Wall Street Journal: “Iran told mediators it would limit the number of ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz to around a dozen a day and charge tolls under the cease-fire struck by President Trump, showing Tehran plans to tighten its grip on the world’s most important energy-shipping lane.”

“Ships that pass will have to coordinate with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the powerful paramilitary group that has been labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union”

Wall Street Journal: “The White House is considering a plan to punish some members of the NATO alliance that President Trump thinks were unhelpful to the U.S. and Israel during the Iran war, according to administration officials.”

“The proposal would involve moving U.S. troops out of North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries deemed unhelpful to the Iran war effort and stationing them in countries that were more supportive. The proposal would fall far short of President Trump’s recent threats to fully withdraw the U.S. from the alliance, which by law he can’t do without Congress.”

Playbook: “It’s easy to become immune to Trump’s NATO-bashing because it’s been going on so long. But what’s happened over the past 14 months is very different. What’s happened since the start of the year is seismic.”

“It’s too early to call it definitively — the leaks will likely come in the hours ahead — but it’s pretty clear yesterday’s talks between Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte didn’t go well.”

Washington Post: Trump vents at NATO but avoids rupture after meeting with alliance’s leader.

Wall Street Journal: “When Iran agreed to a two-week cease-fire only hours before President Trump had vowed to unleash punishing new attacks, it was in many ways a moment of triumph for the battered regime.”

“Tehran emerged from 38 days of war against the U.S. and Israel having won not only its primary goal—its own survival—but also two potential strategic gains: control of the Strait of Hormuz and a newly established deterrence against large-scale attacks by its longtime adversaries.”

“Despite huge military losses, Iran’s stranglehold on the vital waterway for 20% of the world’s oil exports won’t be broken anytime soon.”

Washington Post: After Trump pauses war, Iranians fly flags of victory, not surrender.

Wall Street Journal: “President Trump’s declaration of ‘total victory’ in Iran left some close allies and several senior aides worried Wednesday that he is overstating what is a fragile cease-fire with Tehran, which remains capable of blocking ships in the Strait of Hormuz and attacking U.S. forces in the region.”

“The president has been advised on the risks that could cause the cease-fire to crater and warned that Iran still retains dangerous military capabilities, according to multiple officials.”

New York Times: “President Trump’s 8 p.m. deadline for Iran was fast approaching, and Pakistan was trying to orchestrate an off-ramp for both sides. So Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took to social media.”

“Mr. Sharif, adopting Trumpian parlance, said in a post on X Tuesday afternoon that diplomacy was ‘progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully’ and that he was requesting that Mr. Trump extend the deadline for two weeks. He then tagged Mr. Trump and other top advisers.”

“But behind the scenes, the White House had already seen and signed off on the statement before Mr. Sharif posted it, according to a person briefed on the communication, a sign that the diplomatic channels were much more active than the message on social media suggested.”

“President Donald Trump vowed to keep US troops in the Persian Gulf ahead of talks with Iran that are planned to firm up a fragile truce, while Tehran warned there may be mines in a strategic waterway Washington wants reopened,” Bloomberg reports.

New York Times: “President Trump faces new diplomatic tests as he prepares for weekend talks with Tehran amid doubts about the durability of his day-old cease-fire with Iran and the prospects for building it into a broader peace settlement.”

Punchbowl News: “President Donald Trump will head to Arizona and Nevada next week to talk about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and its tax cuts, the biggest policy win notched by the GOP-run Congress. And there will be a MAHA roundtable at the White House today. Trump is seemingly trying to turn the page from a brutal month of war in Iran and Republican infighting in Washington.”

“But it won’t be that easy.”

“Despite the ceasefire, oil tankers still aren’t moving through the Strait of Hormuz yet, and the question of Israel’s offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon is being disputed by U.S., Israeli and Iranian officials. Trump warned late Wednesday night that U.S. forces ‘will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with.'”

“Plus, with lawmakers returning to Washington for the first time in two weeks on Monday, the Capitol will be dominated by votes and action related to the 40-day long conflict.”

I had a great conversation with the great Julie Mason on her Sirius XM show this afternoon.

You can listen here.

Bloomberg: “President Donald Trump’s declaration of a two-week ceasefire in the war against Iran has soothed global markets. But a series of conflicting statements — and actions — since the announcement suggests fundamental differences remain, making the truce even more fragile.”

“Trump unleashed a flurry of social media posts starting in the early hours of Wednesday regarding the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear material, tariffs, sanctions and the negotiating parameters of a long-term peace deal. Several of his messages contained dubious or incomplete claims.”

Aaron Blake: “For Iran hawks on the right, Tuesday night was initially time to revel in how President Donald Trump had again proven his detractors wrong with his supposed Art of the Deal win in obtaining a ceasefire in the ongoing war.”

“But by Wednesday morning, that revelry gave way to some genuine concern about what Trump was willing to concede to extract himself from the conflict.”

New York Times: “The people logging into Truth Social each day tend to count themselves among the most ardent supporters of President Trump and his MAGA movement. In recent weeks, though, even some in the echo chamber have turned against his actions in Iran.”

“Thousands of users on the social media platform, which Mr. Trump created in 2022, have responded to the president’s drumbeat of posts with a mix of frustration, disbelief and outrage.”

Associated Press: “To end the war with the United States and Israel, Iran is demanding the right to collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz as a precondition for reopening the waterway vital to world oil supplies.”

“Yet collecting tolls in the strait would violate a basic and enduring principle of international maritime trade: freedom of peaceful navigation…”

“Opening the strait would save the global economy from supply constraints that have pushed energy and fertilizer prices sharply higher since the war began on Feb. 28. But agreeing to Iranian toll-collecting would cement the Islamic Republic’s control over the strait through which 20% of the world’s oil is shipped — and enrich the military against whom the war was launched.”

New York Times: “As President Trump swung this week from threatening to annihilate Iran to announcing a cease-fire whose terms and durability remain murky, Congress — the branch of government vested with the power to declare war and regulate trade — remained in recess and largely in the dark.”

“And its Republican leaders had little to say even as Democrats ratcheted up their criticism, clamoring anew for a vote on military operations in Iran and even calling for the president’s removal after his warnings about wiping out Iranian civilization.”

“It was the latest instance of congressional Republicans, who have deferred to Mr. Trump on matters large and small since he began his second term, ceding their prerogatives and much of their power to the White House.”

Washington Post: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine struck different tones on Wednesday while describing the state of hostilities with Iran, with the former characterizing the conflict mostly in the past tense while the general appeared unwilling to use such absolute terms and left open the possibility that additional U.S. troops could be killed.”

“God deserves all the glory. Tens of thousands of strikes carried out under the protection of divine providence. A massive effort with miraculous protection. God is good.”

— Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking to reporters.