Iran has accused the US of breaching their ceasefire agreement even as Donald Trump insists the truce holds, fresh explosions rock America’s Arab allies, and Tehran declares the Strait of Hormuz shut.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf accused the US of violating three terms of the disputed ceasefire agreement on Wednesday.
He said Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, drones breaching Iranian airspace, and the White House’s insistence that Tehran will not enrich uranium all constitute violations of a 10-point proposal Trump had signed off on.
‘Now, the very “workable basis on which to negotiate” has been openly and clearly violated, even before the negotiations began,’ Ghalibaf posted on X, quoting Trump. ‘In such situation, a bilateral ceasefire or negotiations is unreasonable.’
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt disputed Iran’s version of the ceasefire terms at a briefing hours later, stating Trump never agreed to let Iran continue uranium enrichment.
‘The President’s red lines, namely, the end of Iranian enrichment in Iran have not changed, and the idea that President Trump would ever accept an Iranian wish list as a deal is completely absurd,’ Leavitt said.
She also claimed that the Strait of Hormuz was open despite Iranian media reporting that the vital oil artery had been closed in response to Israel’s strikes on Lebanon, a hotbed for Tehran terror proxy Hezbollah.
‘We have seen an uptick of traffic in the strait today,’ Leavitt said, noting that there was a difference between what Iran said publicly versus privately.
Two tankers were allowed through the strait this morning as the two-week ceasefire commenced, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported, though it later said passage had been suspended in step with Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.
Iran also threatened to destroy oil tankers if they try to travel through the Strait without permission, as the regime has imposed a toll of up to $2 million per vessel.
Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, a critical artery routing crude from the Gulf to the Red Sea, came under drone attack at 1pm local time, the Financial Times reported.
Kuwait’s air defenses intercepted 28 drones in sustained attacks targeting oil facilities, power plants and water desalination infrastructure from 8am Wednesday, the country’s army said, adding that strikes were still ongoing.
There were also reports of explosions rocking Tehran, which Leavitt declined to comment on, pending information from Trump’s national security team.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker Ghalibaf claimed that the US is in ‘non-compliance with the first clause of the 10-Point proposal regarding the ceasefire in Lebanon.’
Beirut, the Lebanese capital, was under massive bombardment by Israeli forces.
‘Lebanon is not part of the cease fire,’ Leavitt said. ‘That has been related to all parties involved in the ceasefire.’
Vice President JD Vance told reporters the Israelis had assured US officials they would ‘check themselves’ in Lebanon.
‘That’s not because that is part of the ceasefire. I think that’s the Israelis trying to set us up for success, and we’ll, of course, see how that unfolds in the next few days,’ he said.
He also said that he’s seen signs that the Strait is beginning to resume normal traffic.
Vance will travel to Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday alongside Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner for in-person negotiations, the White House announced.
Trump told ABC News on Wednesday morning that he is fine with Iran charging tolls for ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz safely.
‘We’re thinking of doing it as a joint venture. It’s a way of securing it — also securing it from lots of other people,’ he said.
‘It’s a beautiful thing,’ he added.
Trump described the points as ‘a workable basis on which to negotiate,’ only for a White House official to say they did not match what the President had in mind.
The President then appeared to contradict his own team, saying most points had ‘been fully negotiated’ while leaving the door open to resuming strikes if the deal fell apart.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham demanded JD Vance appear before Congress to explain the terms of the agreement after the dovish Vice President spearheaded 11th-hour peace talks mediated by Pakistan.
‘The supposed negotiating document, in my view, has some troubling aspects, but time will tell,’ Graham posted on X.
‘I look forward to the architects of this proposal, the Vice President and others, coming forward to Congress and explaining how a negotiated deal meets our national security objectives in Iran.’
Republican Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska said Trump had secured ‘significant victories’ but expressed skepticism over the peace talks and the President’s claims of ‘total victory.’
‘The government’s still in place and we should be negotiating from a position of strength, not a position that’s good for them,’ he told CNN.
‘They will work with Russia and China as soon as they can to start rebuilding their military. And they will be a threat five, six, seven, eight years down the road. And so, as long as this government’s in place, total victory has not been earned.’
Laura Loomer, a pro-Israel Trump ally, predicted the ceasefire ‘will fail.’
‘The negotiation is a negative for our country. We didn’t really get anything out of it and the terrorists in Iran are celebrating,’ she wrote on X. ‘I don’t know why people are acting like this is a win.’
Mark Levin, another pro-Israel commentator with close ties to Trump, said that while he trusts the President’s ‘instincts,’ the Iranians could not be trusted.
‘This enemy is still the enemy; they’re still surviving,’ he said of Iran.
