President Trump’s ceasefire with Iran draws praise from world leaders

The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) announced the personal secretary and nephew of a Hezbollah chief was killed in a strike on terror infrastructure sites in Beirut on Wednesday.

Ali Yusuf Harshi, the personal secretary and nephew of Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, was killed in the strike, according to the IDF. He was described as having played a "central role in managing and securing" his uncle's office.

The IDF reported that it struck various sites belonging to Hezbollah in Lebanon, including two key crossings north to south of the Litani River used for transferring weapons, rockets and launchers, and approximately 10 weapons storage facilities, launchers and command centers.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called Israel's recent strikes on Lebanon “deeply damaging,” adding that the country must be included in the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.

“We want to see Lebanon included in the ceasefire,” she told Times Radio on Thursday. “We want it extended to cover Lebanon, because otherwise that will destabilize the whole region.”

“That escalation that we saw from Israel yesterday was deeply damaging, and we want to see an end to hostilities,” she continued.

The Israeli Air Force said Wednesday it launched its “largest attack across Lebanon” since Operation Roaring Lion began.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan said early Thursday that an Iranian delegation would arrive in Islamabad for “serious talks” on a potential peace agreement with the U.S.

The ambassador, Reza Amiri Moghadam, said the talks would focus on Iran’s 10-point proposal.

“Despite skepticism of Iranian public opinion due to repeated ceasefire violations by Israeli regime to sabotage the diplomatic initiative, invited by Hon. PM Shehbaz Sharif, Iranian delegation arrives tonight in Islamabad for serious talks based on 10 points proposed by Iran,” Moghadam said in a post on X.

On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that Vice President JD Vance and White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would travel to Pakistan on Saturday for peace talks with Iran.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Iran ceasefire must also extend to Lebanon, even as he reiterated support for the two-week agreement.

“Of course it is a fragile peace, but we want it to lead to an agreement,” Albanese told reporters.

He added, “The Australian government also firmly believes that this has to apply to Lebanon as well. We want to see peace in this region.”

Iran has argued the ceasefire covers Lebanon, while the U.S. has said it does not.

President Donald Trump criticized media outlets Wednesday evening for reporting what he said was incorrect information regarding peace negotiations with Iran.

“The Failing New York Times and Fake News CNN each reported a totally FAKE TEN POINT PLAN on the Iran negotiations which was meant to discredit the people involved in the peace process,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Trump said all ten points reported by the outlets were a “made up HOAX.”

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., on Wednesday said the U.S. military was making “profound” progress in Iran while defending President Donald Trump.

“I would like to remind people, every single Democrat running for president and every single Democrat in the Senate said, we can never allow [Iran] to acquire a nuclear weapon,” Fetterman said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “And now, if you want to talk about a war crime, Iran is a 47-year-old war crime, what they continue to behave.”

“I, as a Democrat, I supported what President Trump did to actually hold Iran accountable, and I think it's been successful,” he continued.

Fetterman pushed back on Democrats’ calls to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove the president from power. He also said it was hypocritical for members of his party to criticize Trump after he announced a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.

“I mean, you can't have it both ways. So where we are it's like strange to be gleeful, gleeful that we still have to accomplish some things and make these kinds of statements,” he said. “I'm old enough to remember we used to root for our military, and we would all agree that Iran is the world's leading terrorism underwriter. I mean, they are part of the evil empire.”

Fetterman said he would be the “only Democrat” to support Trump’s actions in Iran.

George Clooney blasted President Donald Trump over his recent threat to unleash overwhelming military force against Iran's infrastructure, calling the rhetoric a potential "war crime."

In a Tuesday Truth Social post, Trump, 79, issued an ominous warning to Iran if the country did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway, and agree to a ceasefire deal before his 8 p.m. deadline.

"A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will," Trump wrote in part. A two-week ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran along with Israel was subsequently reached ahead of the deadline.

On Wednesday, Clooney, 64, a longtime critic of Trump, slammed the threat while speaking at the "Dialogues on Talent" event in Cuneo, Italy.

"Some say Donald Trump is fine. But if anyone says he wants to end a civilization, that’s a war crime," Clooney said, according to Italian news agency ANSA.

"You can still support the conservative point of view, but there must be a line of decency, and we must not cross it," he added.

The White House responded to Clooney's comments in a statement on Wednesday.

"The only person committing war crimes is George Clooney for his awful movies and terrible acting ability," White House Communications Director Steven Cheung wrote.

This is an excerpt from a story by Fox News Digital's Ashley Hume

A map posted by Iran's navy early on Thursday reportedly shows alternative shipping routes that would not activate naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz for transiting vessels, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The Strait of Hormuz' status remains unclear after Iranian new agencies released conflicting reporting Wednesday claiming whether or not oil tankers could transit the water channel.

Some reports from Iranian regime-owned outlets claimed that the strait had been fully closed, but others said that there have been safe passage routes designated and used in coordination with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The fate of the Strait of Hormuz will be closely watched as the ceasefire continues.

The Times of Israel reported early Thursday morning that Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a launch of rockets attacking northern Israel.

This is the first attack against the U.S. ally since President Donald Trump reached a two-week ceasefire with Iran, Hezbollah's patron, on Tuesday.

Hezbollah said in a statement reviewed by the Times of Israel that the attacks, which reportedly set off sirens in the area, were in response to Israeli attacks on Lebanon Wednesday.

The same report claims Israel launched its biggest attack of Operation Roaring Lion against Lebanon thus far earlier on Wednesday.

Prediction market Polymarket marked the ceasefire event between the United States and Iran as "disputed" Wednesday after a group of new accounts made "highly specific, well-timed bets," The Associated Press reported.

The bets reportedly resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for these new Polymarket users even as President Donald Trump escalated devastating threats to the Iranian regime via Truth Social Tuesday, making an imminent deal unlikely.

At least 50 new accounts or wallets placed "substantial" 'Yes' bets before Trump announced a two-week ceasefire, an AP analysis of blockchain data shows, raising questions about insider trading.

The AP cites two brand-new accounts which raked in $200,000 and $125,500 respectively, despite having created their wallets on Polymarket either that same day or Monday, April 6.

“Under-regulated prediction markets have exposed America to needless public safety and national security risks by allowing traders to invest in outcomes related to sensitive matters like terrorism, assassination, war, or elections,” Rep. Moore said in a release accompanying the announcement of bipartisan legislation to regulate prediction markets.

Many users who made profits on the "disputed" event are still awaiting payouts as Polymarket reviews the incident more closely.

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.

U.S. stock markets skyrocketed on Wednesday after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,325.46 points, or 2.8%, to close at 47,909.92.

The S&P 500 leaped 2.5%, adding nearly 166 points, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rallied 2.8%.

Smaller companies also saw a large boost, with the Russell 2000 index jumping 3%.

Oil prices plunged below $95 per barrel in response to the de-escalation.

However, the ceasefire showed signs of strain Wednesday afternoon amid a dispute over Israeli military operations in Lebanon, as Iran argued the deal covered the area — and the U.S. insisted it did not.

Tensions escalated further when Iran reportedly moved to halt oil tanker traffic through the critical Strait of Hormuz, raising fears the fragile deal could quickly unravel.

Despite the market’s sharp rally, stocks remain below pre-war levels, while oil prices continue to run elevated.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned Iran’s reported plan to charge ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz would be “completely unacceptable,” arguing it risks setting a dangerous precedent that could undermine global trade.

Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the Iranian regime was previously charging some tankers millions to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Following the ceasefire, Tehran has reportedly floated charging "tolls" for vessels to safely pass through the key waterway.

Mitsotakis, representing the world's leading shipping power, told CNN he sees the move as "completely unacceptable."

“I don’t think that the international community would be ready to accept Iran setting up a toll booth for every ship that crosses the strait,” Mitsotakis told the outlet.

"This agreement cannot, I repeat, cannot include a sort of a fee that ships will have to pay every time they cross the strait," he continued. "This was not the case before the war started and it cannot be the case after the war finishes. We would be setting a very, very dangerous precedent, if that were to happen, for the freedom of navigation.”

French President Emmanuel Macron revealed Wednesday he held talks with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian and President Donald Trump, calling the two-week ceasefire the “best possible” outcome, as he pressed for the agreement to hold as tensions remain high across the Middle East.

Macron said that while speaking with both leaders, he expressed hope that the ceasefire would be "fully respected by each of the belligerents, across all areas of confrontation, including in Lebanon."

A dispute about whether the ceasefire applied to Lebanon boiled over on Wednesday as Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused the U.S. of failing to comply with agreed terms.

Vice President JD Vance and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during separate media appearances that a ceasefire in Lebanon was not included in the agreement.

Hours later, Iran reportedly halted oil tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

"This is a necessary condition for the ceasefire to be credible and lasting," Macron said. "It must open the way to comprehensive negotiations capable of ensuring security for all in the Middle East."

He added any agreement will have to address the concerns raised by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as well as its regional policy and its actions obstructing navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

"This is how a strong and lasting peace can be built, with the support of all those who are able to contribute to it," Macron said. "France will play its full part, in close coordination with its partners in the Middle East."

Vice President JD Vance sent a strong message to the Iranian regime on Wednesday amid rising ceasefire tensions, warning that "if they break their end of the bargain, they're going to see some serious consequences."

The second-in-command, while visiting Hungary, emphasized American strength in the Middle East, saying, "What we know is the United States would have imposed significant additional military and economic costs on Iran, and still has the capacity to do so."

He also reinforced the administration's hardline stance on sanctions and nuclear weapons.

"That's not going to happen unless the Iranians make a firm commitment to stop anything close to the development of a nuclear weapon," Vance said. "And frankly, the president has all the cards here."

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley urged the Trump administration to continue putting pressure on Iran, explaining she thinks regime leaders view the two-week ceasefire as a win.

"Don’t mistake this ceasefire as a loss for Iran," Haley wrote in an X post on Wednesday. "Their strategy has always been delay, delay, delay. In their view, they are winning."

She added the U.S. military's next steps are "critical."

"We can’t let up the pressure on their missiles or proxies and we need to remove every bit of the enriched uranium," Haley wrote in the post.

The United Kingdom’s only warship deployed to the eastern Mediterranean during the Iran conflict has been forced into port over a "technical" issue, abruptly sidelining a key piece of Britain’s regional military presence as pressure mounts on Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s handling of the crisis.

The docking of HMS Dragon — a Type 45 destroyer tasked with defending U.K. assets and projecting force near the conflict zone — weakens Britain’s visible military posture at a sensitive moment, as a fragile U.S.-brokered pause takes hold and criticism from Trump administration officials and conservative voices builds over delays and restrictions that they say damaged London’s credibility with allies.

HMS Dragon was facing issues with its "onboard water systems," which impacted water provisions for sailors on board, The Daily Mail first reported.

"HMS Dragon is undertaking a routine logistics stop and a short maintenance period in the Eastern Mediterranean, allowing the ship to take onboard provisions, optimise systems and conduct maintenance," the Ministry of Defense said in a statement to the outlet.

The ministry said in a statement to the Daily Mail that if necessary the ship will be "able to sail at short notice."

"The UK continues to maintain a robust and layered defensive presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, working in coordination with allies. This includes Typhoon and F-35 jets, Wildcat and Merlin helicopters, and advanced counter-drone and air defence systems."

Click here to read the full story by Fox News Digital's Elaine Mallon.

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.

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 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."

"Congress must reassert its authority, especially at this dangerous moment," he continued. "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.

Click here to read the full story by Fox News Digital's Alex Miller.

Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday addressed Iran's claims that the U.S. violated the standing ceasefire deal by allowing continued Israeli military action in Lebanon, explaining the Trump administration "never made that promise."

While speaking to reporters in Hungary on Wednesday, Vance criticized Iran's stance on the issue, saying, "If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that's ultimately their choice."

He noted the administration saw an increase in traffic Wednesday through the Strait of Hormuz, adding, "we actually think that we are seeing signs the straits are starting to reopen."

Hours later, Iran reportedly halted oil tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz over the Lebanon dispute.