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Vance rebukes Israel
Vice President JD Vance defended President Donald Trump’s Iran deal on Thursday, delivering a rebuke to Israeli critics as the U.S. military said it has lifted a blockade of Iranian ports.
Vance said, “Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time,” while also warning critics to “wake up” to the country’s reality.
The CBS News live updates said at least 10 commercial vessels were transiting the Strait of Hormuz Thursday morning, after Trump and his Iranian counterpart signed the agreement Wednesday.
CBS News also said the signed Wednesday is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz immediately and initiate broader direct negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, including on Tehran’s nuclear program.
In a separate development, the BBC reported the United States lifted its naval blockade of Iran as the deal starts to take effect after being signed on Wednesday.
Congressional backlash
Republican criticism of the agreement intensified as copies of the signed agreement circulated on Capitol Hill, with Devdiscourse describing “scorching public criticism” from some fellow Republicans.
Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana called the framework pact “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades,” writing that “Now, 13 Americans are dead, families have paid billions at the pump, sanctions will be lifted, and the bombing has stopped.”
CNN reported that outgoing Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy summarized the GOP’s concerns as: “Iran’s left stronger, we are left weaker,” while Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said, “A lot of money has been spent, some lives have been lost and yet you have Iran in a place where it almost looks like this is where they were before.”
CNN also said Senate Majority Leader John Thune initially told reporters he was still “digesting” the details and later added he wanted “to make sure that the financial incentives are conditioned upon Iran’s performance,” particularly on its nuclear weapons.
The Washington Post said Vance responded to Israeli criticism of the deal the Trump administration struck with Iran this week as the U.S. military said it has lifted a blockade of Iranian ports.
What happens next
The agreement’s next phase hinges on a 60-day negotiating clock, with the New York Times saying the “60-day clock for the United States and Iran to negotiate the future of Iran’s nuclear program and other issues has begun.”
AP News said Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff told U.S. lawmakers in a private briefing Thursday that Iran will invite the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog to inspect its nuclear sites and begin identifying the locations of Tehran’s enriched material.
NBC News said the 60-day negotiation between Washington and Tehran is to begin Friday in the Swiss Alps, and it described the interim deal as a prelude to a “final” agreement.
NBC News also quoted Trump acknowledging at the G7 summit in France that his deal did not achieve some initial war goals, including ending Iran’s ballistic missile program, before he signed the deal on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, CBS News said the text of the deal calls for “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” and it said Israel is negotiating with the U.S. as it seeks to keep forces deployed in southern Lebanon amid its parallel fight against Hezbollah.
