US Vice President JD Vance on Friday warned Iran not to “play” the US as he headed to Pakistan for high-stakes negotiations aimed at ending their war.

US President Donald Trump has tasked the member of his inner circle who has seemed to be the most reluctant defender of the conflict with Iran to now find a resolution to the war that began six weeks ago and stave off the US president’s astonishing threat to wipe out its “whole civilization.”

Israel, which launched the military campaign against Iran jointly with the US six weeks ago, is not represented at the talks. Host Pakistan has no diplomatic ties with Israel and does not recognize its sovereignty.

Senior Iranian officials are disagreeing over the composition of the negotiating team ahead of US-Iran talks on Friday, Iran International reported, citing informed sources.

(photo: AP)

The first in-person meeting in the expected negotiations between Israel and Lebanon will take place on Tuesday in Washington, a US official familiar with the details told The Times of Israel on Friday, following reported pressure on Jerusalem from the Trump administration to start peace talks and scale back strikes against Hezbollah.

The talks, which will be hosted at the US State Department, come amid reports of alarm from the White House over the scale of Israel’s massive wave of strikes in Lebanon following the ceasefire announcement between the US and Iran on Wednesday.

Ahead of next week’s meeting, Washington and Beirut are pushing Israel to agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon as a demonstration of Jerusalem’s seriousness about reaching an agreement, according to a Friday report, though Israel has insisted that talks take place under fire.

Israel has refused to allow France to be involved in the direct talks between it and Lebanon, which are set to begin next week in Washington, two sources told The Jerusalem Post on Friday.

(photo: Getty)

Vice President JD Vance will head the U.S. negotiating team for the peace talks with Iran on Saturday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.

Why it matters: It's the highest level meeting between the U.S. and Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, as ceasefire negotiations hit a crucial tipping point that could lead to the resumption and escalation of the war if the high-stakes talks fail.

Driving the news: Leavitt said Trump's adviser and son-in-low Jared Kushner and White House envoy Steve Witkoff will also participate in the negotiations.

Vance said in Budapest on Wednesday that President Trump is "impatient to make progress" with Iran and stressed that if Iranian officials don't engage in good faith "they're going to find out that President Trump is not one to mess around with".

(photo: AFP via Getty Images)

American military forces, ships and aircraft will remain deployed “in, and around, Iran” until a “real agreement” is fully implemented, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday.

The U.S. military is “loading up and resting,” and its next action would be “bigger, better and stronger than anyone has ever seen before” if the deal is not complied with, Trump wrote on his Truth Social social media platform.

He added that the agreement prohibits Iranian nuclear weapons and ensures the Strait of Hormuz “will be open and safe.”

(photo: Pool via Jerusalem Post)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday announced that his cabinet would begin ceasefire and Hezbollah disarmament talks with Lebanon "as soon as possible," in light of the current active warfront between the IDF and Hezbollah and the upcoming peace talks with Iran in Islamabad. 

"The negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon," the prime minister said.

This announcement came just minutes before Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets, triggering sirens in northern Israel.

(photo: White House)

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Tehran will not possess enriched uranium and that together with Washington they will “dig up and remove all of the deeply buried … nuclear ‘dust.’”

Posting on Truth Social, the president said that the reportedly 440.9 kilograms of uranium has been under satellite surveillance since “Operation Midnight Hammer” in June.

“Nothing has been touched from the date of attack. We are, and will be, talking Tariff and Sanctions relief with Iran,” Trump wrote.

(photo: Flash90)

The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday carried out its largest coordinated strikes against Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon since the start of “Operation Roaring Lion,” hitting about 100 sites across multiple areas simultaneously within 10 minutes.

The large-scale wave of attacks targeted Hezbollah headquarters, military infrastructure and command-and-control centers in Beirut, the Beqaa Valley and Southern Lebanon, according to the Israeli army.

The targets included intelligence command centers and central headquarters used to direct and plan attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians; infrastructure tied to Hezbollah’s rocket and naval units; and assets belonging to the Radwan Force and the Aerial (127) Unit.

"The temporary ceasefire came in coordination with Israel; the Americans did not surprise us at the last minute," said Netanyahu.

(photo: via Focus on the Family)

... just before the crew lost contact with Earth for 40 minutes as Integrity sped behind the moon, pilot Glover gave a special space sermon:

“As we continue to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos, I would like to remind you of one of the most important mysteries there on earth. And that’s love.”

"Christ said in response to what was the greatest command that it was to love God with all that you are. And he also, being a great teacher, said the second is equal to it, and that is to love your neighbor as yourself."

"As we prepare to go out of radio communication, we are still able to feel your love from Earth. And to all of you down there on Earth and around Earth: we love you from the moon."

Tehran says its 10-point plan for securing an end to the war with the United States would require Washington to accept its uranium enrichment program and the lifting of all sanctions.

Claiming victory, the Islamic Republic says in a statement released alongside a list of the 10 points published by state media, that the plan would require “continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz, acceptance of enrichment, lifting of all primary and secondary sanctions.”

Other key demands in the blueprint, offered through mediators in Pakistan, include US military withdrawal from the Middle East, an end to attacks on Iran and its allies, the release of frozen Iranian assets and a UN Security Council resolution making any deal binding.

“It is to be noted that the adoption of such a resolution shall render all these agreements binding under international law and shall constitute a significant diplomatic victory for the Iranian nation,” the country’s Supreme National Security Council says in a statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran on Tuesday that if it does not meet his 8 p.m. EST deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”

“I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” the U.S. president wrote on Truth Social.

“However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?” he continued.

“We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!” Trump added.

Also on Monday, the Israeli Air Force struck infrastructure at a petrochemical complex in Asaluyeh, in southern Iran, which manufactured explosives and propellants for ballistic missiles and other weaponry. 

Asaluyeh is the closest land point to the largest natural gas field in the world, the South Pars/North Dome Gas-Condensate field.

With these strikes, the IDF has rendered more than 85% of Iran’s petrochemical export capacity inoperable, the military said.

“The damage to this infrastructure will disrupt the regime’s ability to use these materials for the production of various types of weapons intended to target the State of Israel and other countries in the Middle East,” added the IDF.

US President Donald Trump on Monday expanded his threat against Iran to include all of the country’s power plants and bridges, as his ultimatum to make a deal ticked closer after Tehran rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the war.

“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump said. He suggested that his deadline of 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday (3 a.m. Israel time on Wednesday) was final, saying he’d already given Iran enough extensions.

“We have a plan… where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night, where every power plant will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again, I mean, complete demolition, by 12 o’clock, and it will happen over a period of four hours if we want that to happen,” he said.

Iran has rejected the proposal for a temporary ceasefire with the United States, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported on Monday.

According to IRNA, Iran is demanding a complete end to the fighting in the region, along with a protocol to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's response conveyed to mediators consists of 10 clauses, the report noted. "The gaps are very significant," a source familiar with the details told The Jerusalem Post.

US President Donald Trump confirms having received a proposal from Iran for a ceasefire, calling it “significant,” while clarifying that it doesn’t go far enough.

A senior Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that Jerusalem did not expect a ceasefire to take shape in the coming days, despite earlier suggestions that such a move could be under discussion.

US President Donald Trump said that the US was initially concerned that a message from the airman stranded in Iran after his F-15 was shot down was actually from Iranians baiting US forces into a trap, Trump told Axios on Sunday. 

After ejecting from the jet, the officer sent a message over his radio saying “Power be to God,” according to Trump. A US defense official said the exact wording had been “God is good,” Axios reported.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth posted the phrase ‘God is good’ in a post on X/Twitter on Sunday morning.

A U.S. official said early Sunday that the navigator of an F-15E fighter jet shot down over Iran on Friday has been located following what was described as a “heavy firefight,” as American forces worked to extract him from hostile territory.

Initial reports cited by Al Jazeera said the rescue was still ongoing as U.S. teams worked to extract the navigator. However, Axios later reported that he was already in American hands. An American source said the mission “was carried out by a special commando unit with heavy air cover, and all forces left Iran.”

According to the report, Israeli officials shared intelligence with U.S. forces as the search-and-rescue effort unfolded. The Israeli military also helped prevent Iranian airstrikes in the area during the roughly 36-hour operation.

According to the report, Israel has drawn up a comprehensive plan to strike the Islamic Republic's electricity grid, power stations, and oil pumping and refining facilities, with the aim of damaging the country's economy.

Israel has so far refrained from launching an all-out attack on refineries and power stations in Iran, and the US also expressed dissatisfaction over an Israeli strike on oil facilities last month. On Saturday, Israel struck petrochemical industry facilities in western Iran, after carrying out extensive strikes against the country's steel industry last week.

At the same time, US President Donald Trump issued an unequivocal threat to Iran on Saturday, reminding the Islamic Republic that it had 48 hours left to reach an agreement with the US to end the war.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday vowed to rain “hell” on Iran if it fails to reach a ceasefire deal or open the Strait of Hormuz by Monday, when time runs out on an ultimatum that he has extended twice.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran’s power grid if Tehran fails to comply with US demands. On Saturday, a senior Israeli defense official said Israel was preparing to attack Iranian energy facilities, likely within the next week, but was awaiting a green light from the US.

Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump warned, “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out — 48 hours before all hell will reign [sic] down on them. Glory be to GOD!”

A search was underway Friday after a two-seater F-15 fighter jet went down over Iran, according to two U.S. officials.

The rescue mission follows hours of reporting by Iranian state media of a downed U.S. fighter jet. Iran's media published photos alongside claims from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that it had shot down the aircraft.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to crush the Iranian regime during a security assessment at the Kirya in Tel Aviv on Friday.

“In full coordination between myself and President Trump, between the IDF and the United States Army, we will continue to crush Iran. This regime is weaker than ever - Israel is stronger than ever,”  Netanyahu stated.

He detailed that the Air Force has destroyed around 70% of the regime’s steel production capacity, describing the move as “a tremendous achievement that deprives the Revolutionary Guards of both financial resources and the ability to produce many weapons.”