New York Times: “Weeks after Vice President JD Vance privately warned President Trump of the costs of a full-scale U.S. war with Iran, he is now leading the charge to negotiate an end to the biggest foreign policy crisis that the president has faced during his time in office.”

“Mr. Vance, along with Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, are expected to travel to Pakistan on Friday to hold talks with the Iranians, as a cease-fire between the United States and Iran is under strain. It would be the highest-level meeting between U.S. and Iranian officials since 1979.”

“The stakes are enormous for Mr. Trump and for Mr. Vance, whose most high-profile assignments from Mr. Trump have involved domestic politics, most recently as the president’s ‘fraud czar.’”

“Shortly after President Donald Trump threatened to erase the “whole civilization” of Iran, all 6,000 years of it, the crowds came out into the streets of Tehran waving flags — and not white ones. They bore the green, white and red banners of the still-standing Islamic Republic,” the Washington Post reports.

“Some set fire to the star-spangled ones of the superpower that, according to state media, they had just ‘humiliated.’”

“President Trump on Thursday demanded Iran stop charging tolls for tankers to cross the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran’s supreme leader promised the country would control the crucial waterway,” Axios reports.

“The already shaky ceasefire between the two countries is getting more strained by the day, even as they prepare for peace talks in Islamabad on Saturday.”

CNN: Ships still aren’t going through the Strait of Hormuz.

CNBC: Trump says Iran “better stop now” if it’s charging oil tankers fees to go through Strait of Hormuz.

“President Trump has hit out at NATO after a tense meeting with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of the military alliance, at the White House on Wednesday,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Rutte had traveled to Washington to try to assuage Mr. Trump’s anger that NATO members had refused to participate in the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and help open up the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil and gas shipping route. But Mr. Rutte conceded that it was not an easy meeting, calling it ‘very frank’ and ‘very open,’ despite clear disagreements.”

Politico: Trump vented at Rutte over NATO inaction on Iran during turbulent meeting.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he is “fed up” seeing energy bills in the U.K. swing up and down because of actions taken by President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, CNBC reports.

President Trump told NBC News that he was “very optimistic” a peace deal with Iran was within reach as a diplomatic delegation led by Vice President JD Vance prepared to head to Pakistan for high-stakes talks aimed at ending the nearly six-week conflict.

He claimed Iran’s leaders “talk much differently when you’re at a meeting than they do to the press. They’re much more reasonable. They’re agreeing to all the things that they have to agree to. Remember, they’ve been conquered. They have no military.”

He added: “If they don’t make a deal, it’s going to be very painful.”

NBC News: “Trump asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call yesterday to scale back Israel’s strikes in Lebanon to help ensure the success of the Iran negotiations.”

“While the Trump administration and Israel have both said Lebanon is not covered by the ceasefire, Israel agreed ‘to be a helpful partner.'”

Aaron Blake: “This weekend’s talks to end the war with Iran are some of the most high-stakes negotiations not just of Donald Trump’s presidencies, but of recent American history.”

“One big problem, though: The U.S. can’t even seem to agree with Iran on what they agreed to for the ceasefire.”