All eyes are on the very shaky Iran ceasefire, at a moment Tehran is already threatening to pull out due to heavy Israeli attacks on Lebanon. Iran says it has again halted Hormuz oil transit, and there’s much that’s still up in the air and uncertain. The briefing with press secretary Karoline Leavitt is expected to begin at 1300ET:
Washington and Tehran have just entered a two-week ceasefire, brokered by Pakistani mediation, aimed at negotiating a broader settlement following over a month of brutal conflict which has chiefly focused on an air war. Will it stick?
Both sides are readying for direct, face-to-face talks in Islamabad. Trump has previewed that Kushner, Witkoff, and maybe even Vice President J.D. Vance will be there. Trump has said these will happen “very soon”. He told the NY Post on Wednesday:
“We’ll have Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, JD — maybe JD, I don’t know,” Mr. Trump told the New York Post over the phone. “There’s a question of safety, security.”
One question is whether the two sides see eye to eye on the initial ‘agreed upon’ ten points. Even the basis for the current ceasefire has come under scrutiny and possible disagreement.
Earlier Wednesday morning, the NY Times stated:
A White House official says that the 10-point peace plan that Iran publicly released on Wednesday differs from the plan that Trump said was a “workable basis on which to negotiate.” The official declined to elaborate on the differences but said Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, was expected to clarify at a 1 p.m. briefing.
Leavitt is expected to address this pressing issue during the briefing, which promises to be a lively exchange with reporters.
