Trump tells Iran to 'get smart soon' as Hegseth prepares for Hill grilling
President Donald Trump issued a sharp warning to Iran as War Secretary Pete Hegseth prepared to face lawmakers on Capitol Hill, setting up a politically charged moment centered on national security, administration messaging, and U.S. policy toward Tehran.
UN nuclear chief: Iran’s highly enriched uranium likely buried at Isfahan site
The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog says much of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely still at the Isfahan nuclear complex, buried in tunnels.
International Atomic Energy Agency's best estimate is that a large share of the material stored there before the 2025 war remains there, IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The IAEA has satellite imagery showing the effects of recent strikes but has not been able to return to the site to confirm the uranium’s status or verify whether agency seals are still intact, according to Grossi.
Inspections at Isfahan ended when last year’s war broke out, leaving the watchdog to rely on imagery, prior records and outside information as it tries to track one of the most sensitive elements of Iran’s nuclear program.
The IAEA says Iran has 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity, which is close to weapons-grade, and Grossi has said roughly 200 kilograms is believed to be stored in tunnels at Isfahan. That unresolved stockpile keeps Iran’s nuclear material at the center of any effort to turn a fragile ceasefire into a broader agreement.
Grossi told the AP that any durable deal will require full inspections and likely some arrangement to remove or dilute the material. For now, though, the basic problem remains unchanged: the uranium is believed to still be there, and no outside authority has been able to check it on the ground.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Oil executives express support for Trump actions after White House meeting
President Donald Trump met oil executives at the White House on Monday, talking Iran and oil amid the Strait of Hormuz blockade.
With Trump leveraging the shutdown of Iran's oil industry, he has been urging the world to come to the U.S. for its oil in lieu of Iran's.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this week that the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz is equivalent to an "economic nuclear weapon" to leverage Iran toward giving up its nuclear weapons aspirations.
Trump meets with energy executives frequently to get their feedback on domestic and international energy markets. The executives discussed many topics Monday, including domestic production, progress in Venezuela, oil futures, natural gas, and shipping.
The executives all spoke highly of the actions Trump has taken to unleash American energy dominance, and expressed support for what the president is doing for global oil supply under the circumstances, sources told Fox Business.
FOX Business' Edward Lawrence contributed to this report.
Trump eyes longer Iran blockade in Hormuz Strait as it clings to nuclear aspirations
President Donald Trump has reportedly told aides to prepare for a longer blockade of Iran, betting sustained economic pressure in and around the Strait of Hormuz will force Tehran to back down on its nuclear weapons aspirations.
Trump, pursuing peace through strength, is willing to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed off to Iran's global oil industry as a pressure point to get the shaken leadership to give up designs to ultimately have a nuclear weapon.
Trump publicly argued earlier this week that the pressure campaign is working, saying Iran is nearing a “state of collapse,” while officials maintain the blockade has given Washington leverage in any future negotiations.
Trump has temporarily ceased his major bombing campaign as of April 7, but Iran has long sought to delay talks on giving up its nuclear weapons program.
Trump has temporarily ceased his major bombing campaign as of April 7, but Iran has long sought to delay talks on giving up its nuclear weapons program.
Trump ended the JCPOA and has vowed "Iran will never have a nuclear weapon."
War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine are set to testify before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday as the war with Iran reaches its 60-day mark and pressure builds on the administration to defend both its strategy and its costs.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET on Capitol Hill and is officially focused on the Pentagon’s fiscal 2027 budget request.
But the backdrop is the latest with Iran, which has become a central political and military test for President Donald Trump’s national security team.
Lawmakers are expected to press Hegseth on the administration’s war aims, the legal basis for the operation, military readiness, and the broader economic fallout from conflict.
The hearing will also mark Hegseth’s first appearance before Congress since the war began, giving both parties a high-profile chance to question the Pentagon’s handling of the fight and the administration’s case for a proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget.
Caine’s testimony is expected to offer lawmakers a battlefield and readiness assessment as scrutiny intensifies over how long the conflict could continue.
Trump: Iran 'better get smart soon,' learn how to 'sign a nonnuclear deal'
President Donald Trump might be willing to remain under a ceasefire in pursuit of peace, but he is not willing to allow Iran to delay talks on ending its nuclear weapon aspirations.
"Iran can’t get their act together," Trump wrote early Wednesday morning on Truth Social. "They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon!"
The message underscored Trump’s frustration with stalled diplomacy, notoriously an Iranian strategy as it works toward attaining a nuclear weapon, something Trump has long declared would "never" be allowed to happen.
Recent reporting has pointed to tension around possible U.S.-Iran talks, with Trump and his advisers signaling skepticism about Tehran’s willingness or ability to finalize terms.
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