(AP) – U.S. and Iranian negotiators were in Switzerland on Sunday for talks on their interim agreement to end the Iran war. Pakistani and Qatari mediators attended the technical-level discussions on resolving the conflict that the U.S. and Israel began in late February.

The U.S. team is led by Vice President JD Vance and includes Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. They are meeting with Iranian negotiators led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

On the eve of talks, Tehran said it closed the Strait of Hormuz again over Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Lebanon. The interim deal is meant to stop fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose American tolls in the strait if a final deal with Iran isn’t reached in 60 days. The interim agreement calls for toll-free travel for 60 days in the waterway that is vital for the world’s supply of oil, natural gas and related goods like fertilizer.

Here is the latest:

Hezbollah leader wants Israeli forces out of Lebanon

Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said in a televised speech that the militant group will not accept any ceasefire deal that grants Israel “freedom of action” within Lebanon or does not result in a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon.

“There are no ‘security zones,’ for Israel,” Kassem said, using Israel’s term.

He also said Hezbollah will comply with a ceasefire “if it happens,” but “we will not accept any violation.” The Iranian-backed Hezbollah is not part of the talks between Israel and Lebanon that will continue Tuesday in Washington.

Uneasy calm has settled over Lebanon, with no Israeli strikes reported overnight or Sunday after days of heavy fighting.

U.S. ambassador says Trump and Netanyahu are still close

The U.S. ambassador to Israel is playing down recent differences between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mike Huckabee said in a speech in Jerusalem that despite Trump’s sometimes blunt language about the Israeli leader, the two still have a close relationship and the president remains deeply committed to Israel’s well-being.

“The one thing that I’ve always heard him say – always — and that I’ve always watched him do, is that America has an unbreakable bond with the state of Israel,” Huckabee told the JNS International Policy Summit. “And I trust that he means what he says.”

U.S. energy secretary says ships still pass through the strait

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright says 67 ships went through the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours, similar to traffic before the war began in terms of oil and oil products.

Iran’s joint military command on Saturday said it had closed the strait over Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group. The U.S. disputed that announcement.

Wright also told Fox News that Iran has not yet “demined” the strait’s central shipping channel, but the U.S. has opened a separate channel to the south and has been escorting ships through it.

Wright acknowledged that some commercial shippers still have safety concerns.

Previous talks between Vance and Iranian officials lasted nearly a day

The last time that Vance met directly with senior Iranian officials for such talks was in early April, days after a ceasefire took effect in the war. Those talks in Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad ended after 21 hours without reaching an agreement. Again, Vance was meeting with lead negotiator Qalibaf.

It’s now after 4 p.m. in Switzerland.

Direct U.S.-Iran talks have begun in Switzerland

Both Iran and the White House say four-way talks have begun in Switzerland. Vance is meeting with Iranian officials.

Trump hopes to get the agreement signed last week back on track. Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group threatens progress on implementation.

Iran says its main focus in these talks is the situation in Lebanon. Israel says it must defend itself from Hezbollah. But the U.S. side wants to get Iran locked into negotiations over its nuclear program, which has long been at the heart of tensions.

Trump warns Iran about Hezbollah

Trump has warned in a post on social media that Iran needs to stop Hezbollah from “causing trouble.”

“If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!” Trump wrote from Camp David, where he is spending the weekend.

Vance says that the Mideast is at a turning point

The U.S. vice president spoke as officials were gathering for the start of the U.S.-Iran talks on Sunday.

“The question before us now is how much more can we accomplish together? Can we turn over a new leaf?” Vance said in brief comments ahead of the talks, dubbed the “Lake Lucerne Summit.”

“Can we change relations in the Middle East permanently, or do we go back to doing things the old way, which is not our preference, but is certainly very much something that can happen,” Vance added.

It was not clear if the Iranians were present during Vance’s remarks.

By Kanishka Singh and Chad Terhune

WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that much of the water at the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington “probably” has to be drained for repairs following what he called “vandalism” of the site.

“We met with contractors today, will probably be forced to release and drain much of the water in order to do the necessary repairs, but will have them done as quickly as possible,” Trump wrote in a post on the social media website Truth Social.

Several alleged vandals have been arrested, according to Trump.

“Many additional people have been arrested having to do with the disgraceful Vandalism of our beautiful Reflecting Pool,” he wrote.

Trump did not provide evidence to support his allegation of vandalism, which he said included someone pouring corrosive chemicals into the pool. The U.S. Park Police, the Interior Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump announced on June 6 that work was completed on a $14.7 million renovation project for the pool. ​Soon after, workers started pouring hydrogen peroxide into the pool to combat an algae bloom that had turned it green, instead of the expected dark blue.

Earlier this week, the ​paint on the reflecting pool was ‌peeling away from the bottom and into the algae-tinted water.

The pool renovation is part of ​Trump’s sweeping plans to remake the U.S. capital city, which include tearing down the ​East Wing of the White House to make space for a new ballroom ⁠and building a massive arch near Arlington National Cemetery where the U.S. honors the nation’s war ​dead and other prominent Americans.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Chad Terhune in Los Angeles; Editing by Sergio Non and Christian Schmollinger)

AUDIO-Correspondent Laura Winters reportIing.

TYRE, Lebanon (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance left for Switzerland on Saturday as the White House gets negotiations with Iran back on track.

Vance is expected to meet on Sunday with Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and central bank and oil officials, as well as mediators from Pakistan and Qatar dispatched to Switzerland for the talks.

The technical talks are aimed at adding key details to the preliminary accord to halt the nearly four-month war between U.S. and Iran signed earlier this week by President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Vance was initially supposed to hold a first round of talks with senior Iranian officials on Friday at a mountainside resort in the tiny Swiss village of Obbürgen, Switzerland, but his Iranian counterparts initially canceled their plans to attend because of escalating fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

But negotiators for the U.S. and Qatar, with help from Iran, worked out an agreement between Israel and Hezbollah to tamp down the active hostilities, according to U.S. and regional officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Afterward, Iran’s state media later announced Saturday that its top officials would travel to Switzerland.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

TYRE, Lebanon (AP) — Iran on Saturday said that it closed the Strait of Hormuz because of Israel’s attacks in Lebanon and warned that while negotiators were going to Switzerland for talks with the United States on their interim agreement, not much likely will happen if the fighting doesn’t stop.

U.S. President Donald Trump, in response, threatened to impose American tolls in the crucial waterway if a final deal with Iran isn’t reached in 60 days, saying the money would be for “services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East.” His social media post underscored that the agreement calls for toll-free travel for 60 days.

The announcements indicated a rough start to technical-level U.S.-Iran talks that key mediator Pakistan said will begin Sunday, with Qatari mediators also participating.

Iran’s joint military command said the strait was closed because of the U.S. “clear breach of its commitments” by failing to end the war. The interim deal is meant to stop fighting on all fronts.

Iranian state media said the negotiating team leaving for Switzerland includes parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and central bank and oil officials, among others. The deal calls for billions of dollars of Iran’s assets to be unfrozen.

The U.S. disputed Iran’s announcement on the strait.

“Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic continues to flow, and U.S. forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case,” said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command. The military said that 55 merchant ships transited Saturday with more than 17 million barrels of oil.

Iran’s team departs for talks as uncertainty grows

Negotiations toward a final agreement will begin once key commitments are upheld, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said. If they are not, “the memorandum of understanding as a whole will be jeopardized.”

U.S. Vice President JD Vance confirmed that top negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were in Switzerland and working through technical details of anticipated negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. The interim deal gives negotiators 60 days to reach a nuclear agreement, but the issue is intricate and the time can be extended.

Vance told Fox News that he expects to leave for Switzerland in “the next couple of days.”

As part of efforts to revive direct talks, Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met with Araghchi in Tehran earlier Saturday, according to officials in Islamabad who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The global economy braced for more uncertainty.

Ships began transiting after the interim U.S.-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week, a milestone that left plenty of questions unanswered. The U.S. lifted its blockade of Iran’s ports and now allows Tehran to sell its oil freely — terms that have left some in U.S. Congress asking whether the war was worth it.

The conflict that could sink the US-Iran deal

Neither Israel nor Hezbollah are signatories to the deal between the U.S. and Iran.

Hezbollah and Israel went to war two days after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, with Hezbollah firing rockets and drones at northern Israel and Israel seizing large swaths of southern Lebanon.

A new round of U.S.-backed talks between the Lebanese government, and Israel is expected in Washington next week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep Israeli forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon.

June 19 (Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s plans to immediately slash the workforce at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by about two-thirds, delivering a setback to the White House’s protracted efforts to shrink the consumer watchdog.

The order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit came in response to a revised plan the Justice Department submitted in late March following repeated legal defeats over its plans to decimate if not eliminate the CFPB.

The appeals court had been reviewing the administration’s appeal of a March 2025 injunction by a federal district court judge which temporarily barred the mass terminations.

The Justice Department, which previously tried to cut up to 90% of employees, had argued that it should be permitted to carry out its new plan immediately.

It also argued that the case should be returned to the district judge with a 45-day deadline to reassess the injunction.

The appeals court on Friday granted the administration’s motion to return the case to the district court, but rejected the requests to resume staff cuts or impose a deadline on the district judge.

The CFPB was created by Congress after the 2008 financial crash to police consumer financial products.

Trump and other high-ranking officials have called for the agency ​to be abolished, accusing it of being a politicized burden on free enterprise. Democrats and agency defenders say damaging ​the agency amounts to ​a giveaway to ⁠industry at the expense of consumers.

Barred legally from enacting the most drastic actions, the administration has taken other measures to weaken the agency. 

In May, the agency said it would reassign all staff to its Washington headquarters, a move likely to drive resignations. Earlier this month, Trump nominated a vocal CFPB critic to head the agency moving forward.

(Reporting by Kenrick Cai in San Francisco; Editing by Don Durfee and Andrea Ricci)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump changed his tune Friday heading into South Carolina’s runoff next week, saying either Republican contender for governor — not just Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, whom he endorsed before the primary earlier this month — would be a good pick.

On his Truth Social platform, Trump praised both Evette and state Attorney General Alan Wilson, writing: “Both have had amazing careers, and have been with me from the beginning. They are MAGA and America First all the way!”

The move represents a hedging of Trump’s bets in a primary season where he has seen some of his endorsed candidates fall short, rare defeats that have stirred doubts about his clout as he approaches the back half of his second term.

Trump previously gave Evette his “Complete and Total Endorsement.” He also said “A BIG added plus” for her campaign is that Henry McMaster Jr. — the son of the current governor, a close ally — may be Evette’s running mate. But the 38-year-old lawyer later said he would not be considered for the post.

On social media Friday, Evette posted: “I was proud to come in first as President @realDonaldTrump’s endorsed candidate for Governor on June 9th. Looking forward to doing it again on June 23rd.”

Wilson said in a social media post Friday, “I am honored to have the endorsement of President Donald J. Trump.” Swiftly thereafter, Wilson issued a news release which in part enumerated the legal briefs he’s filed in support of Trump’s policies on issues including restricting birthright citizenship, on which the U.S. Supreme Court has not yet ruled.

Moments after Trump’s double-endorsement post, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina said on social media that he was backing Wilson, who he predicted “will lead with humility, courage, and an optimistic vision for our state.”

A person familiar with Scott’s thinking but not authorized to discuss it publicly told The Associated Press that the senator had been making calls for Wilson, helping fundraise and encouraging Trump to back his candidacy.

Evette has called Trump’s endorsement a “golden ticket” for Republicans seeking office in South Carolina, but the results have been a mixed bag in other races for governor. The Republican president’s choices in Iowa and Georgia lost this month.

Just before a 2022 U.S. Senate primary in Missouri between former Gov. Eric Greitens and Attorney General Eric Schmitt, Trump just endorsed “ERIC,” presumably meaning either candidate, both of whom claimed the endorsement. Schmitt won the nomination and the office.

Arizona’s primary is not until next month but Trump has been endorsing Republican candidates for governor for the past two years. In late 2024, Trump said that he was endorsing housing developer Karrin Taylor Robson. His choice angered some of his biggest allies in the state, who are suspicious of Robson’s long-standing ties to the party’s business establishment. Then in April 2025, Trump said he was backing U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs — in addition to Robson.

It has been a bit of a jumble when it comes to Trump’s 2026 primary picks so far.

Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, in Ohio, and U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, in Alabama, secured backing from Trump early in their campaigns for governor, and they went on to dominate their primaries. Like Evette, former state Sen. Mike Mazzei got Trump’s backing in his bid for Oklahoma governor in a crowded field without a clear front-runner, and advanced to an Aug. 25 runoff.

But Trump’s chosen gubernatorial candidates have failed in other contests. Aided by more than $100 million — mostly from his personal fortune — billionaire healthcare tycoon Rick Jackson battled his way to the Republican nomination in Georgia over Trump’s pick, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.

U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, endorsed by Trump the same day as Evette, failed in his Iowa governor bid, losing to businessman Zach Lahn.

___

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

By Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON, June 19 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump will make a rare trip to Camp David this weekend, returning to the presidential retreat for only the second time since retaking office last year.

Trump will hold policy and political meetings during his visit, a White House official said. His family will travel with him for the weekend, which includes Father’s Day on Sunday.

The trip comes as Trump works to secure a final agreement to end the war with Iran and faces scrutiny over a provisional peace deal that critics say grants Tehran too many concessions.

U.S.-Iran talks in Switzerland planned for Friday were canceled as fighting flared in Lebanon, creating new uncertainty about the timing of negotiations vital to ensure the ‌reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to global shipping and restoring peace in the Middle East.

On Friday, Trump continued to defend the deal with Iran, saying Tehran had come to the negotiating table from a position of weakness.

“We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did. They are FINISHED!” Trump posted on Truth Social. “We’ll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not ten cents!”

Trump last visited Camp David in June 2025, meeting with top military leaders and foreign policy advisers to discuss immigration protests in California, Iran and the war in Gaza.

The secluded retreat in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains has not been a regular destination for the Republican president. He has generally preferred spending weekends at his own properties, including Mar-a-Lago in Florida and his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

A Cabinet meeting planned for Camp David in May was moved to the White House because of forecasts for bad weather.

Other presidents have used the government-owned retreat about 70 miles from Washington far more frequently, both as a weekend escape and as a setting for diplomacy and policy meetings.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Alistair Bell)

June 19 (Reuters) – Maine Democrats nominated state auditor Matthew Dunlap to run in the state’s 2nd Congressional District, a closely watched race that could help decide control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November, U.S. media projected on Friday.

The largely rural district is one of a small number of competitive seats expected to shape the balance of power in Congress, with Democrats defending a district that has leaned Republican at the presidential level.

The race is open following the decision by centrist Democrat Jared Golden not to seek reelection, removing an incumbent who had repeatedly held the district despite its conservative tilt.

The Democratic primary field included state Senator Joe Baldacci, seen as the most moderate candidate, as well as former congressional aide Jordan Wood and social worker Paige Loud.

“Today’s results tell us that people want real change and a better future,” Dunlap, who is running as a progressive, said on social media after the Associated Press called the race 10 days after the Democratic primary on June 9. Maine’s ranked-choice voting system can take days to produce a winner.

Dunlap will face Republican former Governor Paul LePage in a high-profile general election campaign.

“Together, we’re going to defeat Paul LePage one more time and make sure he’s never on the ballot again. While we’re at it, we’re going to fight to advance policies that will actually help Mainers — like Medicare for All, affordable childcare, a lower cost of living, and stopping this illegal war in Iran,” Dunlap said.

(Additional reporting by Ismail Shakil; Editing by Michael Learmonth, Howard Goller and Andrea Ricci )

WASHINGTON (AP) — The relationship between President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans neared a breaking point this week as he upended their efforts to speedily confirm one of his own nominees and said he would not sign the renewal of a key surveillance law unless they agree to new terms.

Trump’s overnight social media post Wednesday that he was delaying Jay Clayton’s nomination to become national intelligence director, just hours before the U.S. attorney’s confirmation hearing, further strained relations between the Senate and White House that have been worsening for weeks. Later that day, some Republican senators who have been hesitant to challenge the president directly on the Iran war were blunt in their criticism of his deal to end it.

“This is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said in a post on X.

The open tensions are an almost complete reversal from a year ago when Senate Republicans worked closely with Trump on a complicated effort to push through his massive package of spending and tax cuts.

At the time, criticism of the president was almost nonexistent among Republicans on Capitol Hill, and they planned to highlight passage of that bill in the midterms. But as the November election draws closer and Republicans are trying to defend their majorities, Trump is instead needling Congress with his demands and reversals, driving several Republican senators to disparage his actions publicly for the first time.

“I think somebody’s not dialing the president into the complexities of what he’s done here,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said Wednesday after Clayton’s confirmation was postponed. “I mean, my God.”

The slow unraveling of what once seemed like an airtight alliance between the executive and legislative branches in a Republican-led Washington extends to their policy priorities.

Trump appears to have lost interest in most of the GOP agenda and has become almost singularly focused on his voting legislation to require proof of citizenship, which has almost no chance of passing. At the same time, he has asked members of Congress to fund parts of his White House ballroom project, allow a temporary intelligence director that none of them like and cede their powers on the Iran war.

The growing rift has brought much of the Senate’s business to a halt and put Republicans who are up for reelection this year on the defensive. It has also put pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has been up-front with Trump about what he can and cannot do in the Senate.

Trump has pressured Thune relentlessly to scrap the filibuster and pass the strict proof-of-citizenship legislation, called the SAVE America Act. Thune, R-S.D., has told Trump publicly and privately that the votes are not there for either step. Still, Trump has kept up the push.

In a social media post Thursday, Trump said he would be “the last Republican president” if the voting bill does not pass.

“Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and the Republican Senate, must not let this ‘carnage’ happen,” Trump said. “They will go down on the wrong side of History, as will all Republicans who just stood by and watched.”

Nonetheless, Trump has yet to go after the well-liked Republican leader on a personal basis, as he often did with Thune’s predecessor, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.. Trump once called McConnell a “ dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack.”

Trump and Thune talk frequently, even as Thune is sometimes giving the president news he does not want to hear. As Trump pushed for the voting bill, Thune scheduled weeks of floor time to consider it, an effort to make clear that the Senate was supportive, even if the votes are lacking.

Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt, one of the president’s closest allies in the Senate, said he has never heard Trump say anything negative about Thune.

“It’s a difficult position,” Schmitt said of Thune’s role in the Senate. “I think they have a good working relationship.”

One of Thune’s closest allies, Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, said the even-keeled leader is the “right person at the right time.”

“In the Capitol today, he is the stable force,” Rounds said. “In Washington, D.C., today, he is the stable force.”

There were no signs of a revolt within the GOP conference, for now, despite Trump’s pressure.

Thune “has managed it better than anyone else could manage it,” said Cassidy, who has become a more frequent Trump critic since a primary loss to a Trump-backed challenger.

Criticism of Trump has at times surfaced even among his closest Senate allies, especially with his proposed $1.776 billion settlement fund for his political allies and his pick for acting intelligence director, Bill Pulte, who has no known intelligence experience.

But the rift with Trump has also stoked some new internal tensions.

Several Republican senators criticized Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who has waged an online campaign to eliminate the filibuster and pass the SAVE America Act, in a private conference lunch this week for stoking dissension within the party in an election year.

Unbowed, Lee has kept up his social media campaign, including a post Friday on X in which he said that giving up because Republicans lack the votes is a “recipe for failure.”

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, one of those who spoke out at the meeting, replied that it is Lee’s job to find the votes, “if you can.”

“Can’t just complain about others,” Cornyn posted. “Prove us wrong.”

Some Senate Republicans have made clear they have no plans to separate themselves from Trump.

As several of his colleagues criticized Trump’s agreement with Iran this week, first-term Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, aggressively defended it on social media.

“Let’s get the Nobel Peace Prize ready!” Moreno posted on X.

But Trump has far fewer of those Senate allies than he did when they narrowly passed the tax and spending cuts legislation a year ago. That is in part because he has picked off some of the most loyal Republican votes himself.

Both Cassidy and Cornyn lost in primaries last month after Trump endorsed their opponents. Tillis announced he was not running for reelection last year after Trump repeatedly criticized him on social media.

Now all three have become frequent critics.

Shortly after his election loss, Cornyn posted on social media a fable about a frog and a scorpion. The scorpion asks the frog to carry it across a river, according to the fable, and then stings the frog in the middle of the river, “dooming them both.”

“The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence,” Cornyn’s post read. “To which the scorpion replies: ‘I am sorry, but I couldn’t help myself. It’s my character.’”

___

Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

By Humeyra Pamuk and Jacob Bogage

WASHINGTON/LUCERNE, Switzerland, June 19 (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President JD Vance is poised to take on his biggest role yet on the international stage as President Donald Trump’s chief negotiator to end the three-month war with Iran, a moment that could shape Vance’s prospects as a White House successor.

The two nations agreed to a provisional peace agreement on Wednesday that suspended hostilities but left core issues unresolved, deferring decisions on Iran’s nuclear program, its support for regional armed proxies and the economically vital Strait of Hormuz to 60 days of talks.

The discussions are a high-risk scenario for all sides in the conflict, the broader Middle East, and for Vance’s political ambitions. And the situation remains fluid: Vance cancelled a planned Thursday night flight to Switzerland for the start of talks, though the White House said the U.S. delegation is “prepared to depart at the first available opportunity.”

The fast-moving developments coincide with the publication of Vance’s book on his conversion to Catholicism, “Communion,” and a media tour to promote it, during which he discussed his faith while positioning himself as the Iran deal’s top booster.

The campaign-style push peaked on Thursday with a White House news conference where Vance laid out U.S. hopes for a final peace deal and offered one of the strongest rebukes of Israel in U.S. history, while also swatting away a question about a potential presidential run.

“If the Iranians don’t change their behavior, their military and their nuclear program is still destroyed,” Vance said. “If they do change their behavior, then they are going to have a transformative relationship with the Middle East, and the Middle East will have a transformative relationship with the people of Iran.” 

Fellow Republicans have underscored the significance of Vance’s high-profile role in the Iran deal.

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a leader in the party’s foreign policy establishment, called Vance the “architect” of the peace agreement, and said the vice president should present a final deal to the Senate for approval.

Trump joked on Wednesday that Vance had little to gain and much to lose from this assignment.

“If it works out, I’m going to take the credit. If it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming JD!” the president chortled during a news conference at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France.

Representatives from Vance’s office declined to comment for this report.

DEFENDING TRUMP

Trump ran for office promising lower prices and an end to what he called “forever wars” in the Middle East. Instead, inflation has accelerated, and he launched strikes on Iran on February 28. Some Republican allies have accused Trump of granting Tehran major concessions to alleviate the price pressures caused by the conflict. 

While Trump has touted the provisional peace deal as a total military and diplomatic victory, the agreements announced so far have advanced few of his goals from the outset of the war: Iran’s theocratic government remains in place, it retains ballistic missiles and a stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and it continues supporting anti-Israel militias such as Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

Vance has had to defend the president’s decisions while trying to establish some distance from Trump’s falling approval ratings. He has attempted to do so by pointing to marginal economic improvements while declaring “there’s a lot more work to do.”

“Have a little bit of faith in the president of the United States. The idea that he is going to strike a deal that’s bad for the American people, it’s preposterous,” Vance said on Thursday. 

He told conservative media host Megyn Kelly earlier in the week that he remained engaged on the Iran war because distancing himself from the effort would be “a very immature way to approach the political process,” while accusing hawkish conservatives of seeking to continue U.S. attacks “until every bomb has been dropped, or until every Iranian is dead.” 

Vance has cautioned against intensifying the war and advocated for Trump to pursue a diplomatic exit. He is one of the leaders of an ascendant wing of the Republican Party that hopes to restrain U.S. global military pursuits. 

He is not without critics.

“In my opinion, the vice president — the chief negotiator on this project — has not well served the president,” right-wing media figure Ben Shapiro said on Thursday on Fox News.

Trump appears to have elevated Vance as the face of the agreement rather than Secretary of State Marco Rubio — traditionally the country’s chief diplomat — triggering questions from administration allies about Rubio’s role in negotiations.

State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement: “Secretary Rubio and the entire administration is 100% in lockstep behind President Trump.”

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, added that no one on Trump’s team voiced opposition to the provisional peace deal.

Rubio is also seen as a contender for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination, though neither he nor Vance has said they plan to seek the presidency. 

The move to promote Vance, though, is typical of the way Trump has managed cabinet officials in his second term, said one person close to the White House, who asked not to be named to speak freely about internal matters.

“This back and forth is throwing people off, but Trump knows what he’s doing,” the person said. “He is literally conducting a tryout in real time.”

Throughout it all has been Vance’s book, which he has jokingly promoted in nearly every media engagement alongside discussion of the day’s news.

Facing a grilling about Iran, immigration and civil rights on ABC’s “The View” on Tuesday, the vice president quipped: “Let’s talk about the book — I’m here to sell books.” 

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Jacob Bogage; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Kevin Buckland and Edmund Klamann)

The ballots remain to be cast for the November midterm elections. Yet Democrats and Republicans in some states already are looking at how they could reshape congressional voting districts to gain an advantage in the 2028 elections.

The new gerrymandering efforts are part two of a mid-decade redistricting battle that already spans 10 states, which are home to two of every five U.S. residents.

Part one began last summer, when President Donald Trump urged Republican-led states to redraw U.S. House districts to try to stave off midterm election losses. Some Democratic-led states responded by pursuing their own partisan redistricting. Then a U.S. Supreme Court decision in late April weakened the federal Voting Rights Act, providing new grounds for Southern Republicans to reconfigure districts with large minority populations that have elected Democrats.

The midterm elections will provide an assessment of those redistricting changes. Republicans think they could net up to 10 additional House seats under the new districts. But Democrats have history on their side — the president’s party often loses seats in the midterms — and could make gains from Trump’s poor approval ratings.

If the November election produces another narrow majority for either party, politicians could have extra incentive to redistrict ahead of the 2028 elections.

Here’s a look at how that could play out:

New York already has taken an initial step toward redistricting ahead of the 2028 elections. The legislature recently approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would authorize mid-decade redistricting, repeal prohibitions on partisan gerrymandering and make it easier for lawmakers to bypass an independent redistricting commission in the future. The measure needs another round of legislative approval next year before it can appear on a statewide ballot.

Maryland’s House speaker has told members to set aside time in July for a potential special session on redistricting. One plan could ask voters to amend the state constitution to alter a requirement for compact districts — one factor cited in a 2022 court ruling that struck down a previous map as “a product of extreme partisan gerrymandering.”

Supporters of an initiative petition are attempting to qualify a constitutional amendment for Colorado’s November ballot that would set aside congressional districts adopted by an independent commission and allow new ones.

In New Jersey, a potential constitutional amendment avoiding a bipartisan redistricting commission would need a three-fifths vote in each legislative chamber — or a simple majority in two straight years — to go to voters for approval.

Virginia also could make another run at a redistricting amendment that bypasses a bipartisan commission. Amendments there require legislative approval during two separate sessions with an intervening election. The state Supreme Court ruled in May that lawmakers missed their window to approve a plan before the 2025 elections. But lawmakers could try the two-step process again, centered around the state’s 2027 elections.

Georgia legislative leaders on Wednesday opted against redistricting for the 2028 elections during a special session called by Gov. Brian Kemp. They expressed reluctance to rush into action, but left open the possibility of considering redistricting later.

Kansas lawmakers last year failed to get the two-thirds support needed to call themselves into a special session on redistricting and override a potential veto by the Democratic governor. But if Republicans win the governor’s office in November, they could have a smoother path to approve redistricting next year.

The Indiana Senate last year rejected a congressional redistricting plan pushed by Trump. But in this year’s Republican primaries, Trump-endorsed challengers defeated several senators who had opposed redistricting, creating an opening to consider it again next year.

The South Carolina Senate in May also rejected congressional redistricting ahead of the midterm elections. But the topic could resurface before the next elections.

Minnesota has the nation’s most closely divided legislature, with a tie in the House and a one-seat Democratic majority in the Senate. If Democrats win control of both chambers in November and hold on to the office being vacated by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, they could have the capability to reconfigure the state’s congressional districts. But so could Republicans, if they pull off victories in the gubernatorial and legislative races.

Pennsylvania is in a similar situation. Democrats hold a narrow House majority and Republicans a narrow Senate majority. If Democrats win both chambers in November and Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro is reelected, they would have the power to redraw congressional districts. But Republicans also have a shot at full control. For either party, a 2018 state Supreme Court decision declaring a Republican-drawn congressional map unconstitutionally gerrymandered provides a cautionary note against going too far.

Wisconsin has a closely contested race to replace outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. And candidates for the Legislature, currently controlled by Republicans, will be running in November under new districts that improve Democrats’ chances. If Democrats sweep into full control, they could reshape the state’s Republican-leaning congressional districts. Republicans also have a shot at taking the governor’s office and retaining at least one legislative chamber. Two pending lawsuits against the current congressional map seek to force redistricting.

Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said he expects state lawmakers to redraw congressional districts before the state’s 2027 elections. But no specific plan has been put forward yet.

In Illinois, Democratic state lawmakers last year dismissed a national party suggestion to redistrict congressional seats ahead of the midterm elections. Lawmakers expressed concerns that doing so could weaken representation for Black voters. But Democrats left open the possibility of redistricting later.