Axios: The White House believes it’s getting close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations, according to two U.S. officials and two other sources briefed on the issue…
Trump Again Shifts U.S. Focus on Strait, Pausing Day-Old Escort Mission
President Trump announced on Tuesday evening that he was pausing the day-old U.S. operation to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz “for a short period of time,” citing what he said was “great progress” toward an agreement with Iran.
His announcement, in a social media post, came only hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserted that the United States had concluded combat operations against Iran and was fully focused on the new mission. Only three commercial ships have managed to make it through the strait since the United States began the operation, dubbed Project Freedom, on Monday…
In Talks With Iran, China Calls for Opening of Strait of Hormuz
China’s top diplomat also warned against the restarting of hostilities as he met with Iran’s foreign minister. The U.S. has urged China to pressure Iran to reopen the waterway…
Rubio calls Hormuz resolution test for UN, urges against vetoes
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday called a U.S.-proposed U.N. resolution demanding Iran stop attacks and laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz a test of the utility of the United Nations and urged China and Russia not to repeat vetoes…
U.S. mission to reopen Strait of Hormuz will be temporary, Hegseth says
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. mission to protect commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz would be temporary and other nations would soon have to take responsibility, emphasizing Tuesday that the fragile ceasefire with Iran remained in place despite attacks on U.S. ships a day earlier…
Some Democrats press Trump to break silence on Israel’s nuclear arsenal
A group of House Democrats is urging the Trump administration to publicly acknowledge Israel’s undeclared nuclear weapons program, a move that would abandon decades of U.S. policy but confirm what has been an open secret among intelligence officials since the late 1960s…
US Says Offensive Phase of Iran War Over as Ship Hit in Strait
The US said offensive operations against Iran are over as it shifts to protecting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, but the targeting of another cargo vessel after a day of strikes signaled that the conflict is dragging on…
White House Insists Iran War Is Over, Even While Missiles Fly
The White House is turning to rhetorical leaps as President Trump tries to put the biggest political crisis of his presidency behind him…
Global oil reserves plunge at record pace as Middle East war strains supplies
“This is massive, it is far above the usual range,” said Jim Burkhard, head of crude research at S&P, adding that in a normal month, global stocks fluctuate by between a few hundred thousand and a million barrels. “An inevitable market reckoning is coming,” he said…
Gulf States Fear an Emboldened Iran Is Taking Advantage of a Hesitant U.S.
The likely conclusion in Tehran, Gulf governments fear, is that further escalation pays off because Trump is so intent on extricating himself from the war that he will ignore renewed Iranian attacks on America’s regional allies…
Trump keeps changing his timeline for ending the Iran war
Since the start of the war in Iran in late February, President Donald Trump has made increasingly contradictory statements about the United States’ strategy. The administration’s shifting timeline for the war’s end has been one of the clearest examples of its flip-flopping messaging, which has led to confusion and required cleanup by the White House staff...
Iran war amplifies divisions within both parties over U.S.-Israel ties
On the campaign trail and elsewhere, the alliance has gone from a bipartisan consensus to a subject of fierce debate among Republicans and Democrats alike…
Trump Looks for a Silver Bullet to End the Iran War. There May Be None.
The president is trying to ratchet up the economic pressure on Tehran, but Iran’s government is unlikely to make a deal without a big, face-saving compromise…
Gasoline costs 50% more in the US than it did before the Iran war
The main reason drivers are paying more at the pump is because of the global energy crisis caused by the Iran war. The price of crude oil, which is the main ingredient in gasoline, has been climbing for most of the past two months because the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil normally passes, has effectively been shut, and oil tankers have been stranded there unable to deliver crude…