Live updates: Iran threatens shipping in Gulf and Red Sea

In-person talks between the U.S. and Iran could resume as early as this week, two people familiar with the negotiations told NBC News. President Donald Trump said the war was "very close to over."

Updated April 15, 2026, 9:33 AM EDT

By NBC News

What to know

BLOCKADE 'FULLY IMPLEMENTED': The U.S. military said overnight that its blockade of Iranian ports "has been fully implemented" and that "U.S. forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea." In the first 24 hours of the blockade, American warships issued warnings to six vessels, prompting them to turn around.

=IRAN THREATENS RETALIATION==: Iran's armed forces threatened to block shipping from the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Red Sea if the U.S. continues its blockade and "creates insecurity for Iranian commercial ships and oil tankers."

NEW PEACE TALKS?: In-person talks between the U.S. and Iran could resume as early as this week, two people familiar with the negotiations told NBC News. President Donald Trump said the war was "very close to over," while Tehran said messages were still being exchanged via Pakistan.

CHINA 'VERY HAPPY'”Trump said China is “very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz,” after Beijing labeled the U.S. blockade "dangerous." He also said that President Xi Jinping had agreed not to send weapons to Iran.

ISRAEL-LEBANON CONFLICT: Israel and Lebanon agreed to continue discussions after their first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington. Israel also pressed on with its assault against Tehran-backed Hezbollah, which has displaced more than 1 million people in Lebanon and threatened to derail the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.

DEATH TOLL: Iran’s forensic chief said more than 3,000 people had been killed in the country since U.S.-Israeli strikes began Feb. 28. More than 2,100 people have been killed in Lebanon, 32 have been killed in Gulf states, and 23 have died in Israel. Thirteen U.S. service members have been killed, and two more died of noncombat causes.

https://www.nbcnews.com/world/iran/live-blog/live-updates-us-blockade-iran-hormuz-trump-peace-talks-rcna331890

(Listening to what Trump said, he didn’t say the war “is over” he said to Maria “I think so”? That doesn’t sound like an affirmative, it’s sounds like a “guess or hope”.)

ECONOMY

Trump threatens to fire Powell if the Fed chair doesn’t leave office on his own

PUBLISHED WED, APR 15 20268:27 AM EDTUPDATED

KEY POINTS

• If Chair Jerome Powell Powell stays on as a Fed governor after his successor is confirmed, President Donald Trump said he’ll have him removed from office.

• Trump said the investigation into the renovation at the Fed’s headquarters must continue.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday again threatened to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and saidthe probe into the renovation of the central bank’s headquarters needs to continue.

If Powell stays on as a Fed governor after his successor is confirmed, Trump said he’ll have him removed from office.

“Then I’ll have to fire him,” the president said during an interview on Fox Business.“If he’s not leaving on time — I’ve held back firing him. I’ve wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial. I want to be uncontroversial.”

Powell’s term as chair expires May 15, and Trump has nominated former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh as his successor.

Though Powell’s time as chair is nearly finished, he has two years remaining on his term as governor. Thoughmost Fed chairs in the past have left the central bank after being replaced, Powell has demurred under repeated questions on what he plans to do.

Powell’s exit as chair has been complicated by an investigation into the Fed headquarters renovation. U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro tried issuing a subpoena to Powell for information regarding the project but was rebuffed by a judge, a decision she said she would appeal.

At the same time, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he will block Warsh’s nomination from leaving the Senate Banking Committee until the probe is finished. Powell said he will stay on as chair until a successor is confirmed, consistent with Fed policy.

Trump said the investigation into the construction project must continue.

“What they’ve done to that so it is probably corrupt,but what it really is is incompetent, and we have to show the incompetence of that,” he said.

Last year, Trump tried to replace Governor Lisa Cook following accusations of mortgage improprieties, but has been unsuccessful so far. The case has been argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and is awaiting a decision.

The president also repeated his calls for lower interest rates and said he’s confident Warsh will make that happen.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/15/trump-threatens-to-fire-powell-if-the-fed-chair-doesnt-leave-office-on-his-own.html

(Maybe PDJT should not give commentary on testy problems like this. The comments give the press info to run negative articles on Trump.)

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz. I am doing it for them, also - And the World. This situation will never happen again. They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran. President Xi will give me a big, fat, hug when I get there in a few weeks. We are working together smartly, and very well! Doesn’t that beat fighting??? BUT REMEMBER, we are very good at fighting, if we have to - far better than anyone else!!! President DJT

4/15/26, 7:46 AM

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116408554531050811

DOJ officials attempt to 'tour' the Fed's renovations as probe stalls

The unannounced "check on progress" visit could further gum up the Senate confirmation of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to chair the Fed.1/2

Prosecutors working for Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., made anunannounced visit to the headquarters of the Federal Reserve on Tuesday.

Three officials from Pirro’s office arrived at the Fed's headquarters construction site in downtown Washington and said theywanted a “tour," Robert Hur, the central bank's outside counsel, told Pirro’s officein an email, which was seen by NBC News.

Pirro’s deputies also said theywanted to “check on progress” in the years long renovation of the Fed's historic buildings overlooking the National Mall, Hur said.

Hur indicated in his email Tuesday thatinvestigators were turned away from the site. The attempted visit was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The surprise move by Pirro's office came as its investigation into Fed Chairman JeromePowell’s congressional testimony last year about the Fed's renovation project has been rapidly losing steam.

The probe first broke into public view in January, when Powell announced that subpoenas had been served to the central bank.

“The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president,” Powell said in a Sunday night video statement in January.

On March 13, Judge James Boasberg, the chief judgeof the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C.,agreed with Powell.

In a ruling, Boasberg blocked the subpoenas that Pirro’s office had served on the Fed, saying that“the Government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime.” (How would he no it, they won’t show evidence of crimes before anything in unfinished info.)

On Tuesday, Hur pointed to Boasberg's ruling in his email.

"As you know, Chief Judge Boasberg has concluded thatyour interest in the Federal Reserve’s renovation project was pretextual," he wrote.

"Should you wish to challenge that finding, the courts provide an avenue for you;it is not appropriate for you to try to circumvent it."

Pirro lost a second attempt to revive the quashed subpoenas on April 3.Her office could appeal to a higher court, but it has not yet done so.

Hur concluded, "I ask that you commit not to seek to communicate with my client outside the presence of counsel.”

Pirro suggested in a statement Tuesday night that the investigatorswere justified in having tried to inspect the renovation project despite the judge's ruling.

“Any constructionproject that has cost overruns of almost 80% over the original construction budget deserves some serious review,” she said. “And these people are in charge of monetary policy in the United States?”

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/justice-department-tour-fed-renovation-rcna331878

>>24502930

2/2

But the moreimmediate effect of Tuesday's visit will be to further complicate the Senate confirmation process for Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to succeed Powell.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., says he will not vote to advance Warsh's nominationfrom the Senate Banking Committeeuntil the Justice Department drops its probe of Powell and the renovations.(isn’t that blackmail?)

But in a coincidence that has already raised some eyebrows in Washington, Pirro's team visited the same day the Banking Committee announced the date of Warsh's confirmation hearing, next Tuesday.

Also Tuesday, the committee's chair, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., saidhe was “very confident that the DOJ will wrap this up very soon."

"All evidence I've seen, all fingers point in the direction of having this wrapped up in the next few weeks," Scott said on Fox Business Network.

On Wednesday morning, Trump said on Fox Business Network thathe wanted the probe to continue, andalso indicated there were other motives at play other than finding criminal wrongdoing.

"It's more than a criminal probe, Trump said. "It's a criminal probe, I guess, butit's also probe into incompetence."

Trump continued, "So it is probably corrupt, but what it really is is incompetent, and we have to show the incompetence of that."

Trump also claimed thatPowell "headed" the renovation "job."

However, the project was first approved by the board of the Fed in 2017, one year before Powell assumed the role of chair. The Office of Inspector General of the Federal Reserve has reviewed the project at least twice. Those reports did not find any wrongdoing.

As of Tuesday night, Warsh's confirmation vote was still blocked.

"Kevin's a perfect candidate, and that's why it's so frustrating that somebody in DOJ in February decided that they were going to maybe garner favor from somebody in the White House by trying to invoke a criminal investigation against Jerome Powell," Tillis told NBC News in an interview, also on Tuesday.

"I don't want to reward bad behavior," Tillis added. "Recognize there's not sufficient evidence to continue a criminal investigation, end it, and I will vote for Kevin Warsh." (KEK, Tillis has more bad behavior than anyone in the Senate, how did he get millions or even billion dollars, as a Senator? I can’t when Tillis’s crimes are revealed.)

Late Tuesday, Tillis posted a photo on social media of the Three Stooges with the caption "The U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. at the crime scene."

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/justice-department-tour-fed-renovation-rcna331878

CNN 4/15/2026

Trump recalls how Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death affected the Supreme Court as he discusses Samuel Alito’s future

Aileen Graef, John Fritze, April 15, 2026

President Donald Trump has considered the possibility thatconservative Justice Samuel Alito might step down later this year, giving him the ability to nominate a fourth justice to the Supreme Court.

Trump said he has a list of potential candidates in mind if a seat opens on the nine-justice bench this year. And when asked about the importance of thepossibility of Alito stepping down while Republicans are in controlof the Senate, Trump pointed to how Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death in 2020 shifted the court.

“Ginsburg could not do it, and she really hurt herself within the Democrat Party,” Trump told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo in an interview that aired on Wednesday.“People are very angry at her, because I got to appoint people instead of Biden.”

Trump was referencing Ginsburg’s decision to remain on the court during the Obama administration. When Ginsburg died in September 2020 at the age of 87, thevacancy allowed Trump to quickly nominateand the GOP-led Senate to confirm Justice Amy Coney Barrett – solidifying a 6-3 conservative majority.

“She decided that she was going to live forever, and about two minutes after the election, she went out, and I got to appoint somebody,” Trump said.

Trump said hedidn’t know whetherAlito or Justice Clarence Thomas would actually step down. Supreme Court justices are appointed for life,and their decisions about retirement are often personal and shrouded in secrecy. Neither justice has indicated their plans.

Alito did not respond to a request for comment.

Alito, 76, is the second-oldest justice on the court next to Thomas, 77 – another reliable conservative. There’s beenspeculation for months over whether Alito will retirein time for Trump to appoint a replacement and for a Republican Senate to confirm a new justice to guarantee the seat is not blocked by Democrats and filled by a potential Democratic president in 2029.

Trump said on Wednesday he didn’t know whether there would be a vacancy by the end of the year but that Alito was in “very good physical health.” CNN reported this month that Alito was taken to a hospital after becoming ill recently at a dinner in Philadelphia. The court said Alito was treated for dehydration and he has been active participant in oral arguments since then.

“Justice Alito is an unbelievable justice and a brilliant judge as justice, and he gets the country, you know, he does what’s right for the country,” Trump said.

Trump named three justices to the Supreme Court during his first term – Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Barrett.The 6-3 conservative-liberal balance of the court would not likely change if Trump had an opportunity to replace Alito or Thomas, but it would allow the president to appoint someone with their ideology who presumably would be on the bench for generations. Both have been frequent votes in favor of Trump’s policies on immigration, transgender issues and executive power.

Both Alito and Thomas, for instance, dissented from the court’s decision in February that shut down Trump’s emergency global tariffs – a decision that has prompted fiery recriminations from the president ever since.Two of his nominees– Kavanaugh and Barrett – supported that ruling.==

In the interview Wednesday, Trump repeated his criticism of the court’s conservative majority even though those justices have handed the president a series of high-profile wins in recent years on the emergency docket and inmajor merits appeals, including the decision to grant former presidents immunity from criminal prosecution for official actions.

“And the liberals do stick together. There’s one thing about those justices, they stick together like glue, not like the Republicans,” he said.

President George W.Bush named Alito to the Supreme Court, where he has served since 2006. He has regularly sided with prosecutors, religious entities, gun rights and anti-abortion groups. Four years ago, Alito drew national attention for writing the majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organizationthat overturned decades-long precedent establishing the right to have an abortion called Roe v. Wade.

The Supreme Court is turning to its busiest time of the year, with the justices drafting decisions in the most significant cases of the term – many of which involve Trump’s policies.The court is currently considering Trump’s power to fire the leaders of independent agencies, including theFederal Reserve, as well as hiseffort to end automatic birthright citizenship.

https://lite.cnn.com/2026/04/15/politics/donald-trump-supreme-court-justices