Axios, citing anonymous officials, claimed the White House believes the U.S. and Iran are closing in on a one-page memo to end the war, as a ceasefire to the conflict entered its 29th day on Wednesday. However, the burst of optimism sparked by the Axios report subsided by mid-morning as analysts expressed skepticism while holding out hope for some diplomatic progress.
In a Truth Social post on Tuesday evening, President Donald Trump said that “Project Freedom,” the U.S. Navy’s mission to escort commercial vessels through the strait would be “paused for a short period of time” at “the request of Pakistan and other countries” to allow negotiations with Iran to proceed, adding that the U.S. naval blockade would “remain in full force and effect.”
In a separate Truth Social post Wednesday morning, Trump said that if Iran agrees to current terms, “Epic Fury will be at an end” and the U.S. “Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran.” But, Trump said, failure to reach an agreement would trigger a resumption of bombing “at a much higher level and intensity than before.”
Drop Site News, citing Iranian sources, reported Wednesday that diplomacy continues over a potential memorandum of understanding between Iran and the U.S., with Iran having submitted amendments to its 14-point counterproposal and the U.S. having since responded. Iranian sources reportedly told Drop Site that they have “zero trust” in the U.S. and remain skeptical of the process, with Iran viewing much of U.S. media reporting as “spin” from the Trump administration.
Axios said that the terms of the MOU include Iran committing to a moratorium on its nuclear enrichment with the U.S. agreeing to ease sanctions and release frozen Iranian assets. Both sides would end their restrictions on passage through the Strait of Hormuz, Axios said, citing U.S. officials.
The spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, Ebrahim Rezaei, said on X Wednesday that “Axios’ text is Americans’ wish list until it becomes reality,” while Iran’s foreign ministry has said that they are still reviewing the latest U.S. proposal.
Iran’s 14-point counterproposal, delivered via Pakistani mediators and reported by Tasnim News Agency on Sunday, demanded all issues be resolved within 30 days, including lifting of the U.S. naval blockade, sanctions relief, release of frozen assets, U.S. troop withdrawal from areas surrounding Iran, nonaggression guarantees, an end to Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon, and “a new mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz,” signaling Tehran’s intent to retain control over the waterway.
Iran’s foreign ministry said that the proposal “focused solely on ending the war” and that nuclear talks are off the table. Several outlets including Al Jazeera reported that Iran had offered a 15-year moratorium on uranium enrichment while Iran’s Fars News said the moratorium was part of a previous U.S. offer that Tehran had rejected.
At a White House press conference on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the U.S. goal of the Iran War is to restore the Strait of Hormuz “back to the way it was.”
“Our preference is for these straits to be open, to the way they are supposed to be opened, back to the way it was,” where “anyone can use it,” and there are “no mines in the water, nobody paying tolls. That’s what we have to get back to and that’s the goal here.”
Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority—the newly established government body designed to formalize Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz and regulate maritime traffic passing through it—circulated instructions to shipping companies, Al Jazeera reported Wednesday, with Iran requiring vessels seeking Strait of Hormuz passage to apply via email. Iran will grant priority access through the waterway to ships which pay in Iranian currency, while vessels belonging to countries that have sanctioned or seized Iranian assets are not permitted to pass under Iran’s management, Al Jazeera says.
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A Washington Post analysis of satellite imagery published Wednesday found that Iranian airstrikes damaged or destroyed “at least 228 structures and pieces of equipment” at 15 U.S. military sites across the Middle East so far in the conflict, far higher than previously disclosed by the Pentagon. To conduct the analysis, the Washington Post reviewed more than 100 satellite images released by Iranian state-affiliated outlets, verifying them against European Union Copernicus data. The Post found no evidence that any of the Iranian imagery had been manipulated.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said that Israeli airstrikes killed at least six people on Wednesday in southern and eastern Lebanon, as Israel issued forced displacement orders for 12 villages in the south. The IDF said that a Hezbollah drone struck inside Israeli territory on Wednesday, with no injuries reported, while a separate Hezbollah attack in southern Lebanon injured two Israeli soldiers.
Gas prices continued to rise, with AAA reporting the national average price of gas at $4.54.
