U.S. President Donald Trump convened a Situation Room meeting at the White House on the 18th, a weekend day, to discuss talks on a cease-fire with Iran, foreign media reported.
The U.S. online outlet Axios, citing two U.S. government officials, said, "President Trump convened a Situation Room meeting on the morning of the 18th to discuss the renewed crisis around the Strait of Hormuz and negotiations with Iran."
Attendees were said to include Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Dan Caine.
CNN also reported that busy movements were observed at the White House that morning. CNN said, "While President Trump was signing an executive order at the White House, or immediately after the signing, senior officials arrived in succession," adding, "These movements appeared as the Trump administration weighed ongoing negotiations and the possibility of a resumption of fighting ahead of an imminent cease-fire deadline."
Iran on this day again declared the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and attacked two ships that had attempted to pass through the waters. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) argued that the U.S. maritime blockade violates the cease-fire agreement and said, "Any attempt to approach the Strait of Hormuz will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and the vessel in question will be a target of attack."
With the two-week conditional cease-fire between the United States and Iran set to end on the 22nd (Iran time, the 21st U.S. time), military tensions in the Middle East are rising again. A senior U.S. government official told Axios, "If a breakthrough is not reached quickly, fighting could resume within days."