Trump Says Iran War 'Over,' Bartiromo Teases

In a stunning development that has sent shockwaves through the international community, President Donald Trump has declared that the war in Iran is officially over. This bombshell announcement comes as the White House moves rapidly to organize a second round of high-stakes peace negotiations in Pakistan.

The news surfaced through a teaser posted by Fox Business reporter Maria Bartiromo following her Tuesday evening visit to the White House. In a clip set to air Wednesday morning, Barti_timo shared a glimpse of her direct confrontation with the president regarding the conflict's status.

"One thing that I'll leave you with - I said to him, 'Mr President, you keep talking about the war like, "was, was, was," I said, "Is it over?" He said, 'It's over,'" she told her followers.

This sudden declaration follows a period of intense, failed diplomacy. Vice President JD Vance traveled to Islamabad this past Saturday to meet with Iranian authorities, attempting to leverage a two-week ceasefire to reach a permanent deal. However, those negotiations collapsed after Iran insisted on the right to enrich uranium for a 20-year period, according to Trump.

Despite the breakdown in talks, the administration is maintaining a heavy diplomatic presence. Vance, alongside Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, continues to engage with Iranian intermediaries to find a way forward. While the White House is currently drafting plans for a second round of talks in Pakistan, an unidentified U.S. official told CNN that no formal schedule has been set.

The window for diplomacy is closing fast. Trump previously told the New York Post that "something could be happening" within the next two days, just before the current ceasefire is set to expire. The President is reportedly weighing three distinct, high-risk strategies to force Iran back to the negotiating table.

The first option involves maintaining a massive U.S. military presence in the region while avoiding direct strikes. The second involves more aggressive, targeted strikes against Iran's energy, ballistic missile, and nuclear facilities. The final, most extreme "maximalist" strategy would involve attacks on senior Iranian leadership to overthrow the regime.

The potential for a massive regional escalation remains a terrifying possibility. According to the Wall Street Journal, the President is wary of launching a full-scale bombing campaign, fearing it could ignite a much larger war across the Middle East.

The economic risks are equally dire. The United States is already feeling the pressure of a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical narrow waterway that carries one-fifth of the world's oil supply. Any further escalation threatens to destabilize global markets and deepen the economic strain currently being felt across the country.

The global energy market is bracing for a catastrophic disruption as the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues. Following the breakdown of diplomatic talks, the Trump administration's decision to seal this narrow waterway—a corridor responsible for one-fifth of the world's oil—has sent shockwaves through the global economy.

The financial toll is already being felt at the pump and across the broader marketplace. Since the onset of the war, US gas prices have remained stubbornly above $4 per gallon nationwide, while global oil prices have breached the $100 per barrel threshold. This energy-driven surge is driving up costs across the board; US wholesale prices climbed last month as energy expenses skyrocketed. On Tuesday, the Labor Department confirmed the growing inflationary pressure, reporting that the producer price index—a critical precursor to consumer inflation—rose 0.5 percent from February and 4 percent from March 2025.

Now, the risk of a much larger maritime crisis is looming. Saudi Arabia has warned the Trump administration that Iran may respond to the Hormuz blockade by closing the Middle East's remaining vital oil routes. There is growing fear in Riyadh that Tehran could deploy its Houthi proxies in Yemen to disrupt the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a maritime artery that facilitates 10 percent of the global trade flowing between Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal.

The political pressure on Washington is intensifying. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump is facing mounting calls from Riyadh to lift the blockade and return to the negotiating table. Meanwhile, the rhetoric from Iran is becoming increasingly bellicose. On April 5, Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, issued a stern warning: "Iran 'views Bab al-Mandeb as it does Hormuz.' If Washington 'dares to repeat its foolish mistakes, it will soon realize that the flow of global energy and trade can be disrupted with a single move.'"

The threat is echoed by Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who suggested Tehran could throttle the Bab al-Mandeb—a stretch of water notoriously difficult to navigate and known as the "Gate of Tears." During a session on April 3, Ghalibaf highlighted the immense stakes involved, questioning the volume of essential shipments, including oil, gas, wheat, rice, and fertilizer, that rely on the strait. He further pressed the global community by asking, "Which countries and companies account for the highest transit volumes through the strait?