White House defends Iran agreement as U.S. lifts Strait of Hormuz blockade

By — Liz Landers Liz Landers By — Kayan Taraporevala Kayan Taraporevala Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/white-house-defends-iran-agreement-as-u-s-lifts-strait-of-hormuz-blockade Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Audio The U.S. announced that it is lifting the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to let ships pass through. Sea traffic there has been at a standstill since nearly the start of the war. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei blessed Iran's deal with the U.S., saying it was "desperation" that drove President Trump to the bargaining table. Liz Landers reports. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. Amna Nawaz: Welcome to the "News Hour." The U.S. announced today that it's lifting the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to let ships pass through. Sea traffic there has been at a standstill since nearly the start of the war. And Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, blessed the deal with the U.S., saying it was -- quote -- "desperation" that drove President Trump to the bargaining table. Liz Landers begins our coverage again tonight. J.D. Vance, Vice President of the United States: First of all, I think the president's peace plan in Iran is already bearing real fruits for the American people. Liz Landers: Vice President J.D. Vance, a self-professed skeptic of foreign wars, is now the face of President Donald Trump's tentative agreement to end the war with Iran. J.D. Vance: Their economy is in absolute dire straits. But in order for them to get any integration into the world economy, they're going to have to show us and verify for us that they are changing their behavior. And that's why the deal is set up in the way that it is. Liz Landers: The 14-point memorandum of understanding opens the Strait of Hormuz, with the U.S. ending the naval blockade and Iran ensuring prewar ship movement for 60 days, while lifting sanctions immediately on Iranian oil and petroleum products. It also sets up future talks on the nuclear ambitions of the country, while forcing the Iranian regime to downblend their highly enriched uranium. The agreement was read to reporters yesterday. The White House has yet to release the text. The United Nations nuclear watchdog welcomed the interim agreement today. Director-General Rafael Grossi said his agency would be involved in technical discussions to implement the agreement. Rafael Grossi, Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency: And now it's for us to sit down with our American colleagues, our Iranian colleagues, and start formulating the concrete steps that will have to be taken. Liz Landers: In Tehran today, some Iranians reacted with skepticism and pessimism about the newly signed deal. Farideh Hajian, Tehran, Iran, Resident (through interpreter): I have no hope at all that this agreement will be carried out, because America