LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Iran's Revolutionary Guard says safe passage will be provided through the Strait of Hormuz under new procedures that it did not specify.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The move comes after President Trump paused a short-lived U.S. military operation to get ships out of the strait and protect them from Iranian attacks. President Trump posted this morning on social media that the war could come to an end and the critical shipping passage would be, quote, "open to all." But he also warned that if Iran doesn't agree to a final plan, then bombing will resume. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said combat operations in Iran were over. Coming up, we'll ask a former U.S. special envoy for Iran about where that leaves diplomatic efforts to end the war. We begin, though, with the latest developments.
FADEL: NPR's White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez joins us now to talk about this. Good morning.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: You know, Franco, we've heard the president say the war is over, nearly over, will be over in two weeks several times now. Is it actually over this time?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, we really don't know. I mean, Rubio says the focus now is on negotiations and that the U.S. is only going to be involved in defensive operations.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MARCO RUBIO: And what that means is very simple. There's no shooting unless we're shot at first, OK? We're not attacking them. We're not - but if they're attacking us or they're attacking a ship, you need to respond to that.
ORDOÑEZ: But to your point, I mean, we also heard earlier in the day Trump expressing frustration that Iran's leaders had yet to capitulate after two months of U.S. military and economic pressure.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: They should wave the white - the flag - the white flag of surrender. In hockey, they say, uncle, right?
ORDOÑEZ: You know, it just shows how things just are changing all the time.
FADEL: Yeah. Last night, Trump also touted what he called progress towards an agreement with Iran. Has there actually been progress?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. It's interesting because Trump's words were very different than some of the messaging being delivered by Rubio, who told us yesterday that the two sides were still trying to figure out what the specific issues each side were willing to negotiate about.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
RUBIO: That's the object of this diplomacy, is to come up with some level of understanding about what are the topics that they've agreed to negotiate on. We don't have to have the actual agreement written out in one day. This is highly complex and highly technical. But we have to have a diplomatic solution that is very clear about the topics that they are willing to negotiate on and the extent and the concessions they're willing to make at the front end in order to make those talks worthwhile.
ORDOÑEZ: I mean, Leila, that makes it sound like they're very early in the process, which, again, is very different than the, you know, great progress that Trump is portraying.
FADEL: Yeah. I mean, and the big issue - right? - is still the Strait of Hormuz. More than a hundred ships a day used to travel through that waterway before the war. And it's only since the U.S. and Israel started this war that Iran took control of the strait. So if combat operations are over, as we heard from Rubio, what happens with the strait?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, that was Rubio's big push. And he said, under no circumstances can the U.S. allow Iran to normalize the idea that they can control the waterway. But he also stopped short of saying what action would take place.
FADEL: Now, the secretary of state briefed the press on this latest development. Is that unusual?
ORDOÑEZ: Well, I mean, the administration really came across the board yesterday with a stepped-up message about the war. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine briefed reporters. Trump also took questions. And it just comes at such a big moment in the conflict, as Americans continue to feel kind of the economic pinch of all this. And Rubio said that Iran needed to make a sensible choice that leads them to reconstruction and prosperity.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
RUBIO: The alternative is growing isolation, economic collapse and, ultimately, total defeat. I know what the right choice is for Iran. I hope that the people over there making decisions will make the right one.
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, the message boils down to a mix of de-escalation combined with this kind of tough talk, and it can be confusing at times.
FADEL: That's White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Thank you, Franco.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you, Leila. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
