U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed Iran’s president wanted a ceasefire ahead of his speech to the American people. Trump made the claim on his Truth Social website. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Trump’s remarks were “false and baseless.”
The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush is slated to go to the Middle East along with three destroyers, two U.S. officials said. The carrier strike group consists of more than 6,000 sailors. It comes as thousands of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division have also begun arriving in the Middle East, according to two other U.S. officials.
Meanwhile, U.S. gas prices jumped past an average of $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 on Tuesday, as the Iran war continues to push fuel prices higher worldwide. Analysts say those high fuel costs will trickle into groceries as businesses’ transportation and packaging costs pile up.
Here is the latest:
Strikes in Tehran send plumes of smoke into the sky
AP footage in the Iranian capital of Tehran showed large plumes of smoke billowing over the city on Wednesday afternoon following U.S.- Israeli strikes, as the war in the Middle East completes its first month and strikes on Iran continue unabated.
Also Wednesday, the Israeli military said that it had completed a wave of strikes against “dozens of military infrastructure sites of the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran.”
Trump says he doesn’t care about Iran’s enriched uranium
The president has said one of his primary goals of the war was to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and he told Reuters on Wednesday that has been achieved, though it isn’t clear how.
Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium that could potentially be used to build nuclear weapons is believed to be buried under the rubble of a mountain facility that was hit during strikes last June — and that hasn’t changed since the war with Iran began this year. Trump has said the U.S. would move to take the uranium if it reaches a deal with Iran.
But he said Wednesday that the uranium is “so far underground, I don’t care about that.”
“We’ll always be watching it by satellite,” he said.
Trump also said Iran is now “incapable” of developing a nuclear weapon.
Vance has been speaking to intermediaries about Iran
Vice President JD Vance has been speaking to intermediaries about Iran as recently as Tuesday and delivered a message that Trump is impatient and that there will be growing pressure on Iranian infrastructure if they don’t make a deal, according to a person familiar with the talks who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trump directed Vance to communicate privately that he is open to a ceasefire as long as certain demands are met.
Trump says US could leave Iran soon but might ‘come back to do spot hits’
The president told Reuters in a telephone interview ahead of his televised address Wednesday night that the U.S. would be finishing its war in Iran soon, but he wouldn’t give a timeline.
“I can’t tell you exactly ... we’re going to be out pretty quickly,” he said.
But once the U.S. leaves, he said “We’ll come back to do spot hits” on targets, as needed.
Saudi Arabia rerouted about 1 million barrels a day away from the Strait of Hormuz in March
Almost 4 million barrels of crude oil a day transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in March, up from about 3 million barrels the prior month and the highest level since October 2023, maritime data firm Kpler said Wednesday.
The increase came as Saudi Arabia sent crude through a pipeline across its country to the Red Sea port of Yanbu after the virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Aramco operates the East-West pipeline from the Aqaiq oil processing center near the Persian Gulf to Yanbu. It has enabled the Saudis to maintain some exports blocked by the Hormuz closure, but it lacks the capacity to fully compensate.
Before the war, Yanbu shipped 750,000 to 850,000 barrels a day. Of the crude passing through Bab el-Mandeb in March, 1.75 million barrels a day were loaded there, the data showed.
Most of the remainder transiting the strait in March was Russian oil bound for Asia, Kpler said.
Somalia and Tanzania announce fuel price hikes amid global supply disruptions
Somalia’s government on Wednesday said it has limited control over fuel pricing, as imports are handled by private companies in a largely liberalized market.
Dahir Shire Mohamed, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, said prices have surged due to “external shocks,” linking the increase to “regional tensions affecting global supply routes.”
The price per liter has increased from $0.70 to $1.75, marking a 150% increase.
Tanzania’s Energy Ministry on Wednesday announced a 33% increase in fuel prices, attributing it to the conflict in Iran, saying it had affected supply and shipping. The ministry urged Tanzanians to use the available fuel “carefully and efficiently.”
US gives mediators ‘clear assurances’ that Iranian FM, parliament speaker won’t be targeted
American officials have given mediators “clear assurances” that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf won’t be targeted amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to stop the Iran war, according to two regional officials and one person briefed on the matter.
The person briefed said that Pakistan asked Washington to intervene to get Israel to remove the two officials from its hit list.
Israel’s prime minister’s office and the military didn’t respond to request for comment.
The assurances were also given at the request of other regional mediators to facilitate communications with Iran and push for indirect talks, said one of the officials, who is involved in the mediation efforts. All three spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive diplomatic conversations.
A Gulf diplomat, briefed on the matter, said the U.S. assurances were “crucial” to ensure neither the foreign minister or the speaker or their teams won’t be assassinated. Reuters was the first to report that the two Iranian leaders were removed from a supposed hit list.
Trump, Finnish president talk about NATO, Iran
The two leaders spoke via phone in a “constructive” conversation, said Alexander Stubb, the Finnish leader.
“We exchanged thoughts on NATO, Ukraine, and Iran,” Stubb wrote in an X post. “It’s good to seek solutions to problems together.”
The call comes as the U.S. president is increasingly venting about allies and what he says is their unwillingness to get involved in the war in Iran, particularly in securing the Strait of Hormuz, prompting him to again talk about the U.S. leaving NATO.
Israeli military denies targeting Syrian state television crew
Syrian state television said Wednesday that its crew reporting in the Quneitra Province in southern Syria was targeted by the Israeli military, a claim the military later denied.
A video aired by the station showed a journalist in a press vest falling to the floor following what the person filming said was “a second shelling.”
The Israeli military said the “journalists approached the scene only after the fire had been carried out and were not the target of the activity.” It wasn’t immediately clear what the military was targeting.
Bahrain circulates a new UN proposal to open the Strait of Hormuz without enforcement language
A revised draft of Bahrain’s proposal — obtained by The Associated Press — to protect commercial shipping in and around the critical waterway has removed explicit authorization for U.N.-backed military action while retaining language associated with it. A vote on the new draft is expected Thursday, according to a U.N. diplomat who wasn’t authorized to comment about plans not yet made public and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The original text had been placed under Chapter Seven of the U.N. Charter, which allows the council to authorize actions ranging from sanctions to the use of force. But it faced opposition from Iran’s allies on the Security Council, China and Russia, which are both veto-wielding members. The U.S. and the Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, had been lobbying on behalf of the proposal.
The diplomat said the watered-down language will still be a hard swallow for China and Russia but it’s expected to get the necessary votes to pass the 15-member council.
— Farnoush Amiri
Trans-Atlantic rift widens as Trump lashes out at NATO allies over Mideast war
President Trump says he’s strongly considering pulling the United States out of NATO, ratcheting up his criticism of European allies and exposing a wider rift in the trans-Atlantic alliance — this time over the Iran war.
While Trump’s talk of a possible NATO pullout dates back years, the comments to The Telegraph newspaper in the U.K., published Wednesday, were among the clearest and most disparaging yet — suggesting the fracture has deepened perhaps to a point of no return.
Asked whether he would reconsider U.S. membership in the alliance after the conflict in the Middle East ends, Trump replied: “Oh yes, I would say (it’s) beyond reconsideration.”
NATO didn’t provide immediate comment when contacted by The Associated Press.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government was “fully committed to NATO” and called it “the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen.”
Many European leaders have felt political pressure over the war, which faces opposition in their countries and has sent petroleum prices soaring as Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz.
French President Emmanuel Macron calls for a ceasefire in the Mideast during a visit to Japan
Macron, who held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, said Wednesday they both believe in international law, the international order and the democratic values, adding: “This is why ... we both advocate for a return to peace, a ceasefire, calm, and free passage through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Takaichi said the two leaders agreed on the importance of quickly de-escalating the conflict and to secure the safety of the vital waterway and the stable supply of goods.
“With the international environment increasingly severe, I believe it is especially meaningful for the Japanese and French leaders to deepen our friendship and cooperation,” Takaichi said at a joint news conference at the Akasaka Palace in Tokyo.
The leaders said they also agreed to deepen their cooperation in defense, rare earths development, nuclear energy, space and other areas.
Mother of kidnapped journalist says she feels ‘terrible’ and ‘scared’ for her daughter
Shelly Kittleson’s mother, 72-year-old Barb Kittleson, said she last exchanged emails with her daughter Monday. Shelly Kittleson sent photos of herself from Iraq, her mother said.
Barb Kittleson said she heard about the kidnapping from a news report Tuesday and was visited by the FBI at her home in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, on Tuesday night.
When asked how she felt about the kidnapping she said, “Terrible. Scared. I’ll pray for her.”
She said her hope is for her daughter “not to be hurt and be OK.”
Shelly Kittleson left her home in Wisconsin in 1995, when she was 19 years old, and first headed to Italy where she went to school and worked as a nanny, her mother said. She spent about 10 years in Italy before eventually settling in Iraq, Barb Kittleson said.
Barb Kittleson said she had not seen her daughter in person since 2002 but they exchange emails a couple of times a week, including on Monday when her daughter sent her a couple of pictures.
Securing Iran’s enriched uranium by force would be risky and complex, experts say
Should the U.S. decide to send in military forces to secure Iran’s uranium stockpile, it would be a complex, risky and lengthy operation, fraught with radiation and chemical dangers, according to experts and former government officials.
President Trump has offered shifting reasons for the war in Iran but has consistently said a primary objective is ensuring the country will “never have a nuclear weapon.” Less clear is how far he’s willing to go to seize Iran’s nuclear material.
Given the risks of inserting as many as 1,000 specially trained forces into a war zone to remove the stockpile, another option would be a negotiated settlement with Iran that would allow the material to be surrendered and secured without using force.
Iran has 972 pounds (440.9 kilograms) of uranium that’s enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency.
Multiple rounds of sirens within minutes heard across Israel
Sirens sounded across central Israel in multiple rounds within minutes Wednesday afternoon. Associated Press reporters heard loud booms in Tel Aviv as the windows of buildings shook from the reverberations.
Iran responds to Trump’s claim that Iran’s president wants a ceasefire
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, called Trump’s claim “false and baseless,” according to a report on Iranian state television.
Also, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard separately issued a statement saying the Strait of Hormuz “is firmly and decisively under the control” of its forces.
“This strait will not be opened to the enemies of this nation through the ridiculous spectacle by the president of the United States,” it added.
Stocks rally worldwide as oil prices ease on hopes for a possible end to the Iran war
Stocks are climbing worldwide, and oil prices are easing Wednesday as hopes build that the war with Iran could end soon. Some of the moves are tentative, though, after financial markets have already seen similar bouts of optimism get quickly undercut several times.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% and added to its leap from the day before, which was its best since last spring. That followed even bigger gains for stock markets across Europe and Asia, including an 8.4% surge in South Korea, which were catching up to Wall Street’s rally from Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 292 points, or 0.6%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1% higher.
Oil prices also fell back toward $100 per barrel after President Donald Trump said shortly before Wall Street began trading that Iran “has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!”
The war in Iran is also delaying the arrival of food aid
In addition to gas and oil stuck in the Persian gulf, urgent food aid destined for Sudan and Afghanistan is also facing severe delays, the UN agency for hunger emergencies, World Food Program, warned.
“Think of special nutritious foods required for Sudan,” Corinne Fleischer, WFP director of supply chain, told the AP. “Mothers and children are malnourished and they need this vitamin and mineral enriched food. We produced this in Pakistan as one of the countries. That is now stuck there.”
Fleischer explained that due to the risks of attacks in the southern part of the Red Sea, carriers now have to go all the way down through the Cape of Good Hope in Africa to reach West Africa.
IOM estimates around 180,000 families displaced in Iran since war began
Around 180,000 Iranian families have been displaced due to the ongoing war, but it’s hard to determine an exact figure because Iran doesn’t have a displacement tracking level as found in other countries, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Amy Pope, IOM’s director general, told The Associated Press the agency expects that figure to increase as more civilian infrastructure gets caught in the crossfire.
Pope also warned about the impact on migrants working in Iran who might not be guaranteed the same safety that an Iranian family is seeking.
“This is the kind of hidden consequence of a conflict like this. There are people ... who are not necessarily accounted for and ... won’t have the support they need,” she said.
Trump claims Iran president wants ceasefire; no response from Iran
President Trump on Wednesday claimed Iran’s president wanted a ceasefire ahead of his speech to the American people.
Trump made the claim on his Truth Social website.
Trump said “Iran’s New Regime President,” however. Iran still has the same president.
Trump also said a ceasefire would only happen when the Strait of Hormuz is “open, free, clear.”
“Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!” he wrote.
Iran had no immediate response to Trump’s post. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in an interview with Al Jazeera aired late Tuesday signaled Tehran’s willingness to keep fighting.
“You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines,” he said. “We do not set any deadline for defending ourselves.”
Pakistan receives oil shipments after Iran permits more ships via Strait of Hormuz
A Pakistani vessel carrying oil arrived at the southern port city of Karachi after transiting the Strait of Hormuz, while a second vessel reached the port via a different route, a Karachi Port Trust spokesperson said Wednesday.
Spokesperson Shariq Farooqi said more Pakistani-flagged ships are expected this month to deliver much-needed oil from Gulf countries.
The development comes days after Pakistan’s foreign minister said Iran had agreed to allow 20 additional Pakistani-flagged ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, describing the move as a “constructive gesture” aimed at easing regional tensions.
Pakistan is also seeking to help end the conflict between the United States and Iran by encouraging both sides to return to negotiations.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical artery for global oil shipments.
Iran holds a funeral for a Revolutionary Guard rear admiral
Iran’s capital, Tehran, held a funeral Wednesday for an Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander killed in an Israeli airstrike last week.
State television showed live footage of mourners waving Iranian flags at a funeral for Rear. Adm. Alireza Tangsiri, the head of Revolutionary Guard’s navy. An Israeli airstrike killed Tangsiri last week, with Tehran only acknowledging his death Monday.
Another funeral had been held Tuesday in Bandar Abbas, a key port city on the Strait of Hormuz.
Red Crescent volunteer killed in airstrike in Iran
A volunteer with the Iranian Red Crescent was killed by an airstrike Tuesday in the country’s northwest, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Alireza Sohbatlou was providing services at a clinic in Zanjan province when an airstrike hit the nearby religious site Azam Hussainiya of Zanjan, the humanitarian network said Wednesday.
He was the third Red Crescent volunteer killed in Iran since the start of the war, the IFRC said.
Iran’s supreme leader vows to support anti-Israeli forces
Iran’s supreme leader vowed Wednesday his nation will continue to support anti-Israeli forces in the Mideast.
The message from Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, like others since he was named Iran’s new supreme leader, came in a statement read on air by a state television anchor.
“I firmly declare that the consistent policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in continuing the path of the late Imam and martyred leader, is based on continuing to support the resistance against the Zionist-American enemy,” Khamenei said in the comments from a letter to the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Khamenei has not been seen since the war began Feb. 28. U.S. and Israeli officials believe he was wounded and remains in hiding.
Indian citizen wounded in UAE drone attack
An Indian citizen was wounded during a drone attack Wednesday in the United Arab Emirates, according to the official WAM news agency in Umm Al Quwain, one of the UAE’ seven emirates.
Shrapnel fell near an industrial area of Umm Al Thoub while air defense systems were intercepting a drone, the agency reported.
Russian Embassy in Iran condemns airstrike damaging cathedral in Tehran
The Russian Embassy in Iran on Wednesday condemned an airstrike on the compound of the former U.S. Embassy there as it damaged a nearby cathedral.
The embassy said the blast broke doors and windows at St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral, just across from the compound.
An adjacent Russian nursing home sustained damage, including a collapsed roof, it added.
“We strongly condemn the ongoing US and Israeli aggression against Iran, which is increasingly affecting civilian infrastructure and religious and cultural heritage,” the embassy said.
