Trump criticizes Iran not allowing more oil through Strait of Hormuz: 'Not the agreement we have'

The White House told Fox News on Friday that President Donald Trump “is optimistic” that a deal can be reached with Iran during this weekend’s upcoming negotiations in Pakistan. 

“President Trump tasked Vice President Vance, Special Envoy Witkoff, and Mr. [Jared] Kushner with traveling to Islamabad to negotiate with Iran. Officials from the National Security Council, Department of State, and Department of War will also play a supportive role,” White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told Fox News.

“As the President said from the beginning, the Vice President, Secretary of State, Special Envoy, and Mr. Kushner have always been collaborating on these discussions, and the President is optimistic that a deal can be reached that can lead to lasting peace in the Middle East,” she added. 

“President Trump has a proven track record of achieving good deals on behalf of the United States and the American people, and he will only accept one that puts America first,” Kelly also said. 

Fox News' Patrick Ward contributed to this report.

Iranian parliament speaker and negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Friday that talks with the U.S. won’t begin until a ceasefire is observed in Lebanon and Tehran’s assets are unfrozen. 

“Two of the measures mutually agreed upon between the parties have yet to be implemented: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran’s blocked assets prior to the commencement of negotiations,” Ghalibaf wrote on X after Vice President JD Vance left for Pakistan, where the talks are expected to be held Saturday. 

“These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin,” Ghalibaf added. 

Israel has been launching strikes at the terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon, despite the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. 

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that “Israel supports President Trump's decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks subject to Iran immediately opening the straits and stopping all attacks on the US, Israel and countries in the region.” 

“The two-weeks ceasefire does not include Lebanon,” it added. 

President Donald Trump told the New York Post on Friday ahead of U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan that American ships are being loaded up with the “best weapons ever made” and “we will be using them very effectively” if no deal is reached. 

“We have a reset going. We’re loading up the ships with the best ammunition, the best weapons ever made — even better than what we did previously and we blew them apart,” he said to the newspaper. 

“But we’re loading up the ships. We’re loading up the ships with the best weapons ever made, even at a higher level than we use to do a complete decimation,” Trump added. 

“And if we don’t have a deal, we will be using them, and we will be using them very effectively,” he declared. 

Regarding the talks, Trump said to the New York Post that Iran is saying “To our face, they’re getting rid of all nuclear weapons, everything’s gone. And then they go out to the press and say, ‘No, we’d like to enrich.’ So we’ll find out.” 

The Israel Defense Forces released a video Friday showing what it described as Hezbollah terrorists launching rockets towards Israel from a school compound in southern Lebanon. 

“Hezbollah terrorists launched rockets from a school compound in the Tir Zibneh area in southern Lebanon and concealed a launcher within it. Hezbollah has once again demonstrated its use of civilian infrastructure for military purposes, in violation of international law,” the IDF said on X. 

“In accordance with international law, the premises was struck by the IDF to remove the threat it posed to Israel,” it added. 

Israeli forces said they launched the largest coordinated strike across Lebanon this week since Operation Roaring Lion began. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran does not apply to Lebanon, meaning Israeli forces would continue to strike Hezbollah terrorists there. 

U.S. Central Command released a photo Friday showing a U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II jet taking off from the deck of the USS Tripoli, one of the American ships that has been operating in the Middle East in support of Operation Epic Fury. 

The photo’s release comes days after President Donald Trump said “The United States of America will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz” and “We’ll be loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just ‘hangin’ around’ in order to make sure that everything goes well.” 

“The F-35B can take off from shorter runways and land vertically, allowing it to operate from Tripoli’s flight deck, which is less than 850 feet in length,” CENTCOM said. “Tripoli is currently sailing in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.” 

Alireza Jafarzadeh, the deputy director of the U.S. office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, told “Fox & Friends First” on Friday that the Iranian regime, which is “built on terrorism,” will likely be trying to “buy time” in upcoming negotiations with the U.S. this weekend. 

Vice President JD Vance is heading to Pakistan for the talks. 

“Keep in mind, despite the smoke and screens, this regime is much weaker now than they have ever been. Not just simply because they received a significant military and political blow during the war, but also their main concern is their own population inside Iran,” Jafarzadeh said, adding, “That is why the regime started executing political prisoners just since 10 days ago.” 

“Nothing has changed when it comes to the nature of this regime. This is a regime that is built on terrorism, is built on developing nuclear weapons and missile programs and running all of these proxies and those policies haven’t changed. Therefore, the goal of the Iranian regime from coming to the negotiating table is not to accept peace, but rather they want to buy time, they want to get off the hook and see what they can get out of it,” he added. 

“The main focus should be on how to help empower the people in Iran,” Jafarzadeh said. 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is key to strengthening a “fragile” ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. 

Speaking Friday as he left Qatar after a three-day visit to the Gulf, Starmer said leaders in the region were adamant that “there can’t be tolling or restrictions” on commercial shipping through the waterway, according to The Associated Press. 

An Israeli intelligence official told Fox News on Friday that Iran is demanding fees from ships to travel through the Strait of Hormuz. 

Starmer also said he told President Donald Trump in a call on Thursday that ending the conflict “has to involve” Iran’s Gulf neighbors, who “have very strong views on the Strait of Hormuz.”  

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Vice President JD Vance said Friday as he departed for Pakistan that President Donald Trump has given him “clear guidelines” for this weekend’s negotiations with Iran. 

“We're looking forward to the negotiation. I think it's going to be positive. We'll foresee, as the President of the United States said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we're certainly willing to extend the open hand,” Vance told reporters Friday at Joint Base Andrews. 

“If they're going to try to play us, then they're going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive,” the vice president also warned. “So we're going to try to have a positive negotiation. The President gave us some pretty clear guidelines, and we're going to see.” 

The Israel Defense Forces said it “struck and eliminated” two terrorists who were planning “imminent” attacks against troops operating in the Gaza Strip.

The strikes were carried out Thursday.

“In the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF eliminated Mahmoud Barim, a terrorist in the Kata’ib al-Mujahideen organization, who monitored IDF troop activity and possessed a large quantity of weapons,” the IDF said.

“In the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF eliminated Ahmed Mohammed Saleh, a Hamas Nukhba terrorist, who had carried out and advanced numerous terror attacks against IDF troops. During the strike, additional Hamas terrorists were struck,” the IDF added.

The IDF said the terrorists "posed an immediate threat to IDF troops and were eliminated in precise strikes."

"Prior to the strikes, steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance," the IDF said.

The IDF said Israeli troops in the Southern Command "remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat."

The Israel Defense Forces released a video Friday showing the destruction of Hezbollah missile launching infrastructure as part of its campaign to weaken the Iran-backed terrorist group in Lebanon.

“As part of efforts to degrade and undermine the firing capabilities of Hezbollah, the IDF has struck and dismantled more than 200 rocket launchers, including approximately 1,300 launch tubes,” the IDF said. 

“In addition, more than 250 Hezbollah artillery operatives have been struck and eliminated, including 15 commanders responsible for artillery systems in various sectors,” it also said.  

Israel’s military vowed it will “continue operating with determination against the Hezbollah terrorist organization and will not allow harm to the citizens of the State of Israel, particularly residents of the north.” 

Oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively halted despite a U.S.-backed ceasefire that hinged on reopening the critical waterway, raising fresh questions about whether Iran is following through on a central condition of the truce.

A backlog of roughly 3,200 vessels — among them 800 tankers and cargo ships — has built up west of the strait, with ships idling as operators wait for clarity on whether it is safe to pass.

No oil tankers have risked the journey in recent days, according to Matt Smith, an analyst at Kpler, a data and intelligence company. 

"We're not seeing any, any, any oil products passing through there," Smith said. "So, for all intents and purposes, the strait remains closed. And this is the leverage that Iran has."

Three vessels passed through the Strait on Thursday, according to Smith, two of them Iranian-flagged and one a dry bulk carrier.

A hacker group that has taken credit for Iranian cyberattacks against the U.S. said it will pause attacks due to the ceasefire with the Trump administration.

The group, Handala, which the FBI believes is a front for Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, has taken credit for a cyberattack on the Michigan medical tech company Stryker and leaked old emails from FBI Director Kash Patel's hacked Gmail account.

Handala suggested that top leaders in the Iranian government directed them to stop boasting about hacks targeting the U.S., an instruction that appeared to be in response to the ceasefire.

"According to the orders from the highest leadership of the Resistance Axis, we have currently postponed overt confrontation with the United States, but the world already knows our capability to penetrate and strike at the very core of American infrastructure," the group said on Telegram.

But Handala said it would keep targeting other enemies, including Israel.

"The cyber war did not begin with the military conflict, and it will not end with any military ceasefire," the post reads. "Handala, at full force, continues its cyber operations against the infrastructure of the Zionist regime."

The FBI has dubbed the group's work as "psychological operations."

Earlier this week, the FBI and other U.S. agencies said they were "urgently warning" U.S. organizations about "ongoing cyber exploitation of internet-connected operational technology devices."

President Donald Trump warned Iran on Thursday amid reports that Tehran is charging tankers a toll to gain access to the Strait of Hormuz.

"There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait — They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now! President DONALD J. TRUMP," he wrote on Truth Social.

Iran has demanded the right to collect tolls from ships transiting the strait as a condition of the current pause in hostilities. 

The Financial Times reported Wednesday that Tehran plans to require ships passing through the waterway to pay the cryptocurrency equivalent of $1 per barrel of oil on board during the two-week ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Trump has demanded that Iran reopen the strait immediately or brace for renewed military action against its infrastructure.

"Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz," he said in a separate Truth Social post Tuesday evening. "That is not the agreement we have!"