a>, 60% of American adults had an unfavorable opinion of Israel, compared with 53% a year earlier. Around 37% of respondents had a favorable view of the longstanding U.S. ally, a historic beneficiary of foreign aid<\/a>.
The poll results marked a 20-point shift since 2022, when most Americans had favorable views of Israel. Around 42% of respondents then had an unfavorable opinion of the country.
Younger Americans in particular held negative views toward Israel. Across the ideological spectrum, 70% of respondents under age 50 had unfavorable opinions of Israel, Pew found. Read more here<\/a> about the poll results.
Michael Loria
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, the critical oil shipping lane that has become a focal point of peace talks, appears to remain stalled, a USA TODAY analysis of tanker tracking data shows.
Leaders from the United States and Israel say any truce will be contingent on Iran granting ships safe passage through the strait. Iran declared it would allow vessels through the waterway if attacks on the country are halted.
But nearly 24 hours after President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire, only a handful of ships have passed through the channel, down from 60 per day, according to MarineTraffic<\/a> and other<\/a> trackers<\/a>.
Among ships that successfully transited the strait are bulk cargo carriers Daytona Beach<\/a>, sailing under the flag of Liberia, and NJ Earth<\/a>, sailing under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis, MaritimeTraffic data shows.\u00a0Other data showed two Greek-owned and two Chinese-owned bulk carriers have passed through the\u00a0strait\u00a0since early Wednesday.
Contributing: Reuters<\/em>
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
Vice President JD Vance,<\/a> who has been on an official trip to Budapest, Hungry, disputed allegations from Iran\u2019s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in remarks to reporters.
Ghalibaf said in a Wednesday statement<\/a> that ongoing strikes on Lebanon violated the fragile ceasefire that President Donald Trump announced Tuesday evening, in addition to raising accusations about two other issues in the region.
But Vance called the leader’s comments a “reasonable misunderstanding.” He added that “neither us nor the Israelis said that that was going to be part of the ceasefire.\u201d Vance also put a positive spin on the negotiations, telling reporters \u201cIf (Ghalibaf is) frustrated about three issues, that actually means that there’s a lot of agreement.\u201d
The VP also said Israel has offered to \u201ccheck themselves\u201d<\/a> in Lebanon \u201cbecause they want to make sure our negotiation is successful.\u201d\u00a0Hours earlier, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that Vance, along with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, would be traveling to Islamabad, Pakistan, for key talks.\u00a0
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
Iran\u2019s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a post on X<\/a> that it was “unreasonable” to continue negotiations after the violation of three clauses of the newly hashed out ceasefire agreement with the United States.
Ghalibaf referenced the ceasefire deal<\/a> President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social on Tuesday, in which he said an Iranian counterproposal was “a workable basis on which to negotiate.” But the Middle Eastern leader on Wednesday alleged that “3 clauses of this proposal have been violated so far.”
Ghalibaf cited non-compliance of a ceasefire in Lebanon, the entry of a drone into Iranian airspace over the Fars Province and the denial of Iran\u2019s right to uranium enrichment.
\u201cNow, the very \u2018workable basis on which to negotiate\u2019 have been openly and clearly violated, even before the negotiations began,\u201d he wrote.
Though Trump announced the two-week agreement on Tuesday evening, Israel continued bombing Lebanon into Wednesday. U.S. officials have argued Lebanon was not involved in the plan.
Daniel de Vise\u0301
The stock market posted colossal gains<\/a> on April 8, snapping out of a five-week funk set off by the Iran war.
The surge came after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire in Iran. It endured through the day, even as the ceasefire appeared increasingly fragile and threatened to unravel completely.
\u201cStocks clearly want to move past this conflict and go higher,\u201d said Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist for LPL Financial.
The Dow Jones average<\/a> rose more than 1,300 points, up nearly 3%, one of its most dramatic one-day upward swings in recent memory. The S&P 500 rose 2.5%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 2.8%. It wasn\u2019t enough to erase all the accumulated losses to date in 2026, a year of zigzagging and volatility. The Dow, S&P and Nasdaq all remain below where they started 2026, and farther below their historic highs.
Natalie Neysa Alund
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt during a Wednesday afternoon press conference said negotiation talks between Iran and the United States are set in Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad this weekend.
President Donald Trump<\/a>‘s, Leavitt said, is dispatching his negotiation team lead by Vice President JD Vance<\/a>, Middle East special envoy Steven Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law,\u00a0Jared Kushner.<\/a>
“We know we look forward to those in person meetings,” Leavitt told reporters.
Natalie Neysa Alund
When asked by a reporter during a press conference at the White House whether the United States plans to withdraw from NATO, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it\u2019s a possibility.
\u201cIt\u2019s something the president has discussed and I think it\u2019s something the president will be discussing in couple of hours with (NATO) Secretary General (Mark) Rutte,\u201d Leavitt said.
Zac Anderson
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. is pushing Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without tolls amid reporting<\/a> that Tehran wants to charge for passage through the strait.
Leavitt said the U.S. wants the strait opened “without limitation, including tolls.” Trump told ABC News April 8 that he’s considering a “joint venture” with Iran on the strait.
\u201cWe\u2019re thinking of doing it as a joint venture. It\u2019s a way of securing it \u2014 also securing it from lots of other people,” Trump said when asked about Tehran levying a fee on ships traversing the strait.
Zac Anderson
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt disputed a report in Iranian state media<\/a> that the Strait of Hormuz is closed in response to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.
“This is a case of what they’re saying publicly is different privately,” Leavitt said April 8. “We have seen an uptick in traffic in the strait today and I will reiterate the president’s expectation and demand that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened immediately, quickly and safely.”
“That is is his expectation and it has been relayed to him privately that that is what’s taking place and these reports publicly are false,” Leavitt added.
Christopher Cann
Iran’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, said the ceasefire his country agreed to extends to Lebanon and called on the United States and Israel to “act on its commitments.”
“The Iran\u2013U.S. Ceasefire terms are clear and explicit: the U.S. must choose\u2014ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both,” he said in a statement on X<\/a>. “The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the U.S. court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments.”
Christopher Cann
Iran said it closed the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday in response to Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, Iran\u2019s semi-official Fars News Agency reported.
The fragile ceasefire brokered between the United States and Iran largely hinges on the critical trade route remaining open while negotiations take place over the next two weeks. It’s unclear how the move will impact diplomatic efforts.
Christopher Cann
A wave of Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon<\/a> killed at least 112 people and wounded over 830 others on Wednesday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
The airstrikes bombarded Lebanon’s capital of Beirut and came without warning, the ministry said. Among the dead were more than a dozen medics.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli military said it had carried out its largest attack on Iran-backed Hezbollah. The military said it struck 100\u00a0Hezbollah\u00a0command centers and military sites were targeted in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon.
Contributing: Reuters<\/em>
Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Militia groups “aligned with Iran” launched multiple drone attacks near Baghdad’s airport and a diplomatic support center the day after the United States and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad said in an April 8 security alert<\/a>.
“They may intend to conduct additional terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens and targets associated with the United States throughout Iraq, including in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region,” the alert read. It warned U.S. citizens to leave Iraq and not to travel within the country by air “in light of the ongoing risk of missiles, drones, and rockets in Iraqi airspace.”
Christopher Cann
President Trump on Wednesday said negotiations with Iran will take place behind closed doors and that there’s only “one group of meaningful points” that the U.S. will be discussing, though he did not detail those points.
“Numerous Agreements, Lists, and Letters are being sent out by people that have absolutely nothing to do with the U.S.A. \/ Iran Negotiation, in many cases, they are total Fraudsters, Charlatans, and WORSE. They will be rapidly exposed after our Federal Investigation is completed,” Trump said in a post on social media<\/a>.
“There is only one group of meaningful \u201cPOINTS\u201d that are acceptable to the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these Negotiations,” he continued. “These are the POINTS that are the basis on which we agreed to a CEASEFIRE. It is something that is reasonable, and can easily be dispensed with.”
Christopher Cann
President Donald Trump and Israeli officials said the ceasefire brokered by Pakistan does not include Lebanon, where Israel has launched an extensive ground invasion and destroyed entire villages as part of its war against Iran-backed Hezbollah.
However, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a Tuesday message announcing the deal, said Iran, the U.S. and its allies “have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.”
In an interview with PBS on Wednesday<\/a>, President Donald Trump said “they were not included in the deal,” speaking of Hezbollah in Lebanon. “That’s a separate skirmish,” he added. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire does not apply to Lebanon and promised to keep fighting Hezbollah. The Israeli military said it launched its largest bombing campaign on Wednesday. The Lebanese Health Ministry reported dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries.
After Hezbollah attacked Israel following the killing of Iran’s former supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28, Israel launched a ground invasion into southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said it would indefinitely occupy a large section of southern Lebanon and has begun destroying homes in villages near the Israeli border. More than a million people in Lebanon have been displaced and more than 1,500 people have been killed, the country’s health ministry said.
Rachel Barber
Oil prices fell<\/a> the morning following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire deal between the United States and Iran on April 8, but it’s unclear when Americans on the hunt for cheaper gas will find it.
Fuel prices could continue to rise for months even after the Strait of Hormuz\u00a0reopens, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
\u201cJust as we had never before seen the strait close, we\u2019ve never seen it reopen,\u201d EIA Administrator Tristan Abbey said in\u00a0an April 7 statement<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cWhat exactly that looks like remains to be seen. Full restoration of flows will take months.\u201d
The national average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas\u00a0held\u00a0steady\u00a0from the day before\u00a0at about $4.17 on\u00a0the morning of\u00a0April\u00a08, according to\u00a0GasBuddy\u2019s real-time tracker<\/a>.\u00a0Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy,\u00a0predicted it could fall below $4 within one or two weeks.
Cybele Mayes-Osterman
In 38 days of war with Iran, the U.S. military struck<\/a> more than 13,000 targets and destroyed around 80% of Iran’s air defense systems, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on April 8.
Around 1,500 air defense targets, more than 450 ballistic missile storage facilities and 800 one-way attack drone storage facilities, were hit, Caine said. More than 90% of the country’s naval fleet \u2013 150 ships and half of its small attack boats \u2013 were sunk, he added.
Caine said the war had also demolished Iran’s defense industrial base and 90% of Iran’s weapons facilities were attacked.
“Nearly 80% of Iran’s nuclear industrial base was hit, further degrading their attempts to attain a nuclear weapon,” he said.
Christopher Cann
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged countries to “respect the ceasefire” as missile fire continued across the Middle East on Wednesday.
“Violations of ceasefire have been reported at few places across the conflict zone which undermine the spirit of peace process,” Sharif said on X<\/a>. “I earnestly and sincerely urge all parties to exercise restraint and respect the ceasefire for two weeks, as agreed upon, so that diplomacy can take a lead role towards peaceful settlement of the conflict.”
Iranian missiles were reported in Saudi Arabua, Qatar, Kuwait and other Gulf countries on Wednesday. Iranian state media said the strikes were in retaliation of an attack on an Iranian oil refinery.
Israel said it launched its most intense attack in Lebanon on Wednesday, with dozens killed and hundreds wounded, according to\u00a0Lebanon’s health ministry. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue attacking Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. However, Sharif on Tuesday said the U.S. and its allies had agreed to an immediate ceasefire “everywhere including Lebanon.”
Christopher Cann
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said that while he supports a diplomatic end to the war, he does not support any deal that allows Iran to enrich uranium. “As President @realDonaldTrump said this morning, all the highly enriched uranium must be removed from Iran and handed over to the United States,” he said in a post on X<\/a>.
“Allowing this regime to enrich in the future would be an affront to all those murdered by the regime since this war started and would be inconsistent with denying Iran a pathway toward a bomb in the future,” he added. Iran has long held that it maintains a right to enrich uranium for peaceful energy purposes.
Graham, who has been among the most vocal supporters of the war in Congress, also expressed concern regarding negotiations.
“The supposed negotiating document, in my view, has some troubling aspects, but time will tell,” Graham said. “I look forward to the architects of this proposal, the Vice President and others, coming forward to Congress and explaining how a negotiated deal meets our national security objectives in Iran.”
Daniel de Vise\u0301
The zigzagging stock market soared at the opening bell on April 8, on news of a ceasefire in the Iran war.\u00a0\u00a0
The Dow Jones was up more than 1,300 points, nearly 3%, shortly after the start of trading. The S&P 500 was up more than 2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq had gained nearly 3%.\u00a0
Traders were elated by a\u00a0Truth Social post<\/a>\u00a0from President Donald Trump announcing a two-week suspension of hostilities, a missive that arrived after the close of trading on April 7. Trump said Iran had agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz, a condition that sent oil prices plummeting.\u00a0
The market has a long way to go to erase its losses in 2026. Even after the dramatic gains, all three stock indexes remained down on the year.
Zac Anderson
Trumptold ABC News<\/a> in an interview that the U.S. could be involved in a “joint venture” with Iran to charge tolls on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route that carries 20% of the world’s oil.
\u201cWe\u2019re thinking of doing it as a joint venture. It\u2019s a way of securing it \u2014 also securing it from lots of other people,” Trump said<\/a> when asked about Tehran charging tolls on ships traveling through the strait.
“It’s a beautiful thing,” Trump added.
The U.S. and Iran agreed to a ceasefire April 7 in the war that began Feb. 28, with Trump saying<\/a> the deal is “subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.” Iran’s foreign minister said Iran’s armed forces would coordinate safe passage, indicating Tehran would still control the strait, which wasn’t the case before the war.
Christopher Cann
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian affirmed that Tehran will participate in peace talks in Islamabad later this week, said Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif.
Sharif said in a statement on X<\/a> that he spoke with Pezeshkian and expressed his “deep appreciation” that the Iranian leadership accepted the ceasefire proposal and plans for peace talks “aimed at our joint efforts to restore calm to the region.”
“President Pezeshkian also affirmed Iran’s participation in the upcoming negotiations, expressed gratitude for Pakistan’s efforts, and extended his best wishes to the people of Pakistan,” said Sharif. “Pakistan remains committed to working closely with all its friends and partners to strengthen peace and stability in the region and beyond.”
Christopher Cann
Following an agreement to a two-week ceasefire between the U.S., Israel and Iran, missiles and drones continued flying across the Persian Gulf region.
On Wednesday, Kuwait reported at least 28 Iranian drones that targeted the country\u2019s oil and power facilities. While most were intercepted, the defense ministry reported some limited damage.
The United Arab Emirates said debris from an intercepted projectile left three people injured and caused damage to a gas processing facility. Qatar and Bahrain also reported damage from intercepted Iranian missiles.
Iranian state media reported that some of the strikes were in response to an attack at an oil refinery on Iran’s\u00a0Lavan\u00a0Island\u00a0Wednesday morning.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, said it launched its largest attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon since the war began in late February. A series of heavy Israeli bombardments were reported in Beirut.
Natalie Neysa Alund
Pope Leo, on Wednesday, asked the world to join him in “this moment of delicate diplomacy<\/a> with prayer, in hopes that a willingness to dialogue may become the means to resolve other conflict situations in the world as well.”
The pope, in a post on X, also announced a vigil is set for 6 p.m. local time on April 11 at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
“In the wake of these hours of great tension for the #MiddleEast<\/a> and the entire world, I welcome with satisfaction \u2212and as a sign of living hope \u2212 the announcement of an immediate two-week truce. Only by returning to negotiations can the war come to an end.”
Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said either Iran will give up its enriched uranium, or “we’ll get it.” He said another military strike like Operation Midnight Hammer, the bombing last June of Iran’s nuclear facilities, was not off the table.
Iran’s enriched uranium is “buried, and we’re watching it,” Hegseth said. We know exactly what they have, and they know that.”
Iran will “either give it to us” or “if we have to do something else ourselves, like we did Midnight Hammer or something like that, we reserve that opportunity.”
Zac Anderson
Iran\u2019s foreign minister said in a statement agreeing to a ceasefire with the U.S. that “safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> will be possible via coordination with Iran\u2019s armed forces,\u201d indicating Iran retains control of the strait, which wasn’t the case before the war.
Asked what Iran\u2019s statement means, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said \u201cIran is going to say a lot of things.\u201d
\u201cWhat has been agreed to, what\u2019s been stated, is the strait is open,\u201d Hegseth added. \u201cOur military is watching, sure their military is watching, but commerce will flow.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
Zac Anderson
Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine threw out a lot of statistics about the Iran war in a Wednesday news briefing following the announcement of a ceasefire, including the number of targets struck and missiles intercepted.
Underpinning the entire war effort was a lot of caffeine and nicotine, Caine said. He estimated that the troops consumed 950,000 gallons of coffee, two million energy drinks \u201cand a lot of nicotine.\u201d
\u201cBut I am not saying that we have a problem,\u201d he joked.
Christopher Cann
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth declared the U.S. military campaign on Iran a \u201chistoric and overwhelming victory.\u201d
Hegseth said the U.S. armed forces \u201cachieved every military objective\u201d set out at the start of the war, including the destruction of Iran\u2019s navy, air force and weapons manufacturing infrastructure.
\u201cPresident Trump forged this moment,\u201d he said. \u201cIran begged for this ceasefire and we all know it.\u201d
Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council has also claimed victory following a ceasefire deal Tuesday evening, saying the U.S. and Israel were forced to accept Tehran\u2019s 10-point plan.
Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said at a news briefing the morning after the United States and Iran agreed to a ceasefire that the military “for now, has done its part.”
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military had “achieved the military objectives as defined by the president,” including destroying Iran’s ballistic missile and drone capabilities, its Navy and its defense industrial base. He did not mention Iran’s nuclear capabilities, which the Pentagon said was “obliterated” after Operation Midnight Hammer in June.
“A ceasefire is a pause,” Caine said, and the military “remains ready if ordered or called upon to resume combat operations with the same speed and precision.”
Zac Anderson
Countries that supply Iran with military weapons will be hit with a 50% tariff, Trump said Wednesday, amid an emerging ceasefire in the war launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28.
“There will be no exclusions or exemptions!”Trump said<\/a> on social media, a day after announcing the ceasefire.
The joint U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran has degraded the country’s military capabilities. The tariff threat is aimed at preventing Iran, which is allied with major military powers such as China and Russia, from rebuilding its military.
Zac Anderson
A day after backing off his threats to annihilate Iran\u2019s entire civilization and agreeing to a ceasefire, Trump took to social media to tout the truce, declaring it \u201ca big day for World Peace!\u201d
Trump in an early morning social media post on Wednesday, said the ceasefire will allow Iran to begin the reconstruction process after the U.S. and Israel heavily bombed the country.
\u201cThere will be lots of positive action!\u201d Trump said. \u201cBig money will be made.\u201d
In a second post<\/a> later in the morning Trump said Iran won\u2019t be allowed to enrich uranium and that the U.S. will work with Iran to \u201cdig up and remove\u201d the enriched uranium that remains in the country.
In launching the war, Trump said he wanted to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, but the country retains a stockpile of highly-enriched uranium. The regime has not publicly indicated it will turn over the uranium or stop enriching.
Trump also said that U.S. negotiators will discuss \u201cTariff and Sanctions relief with Iran.\u201d The U.S. has long imposed economic sanctions on Iran to pressure the regime.
Zac Anderson
Vice President JD Vance said elements of the Iranian regime are \u201clying\u201d about the nature of the ceasefire the Trump administration agreed to and the truce is a \u201cfragile\u201d one.
\u201cYou have people who clearly want to come to the negotiating table and work with us to find a good deal, and then you have people who are lying about even the fragile truce that we\u2019ve already struck,\u201d Vance said while traveling overseas in Hungary on Wednesday.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council is claiming victory in the deal, saying Trump agreed to Tehran\u2019s demands. Vance said the U.S. has achieved it\u2019s military objectives and is ready to stop attacks if Iran opens the Strait of Hormuz and stops \u201ctrying to hold the world\u2019s economy hostage.\u201d
\u201cThat\u2019s exactly the agreement we came to last night,\u201d Vance said.
Yet there are questions about what the agreement means for the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world\u2019s oil passes. Iran\u2019s foreign minister said ships will be allowed to pass through the strait through \u201ccoordination with Iran\u2019s Armed Forces,\u201d which indicates Iran would have control over the strait, which wasn\u2019t the case before the war.
Kim Hjelmgaard
A knot of defiant actors \u2212 three of them talked off a geopolitical cliff’s edge at the 11th hour.
One peacemaker-nation trying to end a war on its border while fighting another. A second one, a major world power with no Middle East military footprint, that views economic leverage against the United States as a strategic priority.
April 7 began with President Donald Trump making a widely criticized threat to destroy Iran’s “whole civilization” unless it agreed to stop a war that Israel and the United States started. It ended with Iran, Israel and the U.S. agreeing to a two-week pause in hostilities and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz shipping channel.
The story of how two countries\u2212 Pakistan and China \u2212 have emerged as unlikely but effective mediators is far from straightforward.
Read more<\/a>.
Reuters
U.S. stock index futures climbed on Wednesday as investors breathed a sigh of relief after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, sending crude prices lower on expectations that energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz could resume.
The announcement came less than two hours before U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline, in a sharp turnaround from his previous warning of wiping out “a whole civilization” if Tehran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that typically handles about one-fifth of global oil trade.
Read more.<\/a>
Michael Loria
The United States and Israel say any lasting peace with Iran will be contingent on access to the Strait of Hormuz, the critical oil shipping lane Iran has managed to make the key issue of the war.
The military operation launched Feb. 28 in an effort, leaders said, to eliminate Iran\u2019s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Iran responded to strikes by effectively blocking traffic through the strait, a 100-mile waterway through which some 20% of the world\u2019s oil and natural gas supply passes.
Iran\u2019s strategic closure of the channel has resulted in spiking gas prices and tumbling financial markets, leaving President Trump to deal with repeated questions about whether he would be able to reopen the channel before its closure has had a drastic impact on the economy.
Pending an end to strikes on Iran, the country\u2019s foreign minister has promised its armed forces will allow oil tankers to move through the channel again.
Read more here<\/a>.
Michael Loria
Officials from Pakistan have played a key role in ceasefire talks and announced Tuesday evening that parties involved in negotiations will head to the country\u2019s capital of Islamabad on Friday to work out a lasting peace.
“I warmly welcome the sagacious gesture and extend deepest gratitude to the leadership of both the countries and invite their delegations to Islamabad on Friday, 10th April 2026, to further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes,” Pakistan\u2019s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement announcing the ceasefire<\/a>. “Both parties have displayed remarkable wisdom and understanding and have remained constructively engaged in furthering the cause of peace and stability. We earnestly hope, that the \u2018Islamabad Talks\u2019 succeed in achieving sustainable peace and wish to share more good news in coming days!”
Sharif did not elaborate on who will attend the peace talks. President Trump said U.S. officials had received from Iranian officials a 10-point plan for peace. Trump called the plan “workable.”
Officials from the U.S. and Israel say a lasting end to fighting will depend on Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has promised to allow shipping traffic to resume “if attacks on Iran are halted.”
Michael Loria
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday that the ceasefire does not include Lebanon.
At least 1,500 people have been killed and about 1.2 million others have been displaced in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have mounted a massive invasion of the southern part of the country amid its fight against Iran\u2019s ally Hezbollah.\u00a0
Israel’s assertion that the ceasefire does not include Lebanon comes as Pakistan\u2019s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced Tuesday evening Lebanon\u2019s inclusion in the deal to cease hostilities.
“With the greatest humility, I am pleased to announce that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY,” Sharif said.
Contributing: Reuters<\/em><\/p>\n

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Vice President JD Vance will lead in-person peace talks in Pakistan this weekend, the White House said, as the United States\u2019 ceasefire with Iran faced tests over Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz.Vance will be accompanied by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner for the negotiations in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":207021,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-207020","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}