Live Updates: President Trump vows ‘positive action’ as ceasefire agreement with Iran reached

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his stance on Iran’s enriched uranium clear on Wednesday, saying the country’s stockpile must be removed “by agreement or by resuming the fighting.”

“The State of Israel has achieved tremendous victories, victories that until recently seemed utterly imaginary,” Netanyahu said in a statement posted to social media. “Iran is weaker than ever, and Israel is stronger than ever. That is the bottom line of this campaign, up to this moment.”

However, he added there are still “objectives to complete,” seemingly referring to Iran’s uranium cache.

“We will achieve them either by agreement or by resuming the fighting,” he said.

The threat comes amid a two-week ceasefire with Iran, which was agreed upon Tuesday after President Donald Trump spoke with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Fox News has learned U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) it is not withdrawing any forces yet from the Middle East amid ceasefire negotiations.

Officials said 50,000 US troops across all branches remain in the Middle East, including two aircraft carrier strike groups — the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS George H.W. Bush, which is switching out with the USS Gerald R. Ford.

Nearly 20 warships and more than a dozen air squadrons also remain.

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that Vice President JD Vance is heading to Pakistan this weekend for talks about negotiations about the conflict with Iran.

“I can announce that the president is dispatching his negotiating team, led by the vice president of the United States, JD Vance, Special Envoy Witkoff and Mr. Kushner to Islamabad for talks this weekend,” she said.

“The first round of those talks will take place on Saturday morning local time, and we know we look forward to those in-person meetings,” she added.

President Donald Trump had announced Tuesday that, based on conversations with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, he would delay the “bombing and attack of Iran” for two weeks in a ceasefire deal.

Fox News Alexandra Koch and Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the United States has “achieved and exceeded” its core military objectives against Iran during Operation Epic Fury.

“With respect to the 2-week ceasefire announced by President Trump last night, this is a victory for the United States of America that the president and our incredible military made happen,” Leavitt said. “From the very beginning of Operation Epic Fury, President Trump stated this would be a 4-to-6-week military operation to dismantle the military threat posed by the radical Islamic Iranian regime.”

“Thanks to the unbelievable capabilities of America’s warfighters, the United States has achieved and exceeded those core military objectives in just 38 days,” she continued.

“The U.S. military destroyed Iran’s defense industrial base, crushing the regime’s ability to manufacture weapons that they and their proxies use to maim and kill Americans and terrorize the world,” Leavitt also said. “Iran’s ability to build and stockpile ballistic missiles and long-range drones has also been set back by years, compared to where it was six weeks ago, prior to the launch of Operation Epic Fury.”

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine said Wednesday that the U.S. military has consumed nearly a million gallons of coffee and “a lot of nicotine” during the conflict with Iran, but joked, “I am not saying that we have a problem.”

“Combined with Army and Navy joint fires we struck more than 13,000 targets. And along with our Gulf partners, we’ve thus far intercepted 1,700 hundred ballistic missiles and one-way attack drones defending our forces and our partners in the civilian population, and we remain ready to do so should the need arise,” Caine told reporters at the Pentagon.

“Along the way, we consumed more than 6 million meals, and by my estimate, more than 950,000 gallons of coffee, 2 million energy drinks, and a lot of nicotine,” he added. “But I am not saying that we have a problem.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. blasted President Donald Trump as “a military moron” in a Wednesday post on X, asserting that the nation is “worse off” now compared to when the commander in chief first launched the Iran war effort.

“Trump is a military moron. His war, with a price tag of $44 billion and $4+ gas, made us worse off today than we were when he started it,” Schumer asserted in the post.

“And if he restarts this war we will be in even worse shape. We must pass our War Powers Resolution to end this war for good,” the senator added.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House on Wednesday for comment.

After warning on Tuesday morning that an entire “civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Trump later announced a two-week ceasefire agreement was reached with Iran on Tuesday evening.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reported ceasefire violations in parts of the conflict zone, warning they “undermine the spirit of peace process” less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump reached an agreement with Iran.

“Violations of ceasefire have been reported at few places across the conflict zone which undermine the spirit of peace process. I earnestly and sincerely urge all parties to exercise restraint and respect the ceasefire for two weeks, as agreed upon, so that diplomacy can take a lead role towards peaceful settlement of the conflict,” Sharif wrote on X.

The prime minister, in his post, tagged the X accounts of President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, among others.

The Saudi Arabian government said it intercepted and destroyed nine drones on Wednesday despite President Donald Trump’s ceasefire deal with Iran.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense announced the interception and destruction of nine drones over the past hours. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs championed the ceasefire deal.

“The Foreign Ministry expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s welcome of the announcement by President Donald Trump of the United States of America and the Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif of the ceasefire agreement reached between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the ministry said in a statement. “The Kingdom commends the productive efforts undertaken by the Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Forces of Pakistan, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in reaching this agreement.”

The regime in Tehran has launched retaliatory strikes toward Saudi Arabia and other neighboring countries in the Middle East since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., continued calling for President Donald Trump’s ouster on Tuesday even after the president announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran.

“This statement changes nothing,” she asserted in a post on X, referring to the president’s Tuesday evening ceasefire announcement. “Whether by his Cabinet or Congress, the President must be removed from office.”

Prior to the ceasefire announcement, Trump, who had been threatening to unleash a devastating attack against Iranian power plants and bridges, sent the following warning in a Tuesday morning Truth Social post: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?”

Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the progressive cadre of lawmakers known as “The Squad,” responded by declaring in a post on X, “This is a threat of genocide and merits removal from office. The President’s mental faculties are collapsing and cannot be trusted. To every individual in the President’s chain of command: You have a duty to refuse illegal orders. That includes carrying out this threat.”

But then on Tuesday night, Trump announced a two-week ceasefire.

President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that there may be a U.S.-Iranian toll system coming for ships that travel through the Strait of Hormuz, a report said.

“We’re thinking of doing it as a joint venture. It’s a way of securing it — also securing it from lots of other people,” Trump was quoted as saying to ABC News. “It’s a beautiful thing.”

The Trump administration reached a ceasefire deal with Iran on Tuesday.

“The United States of America will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz. There will be lots of positive action! Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday morning. “We’ll be loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just ‘hangin’ around’ in order to make sure that everything goes well. I feel confident that it will.”

Vice President JD Vance says the current ceasefire with Iran is “fragile” but could hold if Tehran negotiates in good faith.

Vance made the comments during a conference in Hungary on Wednesday, saying President Donald Trump won’t hesitate to use drastic tools if Iran breaks the truce. Trump has agreed to a two-week ceasefire predicated on Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

“This is why I say this is a fragile truce,” Vance said. “You have people who clearly want to come to the negotiating table and work with us to find a good deal, and then you have people who are lying about even the fragile truce that we’ve already struck.”

“If the Iranians are willing in good faith to work with us, I think we can make an agreement,” Vance continued. “If they’re going to lie, if they’re going to cheat, if they’re going to try to prevent even the fragile truce that we’ve set up from taking place, that they’re not going to be happy.”

“What the president has also shown is that we still have clear military, diplomatic and, maybe most importantly, we have extraordinary economic leverage,” he added. “So the President has told us not to use those tools. He’s told us to come to the negotiating table. But if the Iranians don’t do the exact same thing, they’re going to find out that the president of the United States is not one to mess around. He’s impatient. He’s impatient to make progress.”

News of the truce came Tuesday night, barely an hour before Trump’s 8 p.m. ET deadline, at which he had threatened to begin targeting Iranian energy infrastructure.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth revealed Wednesday that Iran’s military was “obsessed” with trying to strike a U.S. aircraft carrier during Operation Epic Fury, but they “never got even close.”

“Iran shot hundreds and hundreds of missiles and one-way attack drones at our aircraft carrier. They were obsessed with it, and they never got even close,” Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon.

“Every single one of those shots, easily shot down miles and miles away from the [USS] Abe Lincoln. They were blowing ammo into Fantasyland,” Hegseth added.

The Israeli Air Force said on Wednesday it launched its “largest attack across Lebanon” since the beginning of Operation Roaring Lion against Iran.

Israel’s military has been striking Hezbollah, a Lebanese terrorist group allied with Iran, in recent weeks.

“The Air Force completed a strike targeting approximately 100 command centers and military infrastructures of the Hezbollah terror organization across Beirut, the Bekaa, and southern Lebanon,” the Israeli Air Force said Wednesday.

The strikes took aim at “intelligence headquarters and central staffs used by the organization’s terrorists to direct and plan terror attacks against IDF forces and civilians of the State of Israel,” as well as Hezbollah missile infrastructure, it added.

“The strike was based on precise intelligence information and was meticulously planned over long weeks by personnel from the Operations Directorate, the Intelligence Directorate, the Air Force, and Northern Command, in order to deepen the damage to the Hezbollah terrorist organization,” the Israeli Air Force said.

“Most of the infrastructures that were attacked were located in the heart of a civilian population, as part of the cynical exploitation that the Hezbollah terrorist organization carries out with Lebanese civilians as human shields to secure its activities. Prior to the strikes, measures were taken to minimize harm to non-involved parties as much as possible,” it also said.

The U.S. military struck more than 13,000 targets since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury against Iran on Feb. 28, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine announced Wednesday.

“Since the beginning of major combat operations, the United States Joint Force has struck more than 13,000 targets, including in that 13,000, more than 4,000 dynamic targets that popped up on the battlefield and were immediately addressed thanks to the exceptional command and control system and intelligence acumen and agility of our joint force,” Caine said. 

“CENTCOM forces destroyed approximately 80% of Iran’s air defense systems, striking more than 1,500 air defense targets, more than 450 ballistic missile storage facilities, 801 one-way attack drones storage facilities,” Caine added. “All of these systems are gone.” 

“We’ve devastated Iran’s command and control and logistical networks, destroying more than 2,000 command and control nodes and degrading their ability to target U.S. and friendly forces,” he also said. “It is, and we know this, incredibly frustrating right now to be a lower-level Iranian commander trying to fight your fight.” 

Caine said at the Pentagon that the U.S. has sunk approximately 90% of the Iranian Navy’s regular fleet. 

“It will take years for Iran to rebuild any major surface combatants, as more than 20 naval production and fabrication facilities have been damaged or destroyed, and nearly 80% of Iran’s nuclear industrial base was hit, further degrading their attempts to attain a nuclear weapon,” Caine also said. 

American forces will remain in the Middle East to make sure Iran’s regime sticks with the terms of President Donald Trump’s new ceasefire deal, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. 

“We’ll be hanging around. We’re not going anywhere,” Hegseth said at the Pentagon. “We’re going to make sure Iran complies with the ceasefire and then ultimately comes to the table and makes a deal.  

“So we’ll stay put, stay ready, stay vigilant,” he added. “As the chairman laid out, our troops are prepared to defend, prepared to go on offense, prepared to restart at a moment’s notice with whatever target package would be needed in order to ensure that Iran complies.” 

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine said earlier that U.S. military is ready to resume combat with the “same speed and precision as we’ve demonstrated over the last 38 days” if Iran doesn’t hold up to the terms of the ceasefire deal. 

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that Iran’s new regime struck a ceasefire deal with President Donald Trump because they “understood that a deal was far better than the fate that awaited them.” 

“You see, had Iran refused our terms, the next targets would have been their power plants, their bridges and oil and energy infrastructure. Targets they could not defend and could not realistically rebuild. It would have taken them decades. And we were locked and loaded. They couldn’t defend against it,” Hegseth said. 

“President Trump had the power to cripple Iran’s entire economy in minutes. But he chose mercy. He spared those targets because Iran accepted the ceasefire under overwhelming pressure,” Hegseth added. “The new Iranian regime understood that a deal was far better than the fate that awaited them.” 

“This new regime just happened to look at what happened to their predecessors. Their top leadership was systematically eliminated. The previous Iranian supreme leader, dead. The Supreme National Security Council secretary, dead. The supreme leader office advisor, dead. The supreme leader military office chief, dead. The defense minister no longer with us. The IRGC commander, dead. The armed forces general staff commander, dead. The intelligence minister, dead. The IRGC Navy commander, no longer here. The IRGC Intel chief, dead,” Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon, recalling U.S. military action during Operation Epic Fury. 

“I skipped over a bunch, and I could go on and on and on to include the new so-called new supreme leader, wounded and disfigured. This new regime was out of options and out of time. So they cut a deal,” Hegseth added. 

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine said the U.S. military is ready to resume combat with the “same speed and precision as we’ve demonstrated over the last 38 days” if Iran doesn’t hold up to the terms of President Donald Trump’s ceasefire deal.

“Over the course of 38 days of major combat operation, the Joint Force achieved the military objectives as defined by the president. We welcome the ongoing ceasefire, and as the Secretary [of War Pete Hegseth] said, we hope that Iran chooses a lasting peace,” Caine said at the Pentagon.

“But as Secretary Hegseth said, let us be clear. A ceasefire is a pause and the joint force remains ready if ordered or called upon to resume combat operations with the same speed and precision as we’ve demonstrated over the last 38 days. And we hope that that is not the case,” Caine added.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the United States has achieved a “decisive military victory” against Iran in Operation Epic Fury.

“To the precision campaign that obliterated Iran’s nuclear sites in Operation Midnight Hammer to the decisive military victory we just achieved in Operation Epic Fury — no other president has shown the courage and resolve of this commander in chief,” Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon, a day after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran.

“President Trump forged this moment,” Hegseth added. “Iran begged for this ceasefire, and we all know it.”

“As the president Truthed this morning, a big day for world peace. Iran wants it to happen, they’ve had enough,” Hegseth also said, referencing an earlier post by the president to Truth Social. “Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield. A capital V military victory. By any measure, Epic Fury decimated Iran’s military and rendered it combat ineffective for years to come.”

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine will hold a press briefing at 8 a.m. ET at the Pentagon.

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday a 2-week ceasefire deal with Iran. 

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. will work with Iran on nuclear material removal and will be discussing potential tariffs and sanctions relief, assessing that the country has undergone regime change.

“The United States will work closely with Iran, which we have determined has gone through what will be a very productive Regime Change!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday morning. “There will be no enrichment of Uranium, and the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) Nuclear ‘Dust.'”

“It is now, and has been, under very exacting Satellite Surveillance (Space Force!),” Trump continued. “Nothing has been touched from the date of attack. We are, and will be, talking Tariff and Sanctions relief with Iran. Many of the 15 points have already been been agreed to. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

In June 2025, the U.S. launched its first major direct strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and military infrastructure during what was known as Operation Midnight Hammer. Iran’s Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites were the primary targets.

Operation Epic Fury, launched by the U.S. on Feb. 28 in coordination with Israel’s Operation Roaring Lion, targeted Iranian leadership, missile sites and some remaining nuclear-related facilities.

Two ships were spotted transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday in the wake of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal.

The Liberia-flagged bulk carrier “Daytona Beach” first crossed around 2 a.m. ET, followed by the Greek-owned bulk carrier “NJ Earth” around 3:45 a.m. ET.

The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, is one of the world’s most critical energy choke points. Before Operation Epic Fury began, it carried roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day, along with about one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas.

The strait is also a key artery for refined fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Its recent blockade sent energy prices sharply higher worldwide.

Fox Business’ Lauren Simonetti and Fox News Digital’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.

Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are reporting fresh attacks from the Iranian regime on Wednesday, just hours after President Donald Trump reached a 2-week ceasefire deal with Tehran. 

A Kuwait defense ministry spokesperson said the country has been pushing back against “an intense wave of hostile Iranian criminal attacks”, intercepting 28 drones. 

“The Kuwaiti Armed Forces succeeded in intercepting a large number of hostile drones, some of which targeted vital oil facilities and power stations in the south of the country, resulting in significant material damage to oil infrastructure facilities, power stations, and water desalination plants,” the spokesperson added. 

Across the Strait of Hormuz, in the United Arab Emirates, its defense ministry said Wednesday that the UAE’s “air defenses are currently engaging with missile and drone attacks originating from Iran.” 

“The Ministry of Defense confirms that the sounds heard in various parts of the country are the result of the UAE air defense systems intercepting ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones,” it also said. 

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Wednesday he welcomed the ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

In a post on X, Starmer said the deal will “bring a moment of relief to the region and the world.”

“Together with our partners, we must do all we can to support and sustain this ceasefire, turn it into a lasting agreement and re-open the Strait of Hormuz,” he added.

President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran on Tuesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he supports President Donald Trump’s two-week ceasefire with Iran, adding that the arrangement does not include Lebanon.

“Israel supports President Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks subject to Iran immediately opening the straits and stopping all attacks on the U.S., Israel and countries in the region,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

“Israel also supports the U.S. effort to ensure that Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terror threat to America, Israel, Iran’s Arab neighbors and the world,” he continued.

Netanyahu said the U.S. told Israel it is “committed to achieving these goals, shared by the U.S., Israel and Israel’s regional allies, in the upcoming negotiations.”

He added that the two-week ceasefire does not include Lebanon.

President Donald Trump said there will be “positive action” following the two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran, predicting a “Golden Age of the Middle East.”

In a Truth Social post early Wednesday, Trump suggested Iran was ready to reach a peace agreement and said the U.S. would help manage traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

“A big day for World Peace! Iran wants it to happen, they’ve had enough! Likewise, so has everyone else! The United States of America will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump wrote. “There will be lots of positive action! Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process.”

Trump said the U.S. will be “loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just ‘hangin’ around’ in order to make sure that everything goes well.” He added, “I feel confident that it will.”

“Just like we are experiencing in the U.S., this could be the Golden Age of the Middle East!!!” Trump added.