Iran Ceasefire Is Looking Shaky

The ceasefire agreement involving Iran showed signs of strain Wednesday as Iranian state media reported that the Strait of Hormuz had been closed and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for missile and drone strikes on several regional targets, including oil facilities. According to the Telegraph, Saudi Arabia’s key east-west oil pipeline was struck in an Iranian drone attack, and energy sites in Kuwait were also targeted. The United Arab Emirates said it intercepted 17 missiles and 35 drones, apparently launched by Iran after the truce announcement. The White House rejected reports that the strait had been closed, calling them false, and said President Trump expects the waterway to reopen immediately and safely, even as hundreds of oil tankers remain stalled and crews report interference with navigation systems.

Lebanon has emerged as a major point of disagreement in the ceasefire terms. Iran and Pakistan, which helped broker the last-minute deal, say the two-week ceasefire includes Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it does not. Israeli forces carried out some of the most intense strikes of the conflict there on Wednesday, hitting more than 100 targets and killing at least 254 people, according to local authorities. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that President Trump does not believe the ceasefire covers Lebanon and that this position has been communicated to all parties involved.

“The Iran–U.S. ceasefire terms are clear and explicit: the U.S. must choose—ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both,” Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on X. “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.”

President Trump, who initially described Iran’s 10-point proposal as a workable starting point for talks, now describes the fighting in Lebanon as a separate skirmish. He has instead emphasized a tougher 15-point U.S. plan that would prohibit uranium enrichment and include joint efforts to locate Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Leavitt said Wednesday that the Iranian proposal was “fundamentally unserious, unacceptable and completely discarded,” adding, “The idea that President Trump would ever accept an Iranian wishlist as a deal is completely absurd.” She said the proposal was rejected outright.

Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said three of the 10 points had already been “openly and clearly violated,” arguing that under those circumstances a bilateral ceasefire or negotiations would be unreasonable.

Leavitt also said President Trump is sending a negotiating delegation to Pakistan that will include Vice President JD Vance, adviser Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner. Talks are expected to begin Saturday morning local time. Iran’s delegation is expected to include Araghchi.