The U.S. are publicly state that ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has been fully restored, senior U.S. officials said Friday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe to reporters the state of play with Iran, say they are making progress negotiating with top Iranian leaders. But the U.S. officials said they want Tehran to issue a statement saying Iran鈥檚 forces will stop attacking ships in the strait to help ensure that negotiations move forward.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has chosen not to sign a sweeping in protest of Congress not approving a strict voter ID bill that lacks sufficient support to pass.
The housing measure will become law without Trump鈥檚 signature because he didn鈥檛 veto it. Still, the president鈥檚 rejection of the legislation cuts short the GOP鈥檚 efforts to address a key voter concern about rising costs, exacerbating tensions with his own party in a midterm election year.
Here’s the latest:
US officials send mixed signals on Iran鈥檚 enriched uranium
Senior U.S. officials said that any agreement with Iran over its nuclear program will require Tehran to turn over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
But on a call with reporters, the officials suggested they were not confident Iran would honor that part of the agreement until the country first heeds the terms of the ceasefire deal and stops renewed attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
If the U.S. does not reach a deal with Iran to turn over its nuclear material, it has military options to ensure that it remains buried underground forever, the officials said. They did not detail those options.
The highly enriched material that could potentially be used to make a nuclear weapon is believed to be buried after strikes the U.S. launched on Iran last summer.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe to reporters the state of play with Iran.
鈥� By Michelle L. Price
US officials say new attacks in the Strait of Hormuz came from an errant part of Iranian political system
Senior U.S. officials are blaming a power struggle in Iran for that country鈥檚 latest attacks on ships in the waterway.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe to reporters the state of play with Iran, said U.S. negotiators are making progress talking to Iranian leaders.
But they said there are hard-line officials in Iran who are looking to undermine the ceasefire 鈥� and have helped spur a new round of attacks in the strait.
The officials said Trump has initiated new strikes on Iran in the meantime.
The president is aware of the power struggle issue, they say, and is giving officials space to get on the same page. But he won鈥檛 wait forever.
Part of the reason Iran now faces a power struggle, however, was strikes by the U.S. and Israel that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei early in the war.
鈥� By Michelle L. Price
US wants Iran to publicly guarantee that the Strait of Hormuz is open and safe for ships
Senior U.S. officials are demanding that Iran鈥檚 leadership publicly state that ship traffic in the strait has been fully restored.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe to reporters the state of play with Iran, say they are making progress negotiating with top Iranian leaders.
But the U.S. officials said they want Tehran to issue a statement saying Iran鈥檚 forces will stop attacking ships in the strait to help ensure that negotiations move forward.
Moments before the U.S. officials spoke, however, Tehran鈥檚 diplomat at the United Nations struck a more defiant tone, telling reporters that any activity in the strait 鈥渞ests exclusively with Iran.鈥�
鈥� By Michelle L. Price and Farnoush Amiri
US imposes sanctions on Iranian financier
The U.S. on Friday imposed sanctions on Iranian financier Ali Ansari, who Treasury says oversees a global network of assets benefiting Iran鈥檚 leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.
Ansari, who is already under U.K. sanctions, is accused of diverting public funds into real estate holdings outside of Iran to benefit himself and Iranian leadership.
鈥淭reasury will continue using every tool at its disposal to isolate him and other regime elites from the global financial system,鈥� Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. 鈥漌e will preserve these assets for the Iranian people.鈥�
Prime minister affirms Pakistan鈥檚 readiness to broker peace
Pakistan鈥檚 Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday to discuss regional developments.
The conversation came as Pakistan鈥檚 civilian and military leadership has been encouraging the United States and Iran to return to the negotiating table and discuss issues covered under the memorandum of understanding that Islamabad helped broker to help end the regional conflict.
In a post on X, Sharif said they discussed the evolving regional situation and stressed the need for restraint, dialogue and diplomacy to preserve the hard-earned peace gains of recent months.
鈥淚 reaffirmed Pakistan鈥檚 readiness to continue playing its role as an honest and sincere mediator for lasting regional peace,鈥� Sharif wrote.
US lawmakers cite 鈥榮ignificant progress鈥� on a Russia sanctions bill
U.S. lawmakers leading an effort to sanction countries purchasing Russian oil say they have reached an agreement with the Trump administration to move forward with an updated bill.
The original bill was unveiled about a year ago and has languished in the Senate as the sponsors worked to win full backing from the White House.
鈥淲e are very pleased with this significant progress and expect to roll out the legislation very soon,鈥� the lawmakers said in a joint statement.
The original bill called for a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. It targeted nations like China and India, which account for roughly 70% of Russia鈥檚 energy trade and bankroll much of its war effort.
The four senators announcing the progress on their effort are Republicans Lindsey Graham and Roger Wicker, and Democrats Richard Blumenthal and Jeanne Shaheen.
Reflecting Pool is getting another draining
Crews are again draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as Trump鈥檚 problem-plagued efforts to revamp it push well past his goal of having it ready by July Fourth to mark the nation鈥檚 250th birthday.
The president at first suggested his renovations would last a century. But, within weeks of the project originally reaching completion last month, the water was covered by algae and pieces of the new coating appeared to be peeling off the bottom.
Trump has blamed the peeling on vandals, though critics contend it鈥檚 from shoddy repair work.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a podcast interview released this week that the new round of draining was planned and that the water might contain debris from the Independence Day fireworks over the National Mall.
鈥淒rain the water, clean up the fireworks stuff,鈥� Burgum said. 鈥淩epair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again.鈥�
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DC calls on Michigan and the US Virgin Islands to bring their troops home
Washington, D.C., council members have added their voices to a chorus of groups asking Michigan and the U.S. Virgin Islands to bring their National Guard units home.
鈥淭emporary, event-specific assistance for a major national celebration is fundamentally different from an open-ended military presence in District neighborhoods,鈥� reads a letter sent Thursday that was signed by all 13 council members.
of groups previously sent a similar letter to Michigan raising questions about how troops sent to help with the July 4 celebration were diverted to a surge in President Donald Trump鈥檚 crime-fighting initiative in the nation鈥檚 capital.
鈥淒C residents have been saying for 11 months straight that we need the National Guard and federal surge forces out of our communities immediately,鈥� Keya Chatterjee, executive director of the group Free DC, said in a statement.
No immediate change in US military operations following end of ceasefire
Capt. Tim Hawkins, the spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said there were 鈥渘o operational updates at this time鈥� when he was asked about the end of the ceasefire announced by President Donald Trump in a social media post earlier Friday.
Trump said in a post on his social media platform that the United States told Iran 鈥渋n no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!鈥�
When asked if the end of the ceasefire would mean a restart to the air bombing that was the mainstay of the conflict, Hawkins said he wouldn鈥檛 forecast future operations.
Hawkins did say that U.S. forces in the region 鈥渞emain vigilant, lethal, and prepared to execute operations directed by the Commander in Chief.鈥�
Critics accuse Trump of damaging voters鈥� trust
On Capitol Hill, the leading Democrats with election oversight responsibility said Trump, rather than bolstering U.S. election integrity, is further politicizing the voting process.
鈥淧resident Trump is trying to dismantle yet another independent guardrail of our democracy designed to keep elections fair and secure,鈥� said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Rep. Joe Morelle, D-New York. 鈥淧urging commissioners just months before the midterm elections and further gutting support for our state and local elections officials is a blatant part of his plan to politicize our elections and enable more unlawful and dangerous election interference.鈥�
Padilla is the ranking member of the Senate Rules Committee and Morelle is ranking member of the House Administration Committee.
A US license could let Ukraine produce Patriot missiles, but it won鈥檛 be simple or quick
President Trump鈥檚 pledge to to produce could mark a major breakthrough for Kyiv, but experts and Ukrainian officials warn that turning the idea into real weapons would likely take years.
Speaking Wednesday alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ankara, Turkey, Trump said the United States would allow Ukraine to make the U.S.-designed systems Kyiv to shield its cities and infrastructure .
鈥淲e鈥檒l give them the right to make Patriots. We鈥檒l show them how to do it,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淚 think they can produce them pretty quickly.鈥�
But the statement left open a crucial question: What exactly would Ukraine be allowed to produce?
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Trump says talks with Iran to continue despite ceasefire ending
The president posted Friday on social media that Iran had 鈥渁sked us to continue 鈥榯alks鈥欌�� and his administration has agreed to do so.
But Trump added that 鈥渋n no uncertain terms鈥� that the ceasefire is no longer in place.
It鈥檚 unclear how productive talks can be to end the war with Iran so long as the status of the Strait of Hormuz is uncertain and attacks could supersede any commitments made in negotiations.
Trump鈥檚 decision on housing bill comes more than a week after he canceled plans to sign it
He announced then that he was using it as leverage in his push for a strict voter ID bill.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act aims to lower the cost of housing and spur more home construction. It鈥檚 the broadest federal effort in decades to address America鈥檚 housing affordability problems, as state and local regulations have made it difficult to build in many of the communities that are also sources of job growth and economic opportunity. White House economists estimated earlier this year a and the bill could help to close a portion of that gap.
But and 鈥渟o unimportant鈥� compared to legislation that would require for all voters.
He surprised Republican lawmakers June 24, when, shortly before a planned signing ceremony at the Capitol, he announced he wouldn鈥檛 approve the bill until lawmakers first passed the voting legislation.
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Stocks and oil prices drift as global markets continue to calm
U.S. stocks and are drifting toward a quiet finish of the week Friday following on worries about how the will affect the .
The S&P 500 rose 0.1% and was on track to close out a fourth winning week in the last five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 65 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.
Oil prices were holding relatively steady, even after hit Iran after . The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 0.2% to $76.47.
That鈥檚 above the $72 it was at the start of the week, when it was back below its level from before the war with Iran, but it鈥檚 still well below its wartime peak of nearly $120.
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Trump won鈥檛 sign housing bill but will let it become law
Trump has chosen not to sign a sweeping Friday, in protest of Congress not approving a strict voter ID bill that doesn鈥檛 have enough support to pass.
鈥淚 will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,鈥� Trump posted on social media.
The housing measure will become law without Trump鈥檚 signature. He had 10 days to issue a veto and stop the measure, which he chose not to do.
Trump鈥檚 rejection of the bipartisan housing legislation exacerbates tensions with his own party in a midterm election year and cuts short their efforts to address a key voter concern about rising costs.
Trump ousts election commission members in latest push to reshape US voting process
Trump has ousted members of the bipartisan Federal Election Commission that resisted his efforts to require would-be voters to document their U.S. citizenship before registering.
The White House on Friday confirmed the executive action against members of the Election Assistance Commission, which distributes federal grants to states, oversees the testing of voting systems and maintains the national voter registration forms.
It鈥檚 the latest move in the Republican president鈥檚 effort to expand White House influence over how U.S. elections are conducted and comes after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave the president new personnel authority to fire members of independent agency boards.
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Unclaimed airstrikes target Iran after US attacks, raising questions of who launched them
The series of unclaimed airstrikes that hit Iran after have again raised questions of who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic.
The strikes Thursday, just as Iran prepared to bury , hit areas across southern Iran. The country鈥檚 theocracy hasn鈥檛 directly blamed anyone for the strikes, though one lawmaker issued a warning to the United Arab Emirates over allegedly providing support to the United States in its campaign against Iran.
Gulf Arab states, which repeatedly have been targeted by Iran since the war began Feb. 28, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday over the strikes. The attacks come as they and the U.S. insist must be open and free to ships to transit.
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