Iran-US warfare newest: JD Vance points warning to Tehran over ‘fragile ceasefire’ as Israel continues to assault Lebanon

US president Donald Trump has said he believes that Iran is undergoing a ‘very productive Regime Change’ as the United States homes to work closely with Tehran.

In a post on Truth Social, he said: “The United States will work closely with Iran, which we have determined has gone through what will be a very productive Regime Change!

“There will be no enrichment of Uranium, and the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) Nuclear ‘Dust.’ It is now, and has been, under very exacting Satellite Surveillance (Space Force!). Nothing has been touched from the date of attack.

“We are, and will be, talking Tariff and Sanctions relief with Iran. Many of the 15 points have already been been agreed to. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP”

US president Donald Trump is “impatient” about ​making progress toward ending the Iran war and has instructed his negotiating team to engage the Iranians in good faith, vice president JD Vance said on Wednesday.

Speaking at an event in Budapest during his trip to Hungary, Vance said a deal was possible ⁠if Iran negotiated sincerely, but cautioned that while some parts of the Iranian system were approaching the talks constructively, others were “lying” about the ceasefire. He described the situation as a “fragile truce”.

“The President of the United States has told me – and he’s told the entire negotiating team, secretary of state, the special envoy Steve Witkoff – ⁠he said go and work in good faith to ​come ⁠to an agreement,” he said.

“He’s impatient. He’s impatient to make progress,” Vance added. “He has told us to negotiate in good faith, and I think if they negotiate in ⁠good faith, we will be able to find a deal. But that’s a big if, ​and ⁠ultimately, it’s up to the Iranians ‌how they negotiate. I hope they make the right decision.”

The United States and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan, potentially halting a six-week-old war that has killed thousands, ‌spread across the Middle East and caused unprecedented disruption to ‌the world’s energy supplies.

The EU Commission has declined to comment on possible future steps to secure traffic in the Strait of Hormuz as a US-Iran ceasefire remains fresh.

“We have the news of the ceasefire. We’re welcoming it. As the High Representative (Kaja Kallas) has said, we have a window in terms of mediation that needs to stay open and then we take it from there,” EU spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said during a daily press briefing on Wednesday.

He emphasised that the Strait of Hormuz was a global “public good”.

Iran’s Revolutionary ⁠Guards said on Wednesday ⁠that ​they ⁠attacked overnight ⁠energy ​complexes and ⁠oil transfer ‌lines linked ‌to the ‌US and ⁠Israel, including oil facilities in Saudi Arabia’s ‌port ​city ‌Yanbu, state ⁠media reported.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have warned they remain prepared to respond to attacks as a two-week ceasefire takes hold after six weeks of fighting.

The group said their “hand is on the trigger” to respond with more force, according to the Tasnim news agency.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has halted attacks on northern Israel and Israeli troops on Wednesday as part of an ongoing US-Iran ceasefire.

But a lawmaker from the group said that Israel must also adhere to the agreement or it would collapse.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the ceasefire did not apply to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, despite comments made by Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Hezbollah stopped attacking Israeli targets early on Wednesday, three Lebanese sources close to the group told Reuters.

Donald Trump has spent his career railing against elite presidents who did not have the courage to act the way he claims he does.

But judging by Trump’s announcement today that he would extend the deadline for his strikes within Iran by two weeks, one has to wonder what the president’s words mean anymore. He makes big threats, but quickly becomes the boy who cries wolf and doesn’t follow through. While nobody wanted to see him end a “civilization,” his latest retreat is just more evidence that his big threats mean little and will now carry political consequences.

Trump’s decision to back out – commonly referred to as “TACO” or “Trump Always Chickens Out” – this time demonstrates a measure of strategic weakness that far outmeasures any previous humiliation that Trump used to criticize from past presidents.

And it means that no world leader ever needs to take Trump’s threats seriously.

Eric Garcia reports:

The president had given the regime in Tehran a Tuesday evening deadline to come to terms, after which he warned he would unleash “hell” by eradicating the country’s power plants and bridges, a prospect that has now been suspended for at least two weeks, providing oil is allowed to resume passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

“A big day for World Peace! Iran wants it to happen, they’ve had enough! Likewise, so has everyone else!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

James C Reynolds reports:

European Union leaders have welcomed a two-week ceasefire agreed between Iran and the United States and have urged for a more lasting deal to be reached.

“I welcome the two-week ceasefire the US and Iran agreed last night. It brings much needed de-escalation”, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on X on Wednesday.

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, said that the cessation in hostilities was necessary as a “step back from the brink after weeks of escalation”.

“It creates a much-needed chance to tone down threats, stop missiles, restart shipping, and create space for diplomacy towards a lasting agreement,” she said.

European Council president Antonio Costa urged “all parties to uphold its terms in order to achieve sustainable peace in the region”.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has reacted to a US-Iran ceasefire after 39 days of conflict.

He paid tribute to slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as he vowed Iran would commit to diplomatic means to determine its future.

In his first statement since the ceasefire announcement, Pezeshkian said: “The ceasefire, with the acceptance of the general principles desired by Iran, was the fruit of the blood of our great martyred leader [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei and the achievement of the presence of all the people on the scene.

“From today onward, we will also remain together. Whether in the field of diplomacy, whether in the field of defense, whether on the street scene, and whether in the arena of service provision.”

Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in a strike on his compound on 28 February in a US-Israeli attack.