War In Iran Ramps Up, Trump Pressured By Gas Prices, Massachusetts Primary Results

**Steve Inskeep** (0:02)
The US fights another battle over the Strait of Hormuz. The military says it wants to keep open the waterway that was open before the US started a war.

**Leila Fadel** (0:09)
You're on Fired Back at American Bases, so where is this conflict heading?

**Steve Inskeep** (0:13)
I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadel, and this is Up First from NPR News.
The midterms are two months away, and President Trump is under pressure to bring down gas prices. He met with oil executives, and is banking on a new deal with Venezuela, neither of which seems likely to lower prices before November. Can the president convince voters he's trying?

**Leila Fadel** (0:37)
Massachusetts held its primary yesterday. Incumbent Senator Ed Markey held off a younger challenger by positioning himself as the anti-establishment candidate. What does the race tell us about the Democratic Party and the push to the left? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.
The latest US strikes on Iran aim to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

**Steve Inskeep** (1:02)
A major US goal on the war is to clear the waterway that was clear before the US started the war. Over the past 24 hours, the US says Iran tried to lay mines in the strait so the US hit targets in Iran. Iran claims the strikes hit civilians and Iran opened fire on US allies in the region.

**Leila Fadel** (1:20)
Ran-Pierre's Hadil El-Shalchi is following all this from Istanbul and joins me now. Good morning.

**Hadil El-Shalchi** (1:24)
Good morning, Leila.

**Leila Fadel** (1:25)
So a second day of strikes. Walk me through what happened.

**Hadil El-Shalchi** (1:29)
So late last night, the US military issued a statement saying it had completed a wave of strikes against Iranian military targets. It said those targets included air defense sites, radar systems, communication sites, and mine laying capabilities. It said that the strikes were a result of recent Iranian attempts to attack commercial shipping sites in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members based in the region. Iran retaliated by targeting US assets in Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq. The Kuwaiti armed forces said its defenses were confronting Iranian missile and drone attacks and told its citizens to find shelter. Now the Iranian Guard Corps spokesperson said today that US forces bombed military and civilian targets in southern Iran, causing civilian and military casualties, and that Iran would continue to attack US bases in the region.
We also know Iranian state media reported that a US strike on a wedding in southern Iran killed five people and wounded 50 others. The US military didn't immediately respond to that claim, but the spokesperson for US. Central Command posted online that they were aware of reports of civilian casualties. There have also been heightened travel warnings for Americans traveling in the Middle East.

**Leila Fadel** (2:44)
So all of this is focused on re-opening the Strait of Hormuz, which as Steve mentioned was open before the US and Israel attacked Iran. Who controls the key waterway right now?

**Hadil El-Shalchi** (2:55)
So, I mean, the short answer is no one country. Iran continues to blockade some routes in the waterway, and the US has a Navy blockade on Iranian ports. But then yesterday, new data coming out of a maritime intel firm called Tanker Trackers showed that around 4 million barrels of crude oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz on average per day in August. And it was all largely undetected by Iran. Now, that's still only a third of what exited the strait before the war, but notable nonetheless.
Iran has also said it was close to agreeing with Oman on a proposed framework to temporarily reopen the strait. Iranian officials said they had come up with maps for establishing a temporary corridor, maritime control, traffic division. But then they've gone radio silent in the past few days on the status of those talks.

**Leila Fadel** (3:42)
Now, President Trump has said he is in no hurry to get back to the table with Iran to negotiate opening the strait or ending the war, although we hear him change his position pretty frequently. Is Iran interested in getting back to talks?

**Hadil El-Shalchi** (3:56)
Well, to be honest, Iranian officials for days now have been calling for a return to diplomacy. Just yesterday, Iranian President Masoud Pesachkian said Iran would go back to a ceasefire. It reached with the US in June if President Trump is willing to do so also. He said that Iran would, quote, immediately reciprocate if the US commits to the promises it made in a memorandum of understanding. And just as a reminder, that MOU called for an immediate ceasefire and in it, Iran agreed to allow ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the US to end its naval blockade, lift sanctions, and have temporary relief on Iranian oil exports.