– So we’re going to turn now to the war with Iran. Day 16 of the ceasefire. More trouble today in the Strait of Hormuz. But there are signs of progress toward a peace deal. Iran’s foreign minister has arrived in Pakistan ahead of potential face-to-face talks there. Here’s CBS Senior White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe.
ED O’KEEFE: President Trump’s top envoys are off to Pakistan yet again. Son-in-law Jared Kushner and longtime friend Steve Witkoff set to meet with Iranian representatives tomorrow.
– The Iranians want to talk. They want to talk in person. And so the president is, as I’ve said many, many times to all of you, always willing to give diplomacy a chance.
ED O’KEEFE: The White House says Vice President JD Vance, who was part of the last round of meetings, is ready to go if the talks advance. But amid the fresh push for a deal, the conflict has intensified in the Strait of Hormuz. The Pentagon revealed today, it’s turned around 34 ships as part of its blockade, and interdicted what are described as two Iranian dark fleet ships in the Indo Pacific.
– They thought they’d made it out just in time. They did not. We seized their sanctioned ships, and we will seize more. Our blockade is growing and going global.
ED O’KEEFE: But as the war heads towards its ninth week, the cost of the conflict keeps climbing. Average gas prices jumped another $0.03 today, while anxiety about the war has plunged consumer sentiment to an all-time low.
– It’s going to be a matter of years before we fully recover.
ED O’KEEFE: Oil analyst Paul Sankey said even if peace broke out tonight, the suffering at the pump would continue.
– You can be certain that the next three months, the globe is going to be very energy short because of the time it takes to restart the whole delivery process.
– Now, we should point out, the White House said today, Witkoff and Kushner are going to Pakistan to, quote, “hear the Iranians out.” A sign they’re not necessarily anticipating big progress in these talks, Tony.
– That’s a good point. And the Justice Department has closed its investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as of today. What can you tell us?
– Yeah, federal prosecutors had accused Powell of mismanaging renovations of the Fed’s headquarters, and the criminal probe came amid the president’s years-long feud with the chairman about interest rates. But it had also earned bipartisan criticism for being seen as a political hit job, most critically by North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who said he’d block the nomination of Powell’s successor, Kevin Warsh, until the investigation was dropped. This likely sets up a vote for Warsh to succeed Powell in the coming weeks. Tony.
– Ed, thank you very much.
