White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News the two vessels Iran seized near the Strait of Hormuz were neither American nor Israeli, arguing the episode does not breach the indefinite cease‑fire President Donald Trump extended last week. She urged reporters not to “blow this out of proportion,” signaling a shift from the harsh rhetoric that dominated the past fortnight today.

Two weeks earlier Trump warned Iran it would “wipe out its civilization” and later vowed to blow up any attacker. Since then U.S. forces have struck thousands of targets, yet the Strait of Hormuz—a vital artery for global oil—remains closed. The President’s latest move was to grant Tehran additional time to present a unified proposal on its uranium enrichment program.

Investors watch the standoff because any reopening of the waterway could lift crude‑price premiums that have spiked since February’s conflict began. Vice President JD Vance’s planned trip to Islamabad was postponed until Tehran submits a concrete plan, leaving the market in a holding pattern. For now, the administration leans on battlefield successes to justify the pause in negotiations.