2026-04-09T14:31:34.999Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
就在唐纳德·特朗普总统为伊朗设定的晚上8点最后期限——要么达成协议，要么面临他那“毁灭与死亡”的末日警告——不到三小时之际，美国国防部长皮特·赫格斯和参谋长联席会议主席丹·凯恩这两位美军最高将领被紧急传唤至白宫。
据知情官员向CNN透露，包括凯恩在内的美军高级将领正准备启动扩大军事行动，而白宫助手们则忙着应对各种突发状况，包括如果总统决定向全国发表电视讲话，就让赫格斯和凯恩随时待命。
官员们表示，没人能确切知道特朗普会作何决定。
最终，特朗普比自己设定的最后期限提前了90分钟，在Truth Social平台上宣布双方已达成为期两周的停火协议，为这场 frantic 的外交斡旋画上了句号——而就在当天上午，特朗普还曾威胁“今晚整个文明都将覆灭”。
特朗普突如其来的停火声明立刻引发了全球金融市场的纾缓。但这一声明也加剧了人们对特朗普与伊朗实际达成协议内容的混乱和困惑，其中包括美国是否实现了其主要目标之一：重新开放霍尔木兹海峡。过去一个月，伊朗为回应美以军事行动，事实上封锁了这条全球能源主航道，导致市场动荡。
据两位知情官员透露，特朗普宣布伊朗提出的十点方案“具备谈判的可行基础”仅一个多小时后，局势就出现了裂痕。特朗普因伊朗最高国家安全委员会发表的胜利声明怒不可遏。特朗普称该声明是伪造的，并抨击CNN报道了伊朗最高安全机构的这一说法。
尽管特朗普政府高官周三坚称霍尔木兹海峡已重新对油轮开放，且已观察到通航量有所回升，但几乎没有迹象表明这条狭窄航道的实际状况有多大改变。
伊朗周三表示停火协议已遭破坏，并将以色列持续轰炸黎巴嫩作为证据，双方在黎巴嫩是否被纳入协议一事上存在分歧。
截至周四上午，脆弱的停火仍在维持，但双方的认知分歧凸显了特朗普面临的挑战。如今他需要结束这场持续40天的战争——尽管美国和以色列已击毙伊朗最高领袖，但并未改变强硬派仍掌控伊朗政府的事实（尽管特朗普不断宣称要实现政权更迭），全球石油运输仍处于停滞状态。
“我们今天看到伊朗向海湾地区发动了一些规模最大的袭击，目标包括科威特、阿联酋、卡塔尔、巴林，甚至还有沙特阿拉伯，导弹和无人机都用上了，”CNN全球事务分析师、曾与伊朗进行过谈判的美国前特使布雷特·麦格克周三在CNN《The Arena》节目中表示。
“我们可以统计导弹、无人机的数量，也可以统计船只的通航情况，到目前为止，至少在今天，所有这些指标都朝着糟糕的方向发展，”麦格克补充道。
周三深夜，特朗普在Truth Social上警告称，如果伊朗最终不达成协议，美国准备重启军事行动。
“所有美国舰船、飞机和军事人员，以及额外的弹药、武器和其他一切适合且必要用于致命打击和摧毁已然大幅削弱的敌军的装备，都将留在伊朗境内及其周边，直到真正达成的协议得到全面遵守，”他写道。
如今焦点转向下一轮谈判，副总统J·D·万斯将于本周末前往巴基斯坦，与美国特使史蒂夫·维基科夫以及特朗普的女婿贾里德·库什纳进行会谈。
万斯淡化了外界对停火协议和黎巴嫩问题的困惑，周三对记者表示，这是“合理的误解”导致的。
“我认为伊朗方面以为停火协议包括黎巴嫩，但实际上并非如此。我们从未做出过这样的承诺，也从未暗示过会是这样，”万斯在离开匈牙利时说道。“我们当时说的是，停火协议将聚焦于伊朗，以及美国的盟友，包括以色列和海湾阿拉伯国家。”
据熟悉谈判的消息人士透露，万斯在与巴基斯坦方面就该提案进行沟通时发挥了关键作用。消息人士称，此次巴基斯坦会谈预计将是多轮紧张谈判的开端，旨在达成一项更长期、持久的协议以结束战争。
特朗普政府目前的立场是，为期两周的停火协议有望争取到足够时间，与伊朗达成更实质性的妥协。美国官员补充称，如果白宫认为谈判取得足够进展，当前的停火协议可以延长。
一名地区消息人士将当前局势描述为“可控的混乱”。
“他们此刻都在努力应对24小时新闻周期，”另一位熟悉内部讨论的消息人士说道。“我们都会看到船只通航情况。很快就会知道什么是真实的。”
特朗普宣布停火协议后，股指期货立刻飙升，油价暴跌，交易员们乐观地认为，和平将带来霍尔木兹海峡的全面重新开放，并缓解过去一个月席卷全球大部分地区的能源危机。
周三上午，特朗普在接受美国广播公司新闻记者乔恩·卡尔采访时暗示，美国可能会与伊朗以“合资企业”的形式参与保障霍尔木兹海峡的安全，并提出两国可以对安全通行收取通行费的可能性。
但在政府内部，对于如何实现航道重新开放，人们的信心要低得多。
据一位知情人士透露，在突然宣布停火协议的几个小时前，特朗普政府官员曾私下警告能源企业高管，达成突破的可能性不大，局势很可能“先恶化后好转”。
该知情人士透露，官员们周二曾向行业保证，无论近期油价上涨多少，美国政府都将恪守此前承诺，不限制美国企业向海外出口石油，这体现了他们的悲观情绪。能源企业高管长期以来一直担心，政府会为了保障国内供应、抑制国内油气价格上涨而限制出口。
白宫和伊朗政权周二晚间提出的相互矛盾的和平计划，反而加深了人们的担忧：伊朗可能会长期控制该海峡，自行决定哪些船只可以通过，以及收取何种费用。
“他（特朗普）已经受够了，他不在乎霍尔木兹海峡，他希望继续向伊朗施压，但现在他看到了达成协议的空间，”另一位熟悉内部讨论的人士在谈到特朗普迅速同意如此模糊的和平原则时的考量说道。
周三，战争双方的袭击似乎仍在继续，据报道沙特阿拉伯一条重要输油管道遭遇袭击，引发了人们的恐慌。在整个局势不明朗的期间，波斯湾的航运实际上仍处于停滞状态。
“你可以发布各种声明和公告，但自3月初以来情况一直没有改变，除非船舶运营商认为航道安全，否则不会有变化，”战略与国际研究中心高级研究员、资深能源分析师克莱顿·西格尔说道。
白宫新闻秘书卡罗琳·利夫特周三表示，伊朗已向白宫保证，将允许船只通过霍尔木兹海峡，尽管有报道称德黑兰再次封锁了该航道。
“这就是他们公开所说的与实际情况不符的情况，”她在新闻发布会上说道，不过她承认船只恢复通航可能“需要时间”。“私下里，我们今天看到航道的通航量有所回升。”
周二达成的协议，最终标志着这场战争中非同寻常的72小时周期以一种平淡收场。
周日凌晨刚过，特朗普就在Truth Social上宣布美军取得胜利：美国成功在伊朗执行了一项危险任务，营救了两名被击落战机中的第二名美国飞行员。
当天晚些时候，随着自我设定的最后期限临近，特朗普对伊朗的威胁开始升级。“周二将是发电厂日和桥梁日，两者合二为一，在伊朗。前所未有！打开该死的海峡，你们这些疯子，否则你们将生活在地狱里——等着瞧！”特朗普在Truth Social上发帖称。
而在周二上午，特朗普的末日言辞更是变本加厉：“今晚整个文明都将覆灭，永无复返之日，”他在Truth Social上写道。“我不希望这样的事情发生，但很可能还是会发生。”
据熟悉相关讨论的消息人士透露，特朗普的不祥言论让政府内部许多人措手不及，并引发了关于总统愿意采取何种程度的行动迫使德黑兰妥协的内部质疑。
地区消息人士告诉CNN，在停火协议达成前的几天里，维基科夫、库什纳与包括巴基斯坦和土耳其在内的地区各方保持着持续沟通，他们拼命寻找外交解决方案，直到特朗普发帖前，都不清楚他们能否达成协议。
多位熟悉谈判的消息人士告诉CNN，政府官员曾希望通过间接谈判达成某种程度的协议，以推迟特朗普的最后期限，或者至少减轻其报复行动的力度。不过，直到特朗普周二晚间宣布达成突破，才清楚这样的进展是否足够。
消息人士称，由于谈判跨越国界和时区，而非双方闭门会谈，这让讨论变得更加困难。
尽管如此，在宣布周二临时停火协议之前，有时难以联系上的伊朗方面的回应变得更加迅速，谈判者在数小时内就能收到回复，一位地区消息人士说道。
在特朗普发帖前的几个小时里，巴基斯坦外长进行了一连串电话通话，包括与土耳其、埃及和沙特阿拉伯的 counterparts 交换意见，一位消息人士说道。
“即便在那个时候，大家也必须确保所有人的理解一致，”该消息人士告诉CNN。停火协议宣布后数小时内，人们就明显发现各方的理解并不一致，尤其是在黎巴嫩问题上。
当天晚些时候，由巴基斯坦斡旋的谈判进程迎来新进展，巴基斯坦陆军参谋长阿西姆·穆尼尔元帅亲自参与其中。
一位消息灵通人士透露，中央情报局官员参与了与伊朗代表的秘密谈判，以打破僵局。
周二下午3点左右，也就是特朗普晚上8点的最后期限前5小时，一位了解巴基斯坦政府想法的消息人士向CNN记者发送消息称“好消息即将到来”，并建议密切关注巴基斯坦总理夏巴兹·谢里夫的X平台账号。
几分钟后，谢里夫发帖称，外交努力“正稳步、有力且高效地推进”，并正式请求特朗普将最后期限延长两周。谢里夫还要求伊朗在相应期限内开放霍尔木兹海峡。
这条信息看似是在最后一刻向华盛顿和德黑兰领导人发出的恳求。但熟悉谈判的消息人士告诉CNN，白宫此前已获悉该声明，并基本认可谢里夫提议的具体内容。特朗普政府高官全天都在与巴基斯坦方面沟通，并明确说明了美国对最终协议的优先诉求。
与此同时，一位美国官员表示，美国军方已准备好升级行动，如果未能宣布停火协议，将发动更多打击。
不过，目前尚不清楚美军是否有能力执行特朗普公开威胁的那种规模的行动。
一位熟悉五角大楼规划流程的消息人士告诉CNN，从军事角度来看，美军人员已为可能的升级做准备，预计如果伊朗不同意重新开放霍尔木兹海峡，特朗普将下令打击“大规模目标清单”。
其中包括可能使用美军武力重新开放海峡，并下令入侵部队移除伊朗现有的高浓缩铀库存——CNN此前曾报道，该任务需要大量地面部队，且存在重大风险。
“我们已经制定了目标清单，随时可以执行，包括基础设施、桥梁、发电厂，”赫格斯在周三上午的新闻发布会上说道。
与以往的美国军事行动不同，美军人员在得知任务清单内容之前有一段“等待观望期”。在特朗普的最后期限前不到三小时，这种等待观望期似乎仍在生效，这进一步加剧了人们对总统最终会作何决定的不确定性。
据三位以色列消息人士透露，以色列正为特朗普最后一刻延长最后期限做准备，但军方也随时待命，准备进一步升级冲突。两位消息人士称，美以联合打击伊朗国家基础设施的计划已准备就绪，目标也已确定。
一位了解情况的美国官员表示，中东地区的美军正为晚上8点的最后期限做准备，同时防范伊朗可能发动的报复性袭击。该官员称，随着最后期限临近，美军内部的气氛“紧张不安”。
凯恩在周三的简报会上表示，美军仍保持戒备，“如果接到命令或被召唤，将恢复在伊朗的作战行动”。
到周三上午，各方对停火协议的具体条款，尤其是是否适用于黎巴嫩，存在不同理解的情况已变得十分明显。
以色列周三发动了其称开战以来黎巴嫩境内规模最大的协同空袭，并于周三晚间在贝鲁特实施了一次打击。
各方就黎巴嫩是否被纳入协议产生了争执：巴基斯坦和伊朗表示临时停火协议涵盖黎巴嫩，而以色列和美国则持相反态度。
一位知情的以色列消息人士称，以色列 overnight 与美国合作，确保不接受伊朗将黎巴嫩纳入停火协议的要求。
据一位以色列高级官员透露，周三上午，协议宣布后，内塔尼亚胡坚称美国已提前与以色列协调了临时停火协议。
伊朗议长穆罕默德·巴盖尔·加利巴夫周三表示，伊朗的十点提案中有三个部分遭到违反，包括以色列对黎巴嫩的打击、德黑兰称有无人机进入伊朗领空，以及伊朗的 enrichment 权利未得到承认。
万斯在离开匈牙利布达佩斯时淡化了这些违反协议的说法，告诉记者加利巴夫的抱怨“在我们进行的谈判背景下毫无意义”。
万斯出席本周末的会谈，标志着美国迄今最高级别官员参与与伊朗的外交对话——这场对话自2月底美国开战以来已持续了数月。
据一位白宫官员告诉CNN，截至周三下午，特朗普仍认为伊朗新政权的领导层比前最高领袖阿里·哈梅内伊时期的政府更愿意妥协。
官员们表示，正是这种信念使得周六上午美国和伊朗高级官员在伊斯兰堡举行的会谈成为可能。
但也有人怀疑能否在两周内最终达成协议，并对伊朗预期的调解人——阿巴斯·阿拉奇奇和加利巴夫——被授权达成协议的程度提出质疑。阿拉奇奇在一些人看来是伊朗更强硬政权中的少数派人物，据一位地区消息人士称，“许多人认为他是叛徒，因为他想要外交解决方案”。
CNN的尼克·罗伯逊、黑利·布里茨基、克里斯汀·霍姆斯和伊齐·利波利斯对本文亦有贡献。
A deal or a mirage? Trump’s Iran ceasefire collides with chaos on the ground
2026-04-09T14:31:34.999Z / CNN
Less than three hours before President Donald Trump’s 8 p.m. deadline for Iran to make a deal or face his apocalyptic warning of death and destruction, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, the country’s top two military officials, were summoned to the White House.
Top military officials, including Caine, were bracing for the beginning of an expanded military operation, while White House aides busily prepared for possible contingencies, including having Hegseth and Caine on hand should the president decide to make a video address to the nation, officials familiar with the matter told CNN.
No one was quite sure what Trump was going to do, the officials said.
In the end, 90 minutes ahead of his own deadline, Trump announced on Truth Social that a two-week ceasefire deal had been reached, capping off a frantic diplomatic scramble to try to stave off Trump’s threat in the morning that “a whole civilization will die tonight.”
Trump’s sudden ceasefire declaration triggered immediate relief across global financial markets. But the announcement also fueled more chaos and confusion over what Trump and Iran had actually agreed to — including whether the US had secured one of its main objectives: opening the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed for the past month in response to US-Israeli operations, choking off a main artery for global energy and tanking markets.
The first glimpse of the breakdown came a little over an hour after Trump announced that a 10-point proposal from Iran was “a workable basis on which to negotiate.” The president was livid over a statement from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council declaring victory, two sources familiar with the matter said. Claiming the statement was fake, Trump attacked CNN for reporting it from the country’s top security body.
While top Trump officials insisted Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz had been reopened for oil tankers and that they had seen an uptick in traffic, there’s been little indication that the reality in the narrow strait has changed much.
Iran on Wednesday said that the ceasefire had already been violated, pointing to Israel’s continued bombing of Lebanon as the two sides disagreed on whether Lebanon was included in the agreement.
While the fragile ceasefire was holding as of Thursday morning, the disconnect underscored the challenge ahead for Trump, who is now faced with bringing an end to a 40-day war in which the US and Israel killed Iran’s supreme leader but did not change the fact that hardliners are still running the government — despite Trump’s continued claims of regime change — and that global oil traffic remains at a trickle.
“We’ve seen some of the largest attacks from Iran into the Gulf today, against Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, even an attack in Saudi Arabia, missiles and drones,” Brett McGurk, a CNN global affairs analyst and former US special envoy who’s previously negotiated with the Iranians, said Wednesday on CNN’s “The Arena.”
“We can count missiles, we count drones, and we can count ships, whether ships are moving, and so far, all of those indicators went at least today in the wrong direction,” McGurk added.
Late Wednesday night, Trump warned on Truth Social that the US was prepared to restart military operations if Iran did not ultimately agree to a deal.
“All U.S. Ships, Aircraft, and Military Personnel, with additional Ammunition, Weaponry, and anything else that is appropriate and necessary for the lethal prosecution and destruction of an already substantially degraded Enemy, will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with,” he wrote.
The focus now shifts to the next round of negotiations and Vice President JD Vance, who is headed to Pakistan for talks this weekend with US envoy Steve Wikoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Vance downplayed the confusion over the ceasefire and Lebanon, telling reporters Wednesday it was the result of “a legitimate misunderstanding.”
“I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn’t. We never made that promise. We never indicated that was going to be the case,” Vance said when departing Hungary. “What we said is that the ceasefire would be focused on Iran and the ceasefire would be focused on America’s allies, both Israel and the Gulf Arab states.”
Vance was a crucial player in working with the Pakistanis on the proposal, sources familiar with the talks said. The meeting in Pakistan is expected to be the first of several intense negotiations regarding a longer term, lasting deal to end the war, the sources said.
The Trump administration is currently operating under the posture that the two-week ceasefire could provide enough time reach a more substantial compromise with Iran. The current ceasefire could be extended if the White House believes enough progress is being made, US officials added.
One regional source described what has emerged as a “manageable mess.”
“They’re trying to win a 24-hour news cycle at a time,” said another source familiar with the internal discussions. “We’re all going to see the boats. We’ll all know shortly what’s real.”
Stock futures shot up immediately following Trump’s ceasefire announcement as oil prices plunged, with traders clinging optimistically to the prospect that peace would lead to the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and an easing of the energy crisis that has gripped much of the world over the last month.
Trump suggested in an interview with ABC News’ Jon Karl Wednesday morning that the US may be involved in securing the Strait in a “joint venture” with Iran, floating the possibility that both countries could charge tolls for safe passage.
Inside the administration, however, there was far less certainty as to how such a reopening would work.
In the hours ahead of the abrupt ceasefire declaration, Trump officials had privately warned energy executives that a breakthrough seemed unlikely and that the situation was likely “going to get worse before it gets better,” said a source familiar.
In a sign of their pessimism, officials on Tuesday were working to reassure the industry that they would stick to their earlier commitment not to restrict US companies’ ability to export oil abroad, regardless of how high prices rose in the near future, the person familiar said. Energy executives have long worried that the administration would limit exports in an effort to preserve supply and slow the increase in domestic oil and gas prices.
The competing peace plans floated by the White House and Iranian regime on Tuesday night have only deepened concerns that Iran will retain long-term control of the strait, allowing it to decide which ships are allowed through and at what price.
“He got fed up, he doesn’t care about the strait, he wants to keep the pressure on the Iranians but he now sees scope for a deal,” another person briefed on the internal discussions said of Trump’s calculus in quickly agreeing to such a vague set of principles for peace.
Attacks also appeared to continue Wednesday on both sides of the war, with a reported strike on a critical Saudi Arabian pipeline rattling nerves. Throughout the uncertainty, traffic remained effectively stalled in the Persian Gulf.
“You can have proclamations and announcements and everything, but it’s the same situation that it has been since early March unless and until ship operators believe it’s safe,” said Clayton Seigle, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a longtime energy analyst.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that Iran has assured the White House that it is allowing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, despite reports of Tehran once again closing the waterway.
“This is a case of what they’re saying publicly is different,” she said during a press briefing, though she acknowledged that it may “take time” for ships to begin crossing the waterway again. “Privately, we have seen an uptick of traffic in the strait today.”
Tuesday’s agreement marked what was ultimately an anti-climactic end to a remarkable 72-hour period of the war.
Just after midnight early Sunday morning, Trump announced a US military triumph on Truth Social: the US successfully carried out a dangerous mission in Iran to rescue the second of two US airmen whose fighter jet was shot down.
Later that morning, Trump’s threats against Iran began escalating as his self-imposed deadline approached. “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!” Trump posted to Truth Social.
Then on Tuesday morning, Trump ramped up his apocalyptic rhetoric even more: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” he wrote on Truth Social. “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”
Trump’s ominous missive caught many in the administration off guard and raised internal questions about the extent the president was willing to go to force Tehran to a deal, sources familiar with the discussions said.
In the days leading up to it, there was constant communication between Witkoff, Kushner and regional players, including Pakistan and Turkey, as they scrambled to find a diplomatic agreement, regional sources told CNN — and it was unclear until Trump’s post whether they would be able to get one.
Administration officials had hoped that some level of agreement through indirect negotiations would result in another delay of Trump’s deadline, or at least minimize the severity of his retaliation, multiple sources familiar with the talks told CNN. However, it was not clear until Trump’s Tuesday evening announcement that such a breakthrough would be enough, the sources said.
Discussions were made more challenging by the fact that they were done across borders and time zones, rather than two parties in a room together, sources said.
Still, in the lead up to the announcement of Tuesday’s temporary ceasefire, responses from the Iranians, who had at times been difficult to reach, became more prompt, with interlocutors receiving messages back within a matter of hours, one of the regional sources said.
In the hours before Trump’s post, the Pakistani foreign minister made a flurry of phone calls, including to counterparts in Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, to compare notes, one source said.
“Even at that point, people had to make sure that everyone had the same understanding,” the source told CNN. Within hours of the ceasefire announcement, it became apparent that everyone did not have the same understanding, particularly when it came to Lebanon.
Late in the day, new life was breathed into the process brokered by Pakistan, with the head of the army, Field Martial Asim Munir, personally involved.
One well-placed source said that officials from the CIA were involved in covert discussions with Iranian representatives in an effort to break the impasse.
At around 3 p.m. Tuesday, five hours before Trump’s 8 p.m. deadline, a source with knowledge of the Pakistani government’s thinking sent a message to a CNN reporter to say “good news” was coming, and advised keeping a close eye on the X feed of Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Minutes later, Sharif posted a message noting that diplomatic efforts were “progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully,” and formally asked Trump to extend his deadline for two weeks. Sharif also requested Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period.
The message appeared as an 11th-hour plea to the leaders of Washington and Tehran. But sources familiar with the talks told CNN that the White House had previously been made aware of the statement, and had largely signed off on the specific elements Sharif had proposed. Top Trump administration officials had been communicating with the Pakistanis throughout the day, and had made clear what the US priorities were for an ultimate deal.
Meanwhile, the US military was prepared to escalate and carry out additional strikes if a ceasefire agreement had not been announced, a US official said.
It’s not clear, however, that the military would have had the capability to carry out the scale of an operation like the one Trump had threatened publicly.
From a military perspective, US service members prepared for a possible escalation, anticipating Trump would order strikes against a “massive target list” if Iran did not agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a source familiar with the Pentagon’s planning process told CNN.
That included the possibility of using the US military to try to reopen the Strait by force and ordering an invasion force to remove Iran’s existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium, a mission CNN previously reported would require a large number of troops on the ground and carry significant risks.
“We had a target set, locked and loaded, of infrastructure, bridges, power plants,” Hegseth said at a press briefing Wednesday morning.
Unlike previous US military campaigns, there was a “wait-and-see period” for American troops before finding out what is included in the mission list. That wait-and-see period appeared to be in effect less than three hours before Trump’s deadline, only adding to the uncertainty of what the president would ultimately do when decision time came.
According to three Israeli sources, Israel was preparing the ground for a last-minute extension of Trump’s deadline, but the army was also standing by for a further escalation of the conflict. Two sources said plans were in place for a combined US-Israeli operation against Iran’s national infrastructure, with targets identified.
A US source familiar with the situation said troops in the Middle East were bracing for the 8 p.m. deadline, and the potential of further attacks by Iran in response. The source said the mood among US forces as the deadline neared was “tense.”
Caine said at Wednesday’s briefing that US forces remain ready “if ordered or called upon to resume combat operations” in Iran.
By Wednesday morning, it quickly became clear that all sides did not have the same understanding of the specific terms of the ceasefire, particularly whether it applied to Lebanon.
Israel carried out what it said was the largest coordinated strike in Lebanon since the war began on Wednesday, along with a strike in Beirut Wednesday evening,
The parties disputed whether Lebanon was covered in the agreement: The Pakistanis and Iranians indicated it was part of the temporary truce, while Israel and the US have said otherwise.
An Israeli source familiar with the matter said that Israel worked overnight with the US to ensure it didn’t accept the Iranian demand to have Lebanon be part of the ceasefire agreement.
On Wednesday morning, after the deal was announced, Netanyahu insisted that the US coordinated the temporary ceasefire with Israel in advance, according to a senior Israeli official.
The speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Wednesday that three parts of Iran’s 10-point proposal had been violated, citing Israel’s Lebanon strikes, a drone that Tehran said entered Iranian airspace, and that Iran’s right to enrichment has not been recognized.
Vance downplayed the claims of a violation as he was leaving Budapest, Hungary, telling reporters that Ghalibaf’s complaints “didn’t make sense in the context of the negotiations that we’ve had.”
Vance’s presence at this weekend’s talks will mark the highest level US official involved in diplomatic discussions with Iran thus far, which had been ongoing for several months before the US war began in late February.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Trump continues to believe that the new leadership of the Iranian regime are more willing to compromise than the government under former Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a White House official told CNN.
That belief is what helped make Saturday morning’s meeting of top US and Iranian officials in Islamabad possible, the officials said.
But there are doubts that an agreement can be finalized in within the two-week period and questions about the extent to which the expected Iranian mediators – Abbas Araghchi and Ghalibaf — will be empowered to reach a deal. Araghchi is seen by some as a minority figure in an even harder-line Iranian regime, and according to one of the regional sources, “many people see him as a traitor because he wants a diplomatic solution.”
CNN’s Nic Robertson, Haley Britzky, Kristen Holmes and Izzy Lippolis contributed to this report.
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