Speaker of Iran’s Parliament Mohammad Ghalibaf posted on X that Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, the entry of a drone in Iranian airspace and denial of Iran’s “right to enrichment” were all violations of the ceasefire.

IRNA News reported that the strait was closed “in the wake of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon,” and various reports describe Israel’s attacks Wednesday as one of the deadliest in the war so far, leaving 112 dead and as many as 800 injured.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said reports the strait is closed are “a case of what they’re saying publicly is different

privately—we have seen an uptick in traffic in the strait today,” she said, adding, “it has been relayed to [Trump] privately” that the strait remains open “and these reports publicly are false.”

Trump told PBS on Wednesday Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon was a “separate skirmish” not included in the ceasefire, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said Wednesday that Lebanon was not included, and Vice President JD Vance later said he believes the dispute over Lebanon “comes from a legitimate misunderstanding” with Iran believing the agreement included Lebanon, but the U.S. “never made that promise.”

But Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who helped negotiate the terms, said when announcing the ceasefire that Lebanon was part of the agreement.

Iran told ships anchored near the strait Wednesday morning they needed permission from Sepah, a special operations unit under the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, to pass, according to a radio transmission obtained by The Wall Street Journal that said any vessel that tries to transit without permission “will be destroyed.”

Chief Critic

“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they are getting hammered over Lebanon which has nothing to do with them . . . we think that would be dumb, but that is their choice,” Vance said.

Crucial Quote

“The Iran-U.S. Ceasefire terms are clear and explicit: the U.S. must choose—ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both. The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the U.S. court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement.

Tangent

President Donald Trump also told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl earlier on Wednesday he was open to a “joint venture” with Iran to charge tolls for ships passing through the strait, as Iran reportedly began seeking payment from vessels weeks ago. Leavitt told reporters that a joint venture to charge tolls is “an idea the president has floated, and it’s something that will continue to be discussed over the course of the next two weeks.” When asked who controls the strait, Leavitt didn’t directly answer the question, and said, "We expect the strait will be opened immediately—as I said earlier, we have seen an uptick in traffic in the strait, and it’s something we are monitoring minute by minute, hour by hour as the days go on.”

Key Background

Trump announced Tuesday the U.S. had entered into a two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran, calling off his planned attacks on Iran’s infrastructure hours before they were set to take place. Both Iran and Trump said the agreement included reopening the Strait of Hormuz, though who would control the passage remained unclear. Iran said “safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations,” and Trump said the U.S. “will be helping with the traffic buildup.” The terms of the deal are murky—Iran released on Wednesday a 10-point plan it said the U.S. had agreed to that included Iran maintaining control of the Strait of Hormuz, ending attacks across the region, including in Lebanon, withdrawing U.S. combat forces from the region and accepting Iran’s right to nuclear enrichment. All of those stated terms contradicted descriptions of the deal from the Trump administration. Trump said on Truth Social Wednesday “there will be no enrichment of uranium.” Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth both said the U.S. would be “hanging around” the region to ensure Iran met the terms of the agreement. Trump said on Truth Social Wednesday “there is only one group of meaningful ‘POINTS’ that are acceptable to the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these negotiations,” claiming there were numerous reports of the terms that were false.(Forbes)

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