Trump warns strikes will resume if Iran doesn’t agree to his terms : NPR

President Trump said late Wednesday that U.S. forces deployed in the Middle East will “remain where they are” until a deal with Iran is reached and implemented.

His comments came after a shaky start to a two-week ceasefire, with Israel continuing its attacks in Lebanon that killed hundreds on Wednesday, with Gulf Arab countries also reporting some drone and missile attacks on oil refineries and power plants, and amid reports that Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway, largely blocked during the war, is a major shipping route for about 20% of the world’s fuel and goods.

Markets also felt uncertain Thursday, with gains from the day before erased, oil prices rising and stocks falling. Brent crude, the international standard, was up $97 a barrel, or 2.4%.

Trump warned that attacks on Iran would resume if it did not comply with a “real deal”.

He said, “If for whatever reason that doesn’t happen, which is highly unlikely, then the shootin’ starts, bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before.”

He also reiterated that the deal would not allow nuclear enrichment in Iran and would keep the Strait of Hormuz open.

“It was agreed upon a long time ago, and despite all the false rhetoric to the contrary – no nuclear weapons and the Strait of Hormuz will remain open and secure,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The White House on Wednesday denied reports that Iran had closed the strait, saying they were false and noted an increase in traffic in the strait on Wednesday.

Here are more updates from the field:

Click on the link below to go to a specific section.

peace talks Lebanon strait of hormuz

Peace talks to resume while confusion remains over terms of current ceasefire

High-level talks between the US and Iran are scheduled to begin in Islamabad on Saturday with the mediation of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. His government acted as a mediator between Washington and Tehran to secure a two-week ceasefire. The White House announced that Vice President J.D. Vance would lead the US delegation.

But confusion remains over the plan for those talks, with Iran pushing for a 10-point plan that includes giving up full control of the Strait of Hormuz, lifting sanctions and accepting Iran’s right to enrichment. White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said Wednesday that Iran’s 10-point proposal was “literally thrown in the trash by President Trump.” Trump initially called one of Iran’s plans “feasible”.

Meanwhile, the Israeli strikes in Lebanon, which is observing a national day of mourning on Thursday, were condemned by Iran and criticized by Pakistan. The dispute over whether Lebanon was included in the ceasefire terms remains unresolved. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Wednesday morning that his government supports Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, but the ceasefire does not include Lebanon. Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif announced the Iran-US ceasefire, which will also be effective in Lebanon.

Hezbollah said in a statement that it emphasizes that the US-Iran ceasefire also includes Lebanon. But the militant group said, “if the Israeli enemy does not comply”, “neither side will commit to it, and there will be a reaction from the region, including Iran.”

Iran condemned the ongoing attack on Lebanon and said it was the responsibility of the US government to end it. In a post on social media, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said over a screenshot of the Pakistani statement including Lebanon in the ceasefire, “The ball is in the US court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments.”

Meanwhile, Trump reiterated Netanyahu’s understanding of the deal. Asked by a PBS reporter why Lebanon was not included, he said, “Because of Hezbollah. They were not included in the deal. That will be taken into account as well.”

Lebanon mourns the deaths of more than 250 people in Israeli attacks

Church bells rang across Lebanon and warplanes rang the sky on Thursday morning as the country observed a national day of mourning following the deadliest day of the current Israeli offensive. More than 250 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Wednesday, which hit densely populated residential areas away from Hezbollah strongholds, including Beirut’s seaside Corniche promenade, according to Lebanon’s civil defense.

The Israeli military said it launched its largest ever attack in Beirut on Wednesday, with 100 attacks in 10 minutes. The army issued orders to evacuate the suburbs of the capital, but then attacked central Beirut. The number of people fleeing Israeli offensives in the south of the country has increased in recent weeks, displacing more than a million people. More than 1,160 people were injured in Wednesday’s attacks, according to the country’s civil defense department.

On Thursday, Israel attacked a bridge in Lebanon. Hezbollah, which had maintained its fire on the first day of the ceasefire, fired rockets into northern Israel on Thursday.

The violence disrupted the start of a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran in the wider Middle East war. But Israeli officials justified the attack by saying the new agreement did not include a pause in Lebanon’s fight against Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says it is outraged by such attacks in densely populated urban areas. Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani explained why Israel suddenly attacked Beirut.

“While leading this operation, we have seen that Hezbollah has spread into different areas, taking advantage of the warnings we give to civilians, trying to hide among civilians, moving around, spreading their operations to different locations and hiding behind civilian locations,” he said.

Since Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, confusion reigns and ships remain idle

Trump has repeatedly said the deal hinges on free movement of ships in the Strait of Hormuz to ease the global energy crisis. The strait is a vital passageway that carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil and provides the only sea route from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

Before the war began, Iran allowed an average of 120 to 150 ships a day to pass freely. But in the last five weeks this traffic has completely stopped. And despite the ceasefire terms announced on Tuesday, which required Iran to reopen the strait for safe passage, more than a hundred ships remained effectively stuck.

Details regarding the status of the strait are unclear. While Iran announced it had halted transit operations in response to Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon, the White House dismissed the reports as inaccurate and said closing the waterway would be completely unacceptable.

If the strait was open, hundreds of other ships in and around the strait still chose to stay out of an abundance of caution. Shipowners, insurance companies and sailors say they are demanding clarity as Iran threatens to attack any ship transiting without permission.

Eric Broekhuizen, a U.S.-based ship broker and energy consultant at Potten & Partners, told NPR that another concern for ships is Iran’s decentralized military command.

Broekhuizen said, “You don’t really know who to talk to, who’s in charge, and whether all kinds of regional commanders have gotten the memo that the strait is open and they should stop attacking ships.”

More than 20 ships have been attacked by Iran since the war began.

Operators are also confused by Iran’s new fee system and how payments will be collected after the government introduced the new toll process. According to analysts, several oil tanker operators said they paid at least $1 million to transit the strait.

English-language VHF broadcasts were broadcast to hundreds of ships in and around the strait on Wednesday. It warned people aboard idling ships that they would need permission before attempting to transit.

Lauren Freire in Beirut, Lebanon, and Jackie Northam in Washington, DC, contributed to this report.