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The ceasefire is already getting shaky
The status of US-Iran negotiations, briefly explained.
Cameron Peters is a staff editor at Vox.
Welcome to The Logoff: Hi readers, big news broke just after yesterday’s newsletter went out: The US and Iran reached a temporary ceasefire agreement, averting President Donald Trump’s threats of civilization destruction.
While we may have missed the breaking news yesterday, there’s still plenty to catch up on today. Here’s what you need to know:
What’s the latest? As of Wednesday afternoon, a US-Iran ceasefire appears to be in place, but shaky. Iran has already accused the US of violating several points of the agreement, and it’s not clear whether the sides are even on the same page about what has been agreed to.
In particular, Israel’s offensive into Lebanon is still ongoing; on Wednesday, more than 250 people were killed by Israeli strikes. Both Iran and Pakistan, which has served as a mediator for recent US-Iran talks, have said Lebanon is supposed to be covered by yesterday’s ceasefire.
Nonetheless, talks appear to be moving forward: Vice President JD Vance and two other US negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are set to meet with Iranian officials in Pakistan on Saturday.
What has Trump said about this? On Tuesday evening, Trump wrote in a post that he had agreed “to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks” because the US was “very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East.”
Early Wednesday morning, he added that “[the] United States of America will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz. There will be lots of positive action! Big money will be made.”
So far, however, it doesn’t seem like the strait has reopened: According to Bloomberg, as few as three ships — out of hundreds — may have passed through on Wednesday.
And with that, it’s time to log off…
I’d like to extend an official Logoff endorsement (do we have those? I’ll have to ask my editor) to this recent article from the Washington Post: 5 ways to add a little inconvenience to your day — and improve your brain (as always, it’s a gift link).
It might sound counterintuitive, but as the piece explains, adding a little bit of friction — whether that means cooking a meal instead of ordering one, or trying something new that challenges your brain to work in a different way — is ultimately beneficial. If you have any other suggestions in the same vein, I’d love to hear them. Have a great evening, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!
