Schumer blasts Trump’s Iran war as failure, moves to rein in his war powers amid ceasefire
The top Senate Democrat argued that President Donald Trump’s war in Iran has left the U.S. worse off, and plans to force another vote to handcuff the president’s war powers as a fragile ceasefire begins. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced that Senate Democrats will again force a vote on a war powers resolution to rein in Trump’s use of the military in Iran when the upper chamber returns. The Senate is slated to return Monday, but the exact day when Democrats will pull the trigger next week is still in the air. Schumer argued the war was “one of the very worst military and foreign policy actions that the United States has ever taken,” at a Wednesday press conference in New York City, and contended that the conflict has left the U.S. worse off in global credibility, left Iran’s nuclear ambitions unchecked, increased gas prices and hampered control of the Strait of Hormuz. TRUMP’S IRAN THREAT RATTLES GOP AS SOME REPUBLICANS BREAK RANKS His decision to again try to curtail Trump’s war authorities comes as the U.S. and Iran have entered a two-week ceasefire — a deal brokered just before Trump’s apocalyptic deadline Tuesday night. “Trump must end the war now,” Schumer said. “The only viable solution is a lasting diplomatic one. A two-week ceasefire, especially one as fragile as this, is not a strategy. It’s not a diplomatic solution. It’s not a plan.” Republicans lauded the ceasefire, however. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., contended on X that it would be “Iran’s chance to do the right thing.” “Excellent news,” Scott said Tuesday night. “This is a strong first step toward holding Iran accountable and what happens when you have a leader who puts peace through strength over chaos and weak appeasement policies.” As the newly minted ceasefire enters its first day, Iran has already presented a 10-point plan for a broader peace agreement. The proposal includes demands to retain control of the Strait of Hormuz and continue a uranium enrichment program — conditions Trump swiftly rejected. TRUMP IRAN THREAT SPARKS CALLS FOR HIS OUSTER, BUT ONE DEM SAYS EFFORT ‘NOT REALISTIC’ “There is only one group of meaningful ‘POINTS’ that are acceptable to the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these negotiations,” Trump said on Truth Social. “These are the POINTS that are the basis on which we agreed to a CEASEFIRE.” Vice President JD Vance, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner are slated to negotiate a broader peace deal in person in Islamabad over the weekend. But Schumer and Senate Democrats are calling for an immediate end to the conflict. IRAN REVEALS 10-POINT PLAN FOR PEACE WITH THE US – HERE’S WHAT’S IN IT “Congress must reassert its authority, especially at this dangerous moment,” Schumer said. “No president, Democrat or Republican, should take this country to war alone — not now, not ever. Republicans will once again have the opportunity to join Democrats and end this reckless war of choice.” His plan to again force a vote on a war powers resolution would mark the fourth such attempt in the upper chamber since the conflict began in late February. Senate Democrats had initially teed up five war powers resolutions to force Trump to withdraw forces from the region in a bid to grind the Senate to a halt and compel Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to testify on Operation Epic Fury. The previous attempts have all been blocked by Republicans, despite growing unease within the GOP over Trump’s recent threats to bomb power plants and bridges, as well as his warning that a “whole civilization will die tonight.”
Mullin weighs using airport customs as leverage against sanctuary cities
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the federal government could stop processing customs at airports in sanctuary cities as a way to pressure them on immigration enforcement. Such a move could effectively lock out global travelers from major cities like New York, New Orleans and Philadelphia, placing a damper on incoming commerce and economic benefits that could directly affect those cities’ business environments and tax bases. Mullin told “Special Report” that as sanctuary cities refuse to cooperate with DHS to enforce immigration law, the agency may need to consider that when providing services to those cities. “This one area we may take a look at is some of these cities have international airports,” he said. “If they’re a sanctuary city, should they really be processing customs into their city?” DEMOCRATS BROKE AIRPORT SECURITY. NOW THEY’RE CALLING THE SOLUTION DANGEROUS Many sanctuary cities did not respond to requests for comment, even as Mullin said such jurisdictions are on their face “not lawful” and should not consider themselves absolved of certain federal policies. International airports and their customs apparatus present a potential leverage point, given that DHS controls them and oversees enforcement agencies like ICE, CBP and USCIS that sanctuary cities oppose and hinder. Fox News Digital reached out Tuesday to the offices of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — whose city hosts both LaGuardia and JFK — Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Denver Mayor Michael Johnston, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker and New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, as well as Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who recently held a conference at Philadelphia International Airport to again threaten to prosecute ICE agents. As of late Wednesday afternoon, none had provided comment. SEE IT: TRAVELERS SOUND OFF AS ICE AGENTS DEPLOYED TO AIRPORTS AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS PAST 40 DAYS In his interview, Mullin said that the subject needs to be given serious consideration. “If they’re a sanctuary city, and they’re receiving international flights, and we’re asking them to partner with us at the airport, but once they walk out of the airport they’re not going to enforce immigration policy, maybe we need to have a really hard look at that because we need a focus on cities that want to work with us,” he said. Mullin added that with Democrats continuing the partial shutdown of his agency, something must give. “We are going to have to start prioritizing things at some point,” he said. “[They’re] wanting to defund Customs & Border [Protection] — well, who processes those individuals when they come off the planes?” The secretary said he is not staking out any position outside of his congressionally mandated bounds, and that he is not trying to “push those” but that he is simply trying to convince all municipalities to partner with his agency. Fox News Digital’s Nora Moriarty contributed to this report.
Top GOP hawk Graham warns Iran deal has ‘troubling aspects’ as ceasefire begins
One of the Iran war’s strongest backers in the Senate said there were “troubling aspects” to the ceasefire deal announced hours ahead of President Donald Trump’s deadline. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has long supported going after the Iranian regime and gave a full-throated endorsement of Trump’s military action in the region when it began. For now, the conflict has paused after both sides agreed to a two-week ceasefire. Graham said a “diplomatic solution” is the preferred outcome, but he is not sold on the ceasefire deal brokered Tuesday night. TRUMP’S IRAN THREAT RATTLES GOP AS SOME REPUBLICANS BREAK RANKS “The supposed negotiating document, in my view, has some troubling aspects, but time will tell,” Graham said on X Wednesday. Graham also is calling on Vice President JD Vance and other administration officials to explain the deal to Congress. The request echoes demands by congressional Democrats for Trump officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, to testify about the war before Congress. “I look forward to the architects of this proposal, the vice president and others, coming before Congress and explaining how a negotiated deal meets our national security objectives in Iran,” Graham said. VANCE WARNS IRAN WILL ‘FIND OUT’ TRUMP IS ‘NOT ONE TO MESS AROUND’ IF CEASEFIRE DEAL FALLS APART Whether administration officials will come to Capitol Hill to break down the deal remains unclear. A spokesperson for Vance referred Fox News Digital to the White House for comment. White House Press Secretary Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital that Trump has “been transparent with the Hill since before Operation Epic Fury began, and administration officials provided more than 20 bipartisan briefings for members of Congress to keep them apprised of military updates.” “As the president said, many points have already been agreed to during the diplomatic process, and we are far along on a definitive agreement to deliver long-term peace in Iran and across the region,” Kelly said in a statement. Vance, along with Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are set to negotiate in-person in Islamabad for a broader peace agreement, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday. DEMOCRATS THREATEN TO GRIND SENATE TO A HALT TO FORCE PUBLIC IRAN HEARINGS “The first round of those talks will take place on Saturday morning local time, and we know we look forward to those in-person meetings,” Leavitt said. For now, Trump’s threat to bomb bridges and power plants in Iran is on hold while the broader peace agreement is negotiated. Iran publicly presented a 10-point plan to end hostilities that includes repayment for war damage, the ability to continue enriching uranium, full control of the Strait of Hormuz, and an end to all sanctions against the country, among other demands, in exchange for an agreement not to develop a nuclear weapon. Graham argued Iran should not be allowed to “save face” by maintaining even a small nuclear enrichment program. He said the only outcome he supports is “a deal that will stop their maniacal drive to a nuclear weapon, among other things.” Trump has already criticized that proposal on Truth Social. “There is only one group of meaningful ‘POINTS’ that are acceptable to the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these negotiations,” Trump said. “These are the POINTS that are the basis on which we agreed to a CEASEFIRE.”
Trump admin scores Minnesota court win in Medicaid fraud crackdown
A federal judge declined to block the Trump administration’s Medicaid funding deferral to Minnesota, finding the state’s challenge was premature and giving the White House a temporary legal win as it expands its anti-fraud push. Judge Eric Tostrud, an appointee of President Donald Trump, concluded this week that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services could, for now, withhold more than $259 million in Medicaid funds from Minnesota and require the state to provide piecemeal evidence that Medicaid reimbursements were legitimate before receiving them. The order was a boon to the Trump administration’s new, aggressive anti-fraud campaign that was largely spurred by a recent multimillion-dollar welfare fraud scandal in Minnesota. Tostrud said in a 42-page order that Minnesota’s lawsuit challenging the deferral was premature and that a preliminary injunction was unwarranted for numerous reasons. VANCE ANTI-FRAUD TASK FORCE SUSPENDS 221 CALIFORNIA HOSPICE AND HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS SO FAR “Some of the legal theories Minnesota asserts are novel, and the law does not support them,” Tostrud said. The White House announced an anti-fraud task force in March, saying in an executive order that “staggering fraud and waste in Minnesota alone is a case in point.” Trump tapped Vice President JD Vance as the fraud czar, and the task force has taken a multi-agency approach to its crackdown. CMS, led by Administrator Mehmet Oz, was enlisted to be more proactive with Medicaid by temporarily withholding reimbursements to states over potential instances of fraud rather than proven fraud. In addition to Minnesota, CMS is also eyeing Medicaid deferrals in California, New York and Maine, meaning more litigation could arise and lead to federal judges across the country weighing in and a potential escalation to higher courts. Minnesota’s notorious $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scandal first broke onto the national radar in 2022 and drew renewed national attention in 2025 as convictions piled up and the state became a flashpoint in the broader fight over public-benefits fraud. A state-commissioned review of Minnesota’s Medicaid program report became a major flashpoint this year in the Trump administration’s broader “war on fraud.” The report highlighted vulnerabilities in 14 “high-risk” Medicaid services during a four-year period and flagged that $1.7 billion could have been “potentially improper.” NEW AUDIT EXPOSES FLAWED SYSTEM CRITICS SAY LET MINNESOTA FRAUD TO SLIP THROUGH CRACKS: ‘DIDN’T ACT FOR YEARS’ In the state’s lawsuit against the Trump administration and CMS, Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison alleged that “the federal government has … weaponized Medicaid against Minnesota as political punishment” in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act and due process under the Constitution. “Deferral has never been used to categorically deny funds to a state across entire service areas, as is being done here,” Ellison’s complaint read. Citing the 2019 Supreme Court case Department of Commerce v. New York, Tostrud said that even if the Trump administration’s motives were, in part, political, that would not necessarily deem the Medicaid deferral unlawful. “A court may not set aside an agency’s policymaking decision solely because it might have been influenced by political considerations or prompted by an Administration’s priorities,” Tostrud wrote, quoting a concurring opinion in the case. “Agency policymaking is not a rarified technocratic process, unaffected by political considerations or the presence of Presidential power.” Ellison’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Judge blocks Trump’s push to deport Abrego Garcia, rebukes DOJ for trying to ‘dictate’ court
A U.S. judge in Maryland rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia, using an otherwise procedural order Tuesday to scold the Justice Department for its conduct and for attempting, in the judge’s view, to “dictate” the actions of the court. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis took umbrage at the government’s demand that she rule by mid-April on their request for her to dissolve her injunction keeping Abrego Garcia in the U.S. for now, and allowing them to deport him to Liberia. She sharply disputed the Justice Department’s assertion that the court “must” rule by that date, at risk of having the injunction ignored. “Respondents cannot dictate the Court’s schedule or the outcome of the motion,” Xinis said. “Nor can they appeal a judicial order that does not exist.” ABREGO GARCIA REMAINS IN US FOR NOW AS JUDGE TAKES CASE UNDER ADVISEMENT Ultimately, Xinis said Tuesday, the request was “not ripe” for the court to rule on the government’s removal of Abrego Garcia, and set new briefing dates for both parties. She also set a new briefing schedule, with filings due on April 20, and a new hearing date, scheduled for April 28. Lawyers for the Trump administration told the court during a hearing hours earlier that they still intend to deport Abrego Garcia to the African country of Liberia, despite a new agreement between the U.S. and Costa Rica that would allow him to be sent there. Acting ICE director Todd Lyons argued that allowing Abrego Garcia to be sent to Costa Rica, his preferred country of removal, would be “prejudicial” to the U.S., citing what Lyons described as the “significant” government resources and capital the U.S. has invested in negotiating his removal and the removal of certain other migrants to Liberia. Another official suggested Abrego Garcia could “remove himself” to Costa Rica, should he choose to live there, which the judge noted was a “fantasy.” ABREGO GARCIA LAWYERS ASK US JUDGE TO ORDER RETURN TO MARYLAND AMID ONGOING CRIMINAL CASE Abrego Garcia’s status has been at the center of a legal and political maelstrom since March 2025, when he was deported to his home country of El Salvador, despite a 2019 order from an immigration judge. He was returned by the Trump administration to the U.S. late last spring. Xinis, who has presided over Abrego Garcia’s civil cases for the last 13 months, has developed a reputation for her careful, methodological style of questioning — a process she previously likened to “eating an elephant, one bite at a time.” But the laborious review process has sparked criticism from Trump allies and Justice Department lawyers alike, who have expressed frustration with the lengthy timeline and what they argue are undue delays to removal efforts. ABREGO GARCIA REMAINS IN US FOR NOW AS JUDGE TAKES CASE UNDER ADVISEMENT The Justice Department has bitterly disputed Abrego Garcia’s current status in the U.S. for months, as well as the injunction keeping him in the country, for now. His case has been further complicated by several details, including the November 2025 determination that Abrego Garcia had not been issued a final notice of removal needed to deport him to a third country. Still, Xinis’s unusually pointed order lays out what the judge described as a “careful recapitulation” of the case history, before concluding that “if anyone, Respondents bear the responsibility for substantial delay.” Trump administration officials have for months sparred over the final notice of removal in question, as well as whether the court should consider a retroactive removal order that an immigration judge issued in December. Other hearings have focused on what, if any, assurances the four African nations previously identified for Abrego Garcia’s removal had provided, should he be deported there. Lawyers for the Trump administration have suggested on multiple occasions that Xinis lacks jurisdiction to review Abrego Garcia’s case, citing matters involving diplomacy and foreign sovereigns, an area where presidential powers are at their strongest. Senior Trump administration officials have assailed Xinis and other district judges as “activist” judges whom they say have overstepped their powers in halting or pausing some of the president’s biggest policy priorities, including on immigration issues and enforcement. Xinis, for her part, has proceeded unfazed. She said in February that the government had failed to provide the court with any “good reason to believe” that they plan to remove Abrego Garcia to a third country in the “reasonably foreseeable future.” Instead, she said, the government “made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success.”
Stormy Daniels’ disgraced ex-lawyer and anti-Trump superstar Michael Avenatti moved to halfway house
Disgraced Democratic lawyer Michael Avenatti has been moved from federal prison to a halfway house in California, according to Bureau of Prisons records, but remains in federal custody with a projected release date of September 2028. Avenatti is best known for representing porn star Stormy Daniels in her failed 2018 defamation lawsuit against President Donald Trump. Once a media darling with presidential ambitions, he was later convicted in multiple fraud cases and sentenced to years in federal prison. An official with the Bureau of Prisons confirmed to Fox News Digital that Avenatti was transferred from the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) Los Angeles to community confinement overseen by the BOP Long Beach Residential Reentry Management (RRM) Office. He has a projected release date of September 8, 2028. In 2022, Avenatti was convicted and sentenced to 48 months in prison for stealing close to $300,000 in proceeds from Daniels. At the time of his sentencing, Avenatti was already serving a 30-month sentence for threatening to extort $25 million from Nike. Avenatti was also sentenced in December 2022 to 14 years in prison for stealing from four of his clients. One of those clients was a paraplegic. DISGRACED LAWYER MICHAEL AVENATTI LANDS REDUCED PRISON TERM AFTER RESENTENCING HEARING A copy of the probation order signed by U.S. District Judge James Selna stated that Avenatti must pay $5,937,725.58 in restitution to his victims, and he is ordered to participate in a mental health treatment program. Following his release from federal custody in 2028, Avenatti will be under supervised release for three years. TRUMP CONTINUES TO PUSH FOR RELEASE OF TINA PETERS AS COLORADO GOVERNOR WEIGHS CLEMENCY Avenatti’s early release comes after a federal judge in June 2025 reduced his collective prison sentence to eight years, allowing credit for some of the sentences running concurrently. Avenatti’s resentencing came after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated his 14-year sentence in October 2024. He was disbarred in California in February 2025. As Daniels’ defamation lawyer, Avenatti became a household name after regularly appearing on network TV shows. Fox News Digital previously reported that between 2018 and 2019, before his legal troubles began, he appeared on CNN 121 times and MSNBC 108 times. Avenatti was a staunch critic of Trump, saying in an interview with NPR’s All Things Considered in 2018 that Trump is “either going to resign… be removed from office by impeachment, or I’m going to beat him in 2020.” “But one way or the other, he’s not going to serve a second term,” Avenatti said. However, the disgraced lawyer has since changed his tone, claiming in an April 2024 New York Post that he is “bothered that the Justice Department has been “weaponized” against Trump. “There’s no question [the trial] is politically motivated because they’re concerned that he may be reelected,” Avenatti told the Post. “If the defendant was anyone other than Donald Trump, this case would not have been brought at this time, and for the government to attempt to bring this case and convict him in an effort to prevent tens of millions of people from voting for him, I think it’s just flat out wrong, and atrocious.” A lawyer for Avenatti declined to comment.
US Navy requesting $3B to replenish Tomahawk missiles used in Iran war
The U.S. Navy is requesting $3 billion in additional funding to replenish its stores of Tomahawk missiles after depleting its stores in the war against Iran. The Navy made the order as part of the Pentagon’s wider $1.5 trillion budget request for 2027 released this week. The Tomahawk missile request represents a 1,200% increase in production compared to last year. Last year, Congress approved the Navy to purchase 58 of the missiles at a total price of $257 million. This year’s request is enough to finance 785 missiles. According to a report from the Washington Post last month, the U.S. had launched at least 850 Tomahawk missiles since the war against Iran began on Feb. 28. IRAN CONFLICT COULD BE PUSH GOP NEEDS FOR 2ND ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ The Pentagon says its wider $1.5 trillion budget request is needed to address growing threats from China, Russia and other adversaries. The request includes about $1.1 trillion in base discretionary funding for the Department of War, along with an additional $350 billion in mandatory funding to support priorities such as munitions production and expansion of the defense industrial base. If enacted, the plan would represent one of the largest increases in U.S. defense spending in decades, though the total includes a mix of discretionary funding and mandatory resources that are not typically combined in standard Pentagon budget comparisons. A-10 WARTHOG GIVEN NEW MARITIME ROLE TARGETING BOATS IN IRAN AFTER EFFORTS TO RETIRE AIRCRAFT The budget places heavy emphasis on rebuilding weapons stockpiles and strengthening domestic manufacturing capacity, areas that defense officials have identified as key vulnerabilities in recent years. Shipbuilding is another major focus, with $65.8 billion requested to procure 18 Navy battle force ships and 16 non-battle force vessels as part of a broader effort to expand maritime capacity. The proposal also continues funding for the “Golden Dome” missile defense system, which aims to develop a layered homeland defense using space-based sensors and interceptors. The budget also highlights investments in artificial intelligence, drones and counter-drone systems, and next-generation aircraft, including continued development of the F-47 — a sixth-generation fighter designed to operate alongside autonomous systems — with the program targeting a first flight as early as 2028.
Ousted AG Bondi declines Epstein deposition, but lawmakers say subpoena still holds
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not sit for a planned deposition before the House Oversight Committee as part of its probe into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the panel’s Republican majority said Wednesday. “The Department of Justice has stated Pam Bondi will not appear on April 14 for a deposition since she is no longer Attorney General and was subpoenaed in her capacity as Attorney General,” a House Oversight Committee spokeswoman told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The Committee will contact Pam Bondi’s personal counsel to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition.” The committee has not withdrawn the subpoena, meaning Bondi could still be required to sit for a deposition. Democrats on the committee pushed back on the Justice Department’s explanation in a statement to Fox News Digital. EPSTEIN’S ACCOUNTANT AND LAWYER REVEAL DOJ NEVER QUESTIONED THEM ABOUT DISGRACED FINANCIER’S CRIMES “Now that Pam Bondi has been fired, she’s trying to get out of her legal obligation to testify before the Oversight Committee about the Epstein files and the White House cover-up,” Oversight ranking member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., fired back Wednesday. “Our bipartisan subpoena is to Pam Bondi, whether she is the Attorney General or not.” President Donald Trump ousted Bondi from the Justice Department last week after she faced bipartisan scrutiny of her handling of the Epstein files. Garcia added that he would move to hold Bondi in contempt of Congress if she does not comply with the subpoena to appear before the panel. The House Oversight Committee could recommend criminal charges against Bondi for defying a subpoena, but the measure would be subject to a chamber-wide vote and would ultimately be up to the DOJ whether to file charges. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche declined to weigh in on whether Bondi should comply with the subpoena during a news conference Tuesday. “What happens now that she’s the former attorney general and there’s the subpoena out there is, I think I’ll leave to Chairman Comer and others to figure out. I don’t have an answer to that,” the nation’s new top prosecutor said. The brewing legal battle comes after five Republicans voted with Democrats to subpoena Bondi as part of the committee’s Epstein probe over Comer’s objections in March. The lawmakers were Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., Scott Perry, R-Pa., and Michael Cloud, R-Texas. BONDI OUSTER IGNITES BIPARTISAN UPROAR: ‘PARTISAN, PETULANT, POLITICAL HACK’ Mace and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., another member of the powerful committee, sent Comer a letter Wednesday asking him to “publicly reaffirm” Bondi’s “legal obligation” to testify before the committee in the April 14 deposition. “Bondi’s removal as Attorney General doesn’t erase her obligation to testify,” the bipartisan duo wrote. “If anything, it makes her sworn testimony even more critical. Congress’s oversight doesn’t stop when an official leaves office.” “Pam Bondi was subpoenaed by name, not by title,” Mace added in a separate statement. Former Attorney General Bill Barr and former Health and Human Services Secretary Alexander Acosta, who served in Trump’s Cabinet during his first term, have testified before the Oversight Committee as part of its Epstein probe. Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ for comment.
Trump’s Iran ceasefire rocked within hours amid reported missile, drone attacks
In a rapid turn Tuesday night, President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran just hours after warning the regime would face devastating consequences. But within hours of the agreement, Gulf states were reporting drone attacks and officials signaled the agreement may already be under strain. The two-week ceasefire, brokered with help from Pakistan, was framed by the White House as a step toward broader negotiations, and defense officials said U.S. strikes on Iran had halted following Trump’s announcement Tuesday night. But within hours, Israel launched its largest strike yet on Hezbollah in Lebanon — which is not covered by the ceasefire — and Iranian state media signaled Tehran could again restrict access to the Strait of Hormuz as fighting in Lebanon continues. GEN JACK KEANE ‘SKEPTICAL’ THAT IRAN CEASEFIRE WILL HOLD, WARNS TEHRAN WILL ‘DELAY AND OBFUSCATE’ “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,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement posted to 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.” Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed nine drones in recent hours, while the United Arab Emirates reported intercepting 17 ballistic missiles and 35 drones. Kuwait’s military said it intercepted 42 drones and four ballistic missiles launched since early Wednesday, some targeting oil facilities, power stations and other critical infrastructure. Bahrain also reported injuries and damage after debris from an intercepted Iranian drone fell in a residential area. The regional attacks came after Iran launched missile barrages toward Israel in the hours surrounding the ceasefire announcement Tuesday night, triggering sirens across major cities including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson told Fox News Digital that there were launches toward Israel from Iran after the ceasefire took effect. “This is a fragile truce,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday when asked about reported violations at a White House press briefing. “Ceasefires are fragile by nature. We’ve seen this with respect to the 12-day war with Iran in Israel last year. It takes time sometimes for these ceasefires to be fully effectuated.” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who helped mediate the ceasefire, said Wednesday “violations of ceasefire have been reported at few places,” urging all sides to exercise restraint and preserve the agreement. “It takes time sometimes for ceasefires to take hold,” War Secretary Pete Hegseth cautioned in a news conference Wednesday morning. “We’re prepared if necessary, but we hope and believe it will hold.” He said the Pentagon was monitoring attacks that happened Tuesday night “in real time.” “Iran would be wise to find a way to get the carrier pigeon to their troops out in remote locations, not to shoot any longer, one-way attacks or missiles,” he said. U.S. Central Command declined to say whether any Iranian activity has continued since the ceasefire took effect, offering no additional details beyond remarks from War Department leadership earlier Wednesday. IRAN CONFLICT TESTS PAKISTAN AMID OWN BORDER CLASHES AS ISLAMABAD TOUTED AS VENUE FOR US-TEHRAN TALKS Trump said he agreed to pause strikes on Iran on the condition of “complete, immediate, and safe” reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, citing progress in longer-term negotiations. But the Iranian navy told ships anchored near the key global shipping route Wednesday they still need Iran’s permission to pass, according to the Wall Street Journal. “The president was made aware of those reports before I came to the podium,” Leavitt told reporters Wednesday. “That is completely unacceptable. And again, this is a case of what they’re saying publicly is different. Privately, we have seen an uptick of traffic in the strait today. And I will reiterate the president’s expectation and demand that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened immediately.” Trump suggested Wednesday to ABC that both Iran and the U.S. may collect tolls from the strait in a “joint venture,” though details remain unclear. Vice President JD Vance and White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will head to Pakistan for the first round of peace talks with Iran on Saturday, the White House said. Any discussions could be complicated by reports of continued attacks across the region. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Leavitt rebukes media outlets running with Iranian narratives on 10 demands
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt rebuked media outlets for running with an Iranian narrative that President Donald Trump had agreed to a wildly slanted 10-point peace plan from Tehran on Wednesday. Leavitt made the comments while speaking to reporters at a press conference, saying the version of the 10-point plan Iran had released publicly was very different from the one Trump and the U.S. had agreed to. “So let me be clear and correct the record,” Leavitt said. “The Iranians originally put forward a 10-point plan that was fundamentally unserious, unacceptable and completely discarded. It was literally thrown in the garbage by President Trump and his negotiating team,” Leavitt said. “Many outlets in this room have falsely reported on that plan as being acceptable to the United States. And that is false,” she added. WHITE HOUSE ERUPTS OVER CNN REPORT CLAIMING TRUMP TEAM UNDERESTIMATED IRAN RESPONSE ON HORMUZ Leavitt said negotiations with Iran are taking place behind closed doors, and she did not offer details about the version of the agreement that Trump described as “workable” prior to the Tuesday night truce. The plan Iran released publicly makes several eyebrow-raising demands, including that the U.S. end all primary and secondary sanctions against Tehran. The plan also demands that Iran gain full control over the Strait of Hormuz, something it did not enjoy even before the war began. The plan also demands compensation for damage sustained by Iran during the war and a full withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Middle East. TRUMP’S APOCALYPTIC IRAN WARNING RAISES STAKES FOR SWEEPING US STRIKE THREAT Trump publicly blasted that version of the plan in a statement on Wednesday. “Numerous Agreements, Lists, and Letters are being sent out by people that have absolutely nothing to do with the U.S.A. / Iran Negotiation, in many cases, they are total Fraudsters, Charlatans, and WORSE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “There is only one group of meaningful “POINTS” that are acceptable to the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these Negotiations. These are the POINTS that are the basis on which we agreed to a CEASEFIRE,” Trump wrote.