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Wednesday, April 8, 2026

US and Iran agree to 2-week ceasefire as Trump pulls back on threats

Ulius Cesarius April 08, 2026

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trumppulled back on his threatsto launch devastating strikes on Iran late Tuesday, as the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump swerved to deescalate the war less than two hours beforethe deadline he setfor Tehran to capitulate to a deal or faceattackson its bridges and power plants meant to destroy Iranian “civilization.”

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted the ceasefire and that it would negotiate with the United States in Pakistan beginning Friday. Neither Iran nor the United States said when the ceasefire would begin, and attacks took place in Israel, Iran and across the Gulf region early Wednesday.

Israel backed the U.S. ceasefire with Iran but the deal doesn’t cover fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Wednesday.

His office said in the statement that Israel supported Trump’s decision to suspend strikes subject to Iran immediately opening the Strait of Hormuz and stopping all attacks on the U.S. Israel and countries in the region. His office said Israel also supports U.S. efforts to ensure Iran no longer poses a nuclear or missile threat.

The ceasefire calls for Israel and Hezbollah to halt fighting in Lebanon, according to the prime minister of Pakistan, which has been mediating talks.

The ceasefire process was clouded in uncertainty after Iran released different versions of the 10-point plan intended to be the basis for negotiations. The version in Farsi included the phrase “acceptance of enrichment” for its nuclear program. But for reasons that remain unclear, that phrase was missing in English versions shared by Iranian diplomats to journalists.

Trump initially had said Iran proposed a “workable” 10-point plan that could help end the war launched by the U.S. and Israel in February. But he later called it fraudulent, without elaborating. Trump has said ending Iran’s nuclear program entirely was a key point of the war.

Pro-government demonstrators in the streets of Iran’s capital screamed: “Death to America, death to Israel, death to compromisers!” after the ceasefire announcement Wednesday morning. They also burned American and Israeli flags in the street.

It shows the ongoing anger from hard-liners, who had been preparing for what many assumed would be an apocalyptical battle with the United States.

Iran and Oman to collect shipping fees in Strait of Hormuz

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said passage through the strait would be allowed under Iranian military management. It wasn’t immediately clear whether that meant Iran would completely loosen its chokehold on the waterway.

The plan allows for both Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting through the strait, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss negotiations they were directly involved in. The official said Iran would use the money it raised for reconstruction.

In addition to control of the strait, Iran’s demands for ending the war include withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from the region, the lifting of sanctions and the release of its frozen assets.

Since the war began, Trump has repeatedly backed off deadlines just before they expire.

In doing so again Tuesday, Trump said in a social media post he had come to the decision “based on conversations” with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Gen. Asim Munir, Pakistan’s powerful army chief. Sharif, in a post on X hours earlier, urged Trump to extend his deadline by two weeks to allow diplomacy to advance. He used the same post to ask Iran to open the strait for two weeks.

“Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated,” Trump said.

There are concerns in Israel about the agreement, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the media. The person said Israel would like to achieve more.

Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium is still buried at enrichment sites. The program had been one of the main issues cited by both Israel and the U.S. in launching the war.

Earlier Trump threats raised alarms

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if a deal isn’t reached, Trump said in an online post Tuesday morning. But he also seemed to keep open the possibility of an off-ramp, saying that “maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen.”

Trump’s expansive threat did not seem to account for potential harm to civilians, prompting Democrats in Congress, some United Nations officials and scholars in military law to say such strikes wouldviolate international law.

Tehran’s representative at the U.N., Amir-Saeid Iravani, saidthe threats“constitute incitement to war crimes and potentially genocide” and that Iran would "take immediate and proportionate reciprocal measures” if Trump launches devastating strikes.

The U.S. and Israel have battered Iran with attacks targeting its military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program. Iran hasrespondedwith a stream of strikes on Israel and Gulf Arab neighbors,causing regional chaosand outsizedeconomic and political shock.

Late Tuesday, Pakistan's prime minister urged Trump to extend his deadline by two weeks to allow diplomacy to advance. In a post on X, Shehbaz Sharif, whose country has been leading negotiations, also asked Iran to open up for two weeks the Strait of Hormuz.

China, which is Tehran’s biggest trade partner, encouraged the Iranians to find a way to a ceasefire as talks progressed, according to two officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Before the deadline, airstrikes hit two bridges and a train station, and the U.S. hit military infrastructure on Kharg Island, a key hub for Iranian oil production.

While Iran cannot match the sophistication of U.S. and Israeli weaponry or their dominance in the air, its chokehold on the strait since the war began in late February is roiling the world economy andraising the pressure on Trumpboth at home and abroad to find a way out of the standoff.

Airstrikes hit Iran, which fires on Saudi Arabia and Israel

Even as the ceasefire was announced, missile alerts continued in the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait early Wednesday, hinting at the chaos surrounding the diplomatic moves. A gas processing facility in Abu Dhabi was ablaze after incoming Iranian fire, officials said.

Israel was continuing its attacks on Iran, said an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations. Iran also kept up fire on Israel.

The U.S. military has halted all offensive operations against Iran but continues defensive actions, said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive military operations.

Earlier Tuesday the Israeli military said it attacked an Iranian petrochemical site in Shiraz, the second day in a row it hitsuch a facility. The military later said it also struck bridges in several cities that were being used by Iranian forces to transport weapons and military equipment.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, but the government has not updated the toll for days.

In Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, more than 1,500 peoplehave been killed. and more than 1 million peoplehave been displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died there.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in Israel, and 13 U.S.service membershave been killed.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri at The United Nations; Aamer Madhani, Konstantin Toropin, Seung Min Kim, Michelle L. Price, Joshua Boak and Will Weissert in Washington; John Leicester in Paris; Nicole Winfield in Rome; Amir-Hussein Radjy in Cairo and Natalie Melzer in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Savannah Guthrie returns to 'Today' anchor desk for first time since mother's disappearance

Ulius Cesarius April 07, 2026

NEW YORK (AP) —Savannah Guthriewas back and almost all business at NBC's “Today” show anchor desk on Monday, marking a return for the first time in more than two months since her mother's disappearance. “Here we go, ready or not," Guthrie said as the show opened. “Let’s do the news.”

This image released by NBC shows co-host Savannah Guthrie, center, with colleagues, from left, Jenna Bush Hager, Carson Daly, and Craig Melvin during the

This image released by NBC shows co-host Savannah Guthrie, left, embracing a fan outside of Rockefeller Center during the

This image released by NBC shows co-host Savannah Guthrie, right, walking with colleague Jenna Bush Hager outside of Rockefeller Center during the

FILE - Savannah Guthrie visits the Today show at Rockefeller Plaza in New York on Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - A banner with notes from hundreds of well-wishers for Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of

Religious cards left by a well-wisher are seen outside the home of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of

Savannah-Guthrie-Mom-Missing

After running through a series of news headlines, Guthrie said that “we are so glad that you started our week with us and it's good to be home.” Her co-host, Craig Melvin said that “it's good to have you back at home.”

She greeted longtime co-worker Al Roker with “Good morning, Sunshine,” when he noted that it was good to see her on the set. At the end of the first 25-minute portion of the show, she offered Melvin a high-five.

Emotions got the better of her before the last half hour, when she joined her colleagues in front of fans gathered at the show's Rockefeller Center studio. She fought back tears when one fan was seen with a “Welcome home Savannah” shirt, and clutched colleague Jenna Bush Hager's arm and thanked people for their support.

Guthrie says it's hard to go forward not knowing what happened

Guthrie, one of morning television's most recognizable faces, has been a “Today” host since 2012. She has acknowledged that she's a changed person and that it'shard to go forwardnot knowing what happened to Nancy Guthrie, who authorities believe was taken against her will from her Arizona home.

Despitean intense searchinvolving thousands of federal and local officers and volunteers, there has been no sign of the 84-year-old mother of three since she was reported missing Feb. 1.

The “Today” show has followed the story closely for the past two months, but it wasn't mentioned during the first hour of her return on Monday. Bringing things back to normal was clearly intentional: Her return wasn't referenced during interviews with NBC's Gabe Gutierrez at the White House and military analyst Steve Warren on the show's set.

Hoda Kotb, the former anchor who had filled in for Guthrie for much of the past two months and interviewed her former colleague, wasn't on set Monday.

“Today” has seen a ratings boost over the past two months and has even eclipsed ABC's “Good Morning America” as the leader in the morning show ratings. The shows aren't the profit generators they once were for the networks, but the rivalry is still intense.

“Today” averaged 3.1 million viewers for the first three months of the year, up nearly 9% in an era most broadcast programs lose viewers. It's hard to tell how much the Guthrie story had to do with that: NBC also aired the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics in February, and both events tend to help a morning show's ratings.

“Good Morning America” averaged 2.93 million viewers, up 2% over 2025 while “CBS Mornings” plunged 17% to 1.76 million, according to the Nielsen company.

As part of avideo messagereleased by her New York church on Easter Sunday, Guthrie spoke about feeling “moments of deep disappointment with God, the feeling of utter abandonment.” But she said the resurrection is not fully celebrated “if we do not acknowledge the feelings of loss, pain, and yes, death.”

In announcing her return to NBC's flagship morning show, Guthrie said she was uncertain whether she'll feel like she still belongs.

“It’s hard to imagine doing it because it’s such a place of joy and lightness,” she said just over a week ago on “Today” duringher first interviewsince the disappearance. “I can’t come back and try to be something that I’m not. But I can’t not come back because it’s my family.”

She didn't anticipate faking her way through the show, which is normally light-hearted with a mix of serious, breaking news.

Guthrie's mom had made occasional visits to show's set

There had been a great deal of speculation about whether she would return.

“I want to smile, and when I do it will be real,” she told Hoda Kotb, who came back to “Today” to fill in while Guthrie focused on the search. “Being there is joyful, and when it's not I'll say so.”

Nancy Guthrie made occasional appearances on “Today” over the years, once taking part in a cooking demonstration and surprising her daughter on the set. When Savannah Guthrie returned to her hometown of Tucson in 2025 for a segment recorded for the show, the two visited one of their favorite restaurants and talked about their love of Arizona.

The Guthrie family has offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the recovery of their mother.

Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie waskidnapped, abducted or otherwise takenagainst her will after finding blood near the doorstep of her home in the foothills outside Tucson. The FBI laterreleased surveillance videosshowing a masked man on the porch that night. Volunteers and search teamsscoured the nearby desert terrainfilled with cactuses, bushes and boulders in the first weeks after she vanished.

But attention has faded from an investigation that was declared to be a top priority for the FBI and local authorities. Investigators have not released new evidence in weeks and say the number of tips has slowed. The FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department both said late last week that they had no updates.

Early on, some media outlets reported receiving ransom messages tied to the case. Guthrie said she and her siblings responded to two that they believed were real and offered to pay.

Guthrie said her celebrity status might be the reason her mother was taken, but said that possibility was “too much to bear.”

Associated Press correspondents John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, and Sarah Brumfield in Washington contributed to this report.

Savannah Guthrie was not the news when she returned to 'Today'

Ulius Cesarius April 07, 2026

Savannah Guthrieis back where millions have seen her countless times before, but nothing is the same.

The"Today" showanchor, long the joyful, steadfast face of the long-running morning show, has been absent for more than two months amid the disappearance of her84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie. But now she's back.

The journalist, 54, madeher return to the NBC morning showon Monday, April 6, clad in a yellow dress and with evident emotion. Surrounded by viewers wearing yellow ribbon stickers in honor of her missing mom and fans holding "Welcome back, Savannah" signs, Guthrie read the morning's biggest headlines. "It is good to be home," she went on to tell coanchor Craig Melvin, who said, "It is good to have you back at home."

"Well, here we go. Ready or not, let's do the news," Guthrie added with a smile.

Savannah Guthrie appears on the “Today” show on Monday, April 6 2026 after being absent for more than two months amid the disappearance of her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie.

Guthrie's mother has not been found, though the search continues. She was reported missing from her home in Arizona on Sunday, Feb. 1. Authorities, who have been searching for the 84-year-old ever since, have said they believe she was taken from her home against her will. In February, theFBI released images showinga masked suspect at Guthrie's front door before she disappeared, but the individual in the images has not been identified.

The horrifying series of events forced Savannah Guthrie, who has reported the news to millions every morning from Studio 1A since joining "Today" in 2011, to the center of one of the biggest news stories of the year. Her fans have her raw and emotional as she released tearful videos and interviews begging for her mother's return. As the days turned to weeks turned to months, it became clear that Guthrie would have make a decision about where her life would go from here, even without closure on her mother's fate.

She chose to go back to her "home" and "family" on "Today" as she described it. Here's what it was like watching her try to find normal in the morning news.

What was Guthrie's return like? Did she make it through as normal?

In spite of the emotional turmoil Guthrie is clearly still experiencing, she was nothing but professional and poised during her return. There were brief moments where the audience could see it wasn't precisely "back to normal" − a high five with coanchor Craig Melvin after the first hour, signs of support from fans outside the studio and all the anchors wearing some form of yellow to show their support for Guthrie. At the 7:30 a.m. ET hour the anchors, joined by Carson Daly and Al Roker, took a look at the four dozen or so viewers on Rockefeller Plaza to support Guthrie. "I'm excited to see them, given them all a hug," she said, her voice carrying emotion. "I've been really feeling the love so much, thank you."

At the 8:30 a.m. mark, Guthrie and colleagues stepped outside and greeted her supporters. Craig Melvin remarked that it is a "special Monday morning" because "we're welcoming back our north star." Guthrie then walked out and waved to the crowd while locking arms with Jenna Bush Hager; the pair could be seen sharing a long hug before stepping outside.

Savannah Guthrie returns to the "Today" show on Monday, April 6 for the first time since her mother, Nancy Guthrie, was reported missing on Feb. 1.

Savannah Guthrie has been a main co‑anchor of NBC’s "Today" show since 2012.