Armed police officers patrol as Iranians gather at Revolution Square in Tehran on April 8, 2026, in Tehran, Iran, after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – The United States and Iran both claimed victory on Wednesday, a day after agreeing to a two-week conditional ceasefire, although doubts grew after continued attacks in Gulf states and a hint from Iran that it will continue to control the Strait of Hormuz, a key passage for a fifth of the world’s oil and gas.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during an early morning briefing that the U.S. had achieved a “historic and overwhelming victory” but that troops were also “ready to restart at a moment’s notice.”
“We’re going to hold out. We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to make sure Iran honors this ceasefire and then eventually come to the table and make a deal,” Hegseth said.
Oil prices fell sharply after news of the ceasefire broke. Brent crude oil, the international standard, was at $95 a barrel before midday on Easter. That’s down from the previous day’s price of nearly $110 a barrel.
US stocks surged on Wednesday Dow Jones Industrial average, S&P 500 And Nasdaq Composite everything is on the rise.
According to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who partially brought about the pause in fighting, US and Iranian delegations were scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on Friday for negotiations.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at an afternoon briefing that Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will take part in an initial round of talks Saturday morning.
core material
President Donald Trump said early Wednesday morning that the U.S. will “work closely with Iran, which we believe has undergone a very productive regime change!”
“There will be no uranium enrichment and the United States, working with Iran, will dig up and remove all deeply buried nuclear ‘dust’ (B-2 bombers),” Trump said wrote On his platform Truth Social, he referred to the buried enriched uranium in Iran after weighty US-Israeli bombing in June.
Pressed at the news conference, Hegseth said of the nuclear material: “We’re watching it. We know what they have and they’ll give it away, and we’ll get it, and we’ll take it if we have to. We can do it by any means necessary. So that’s something the president will find a solution to.”
Hegseth ended the press conference by saying that the Iranian public “has been oppressed by the previous regime, and they will have a new opportunity with this regime, which remains to be seen,” adding that a civil uprising is “not our goal.”
“We wish them all the best,” said Hegseth.
Hegseth’s claim of a civil uprising directly contradicted Trump’s message to the Iranian people on February 28, when the US and Israel began bombing.
Iran’s up-to-date supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is the son of the assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who led the Islamic Republic from 1989 until he was assassinated by US and Israeli attacks just hours after the conflict began. Experts Point Mojtaba Khamenei described Mojtaba Khamenei as a conservative hardliner with close ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Reports across Iran Condition media and regional news from the Middle East Points of sale On Wednesday, the regime’s Supreme National Security Council was quoted as declaring a “historic and crushing defeat” against the US and Israel.
Calls for invocation of the 25th Amendment
Hegseth’s declaration of victory came after Trump threatened Iran on Tuesday, “The whole civilization will die tonight”if the regime fails to meet its self-imposed deadline of 8 p.m. East Coast to open the Strait of Hormuz.
The comments drew robust criticism, with some – from progressive Democrats to former Trump loyalists – calling for the president’s removal under the 25th Amendment.
Two Senate Republicans, John Curtis of Utah and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, condemned Trump’s rhetoric and actions in recent days. A Republican member of the House of Representatives, Nathaniel Moore of Texas, also joined them on Tuesday.
The offices of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-La., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., did not respond Tuesday to the state’s newsroom seeking comment on Trump’s remark that he would wipe out Iran’s “entire civilization.” Neither has posted anything about Trump’s comments on his X social media feeds, through which he regularly communicates with the public.
Others continued to support Trump. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told Local media on Tuesday “I take this with a grain of salt” when asked about Trump’s promise to wipe out Iranian civilization.
Leavitt told reporters at Wednesday’s White House press briefing: “The world should take his word very seriously.”
“He said that if they did not agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, they would face very serious consequences… by the 8 p.m. deadline. And what did they do last night? They agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz,” she said.
About 90 minutes before his deadline to order strikes on Iranian power plants and bridges, the president agreed to halt the bombing for two weeks after receiving a 10-point plan from Iran that he said “provides a workable basis for negotiations.” wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
In a statement released early Wednesday morning Tehran time, Iran appeared to remain in control of the narrow passage in and out of the Persian Gulf.
“For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible in coordination with the Iranian armed forces and with due consideration of technical limitations,” the country’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, said in a letter opinion posted on social media.
Iranian drones and missiles
Attacks on the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense continued across the Gulf region reporting “A violent wave” of Iranian drones and missiles that damaged oil infrastructure, power plants and water desalination plants.
“Ceasefire violations have been reported in a few places in the conflict zone, undermining the spirit of the peace process. I urge all parties to exercise restraint and respect the agreed ceasefire for two weeks so that diplomacy can take a leading role in the peaceful resolution of the conflict,” Sharif said warned on X just after 10 a.m. Eastern time.
The Pakistani prime minister tagged Trump and numerous government officials and Iranian leaders in the post.
Israel continued its bombardment of southern Lebanon and launched widespread attacks across the region and in the capital Beirut on Wednesday. By noon Eastern, which is evening in Lebanon, health authorities said said The strikes left 89 people dead and over 700 injured. A Doctors Without Borders employee reports from a immense public hospital in Beirut quoted a higher death toll.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims Social media said early Wednesday: “The two-week ceasefire does not apply to Lebanon.”
When asked during Wednesday’s White House press conference, Leavitt echoed Netanyahu.
“Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire, which affects all parties involved in the ceasefire,” she said.
