Peace, on paper

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NICK EICHER, HOST: It’s Thursday the 9th of April. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. 

Good morning, I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

First up on The World and Everything in It: a pause in the Iran war.

Yesterday, the Trump administration laid out details on the ceasefire with Iran, and what it will take to make headway on long-term peace.

WORLD’s Lindsay Mast has the story.

LINDSAY MAST: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth started the day declaring Operation Epic Fury a capital ‘V’ military victory.

HEGSETH: We finished completely destroying Iran's defense industrial base, a core pillar of our mission objective. But they can no longer build missiles, build rockets, build launchers, or build UAVs.Their factories have been razed to the ground, set back in historic fashion.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine detailed the damage inflicted by the U.S. efforts, saying they set Iran back years.

CAINE: CENTCOM forces destroyed approximately 80% of Iran's air defense systems, striking more than 1500 air defense targets, more than 450 ballistic missile storage facilities, 800 1-way attack drones storage facilities, all of these systems are gone. We've devastated Iran's command and control and logistical networks, destroying more than 2,000 command and control nodes and degrading their ability to target U.S. and friendly forces.

Hegseth also pointed out the leadership losses:

HEGSETH: The previous Iranian supreme leader: dead. The supreme National Security Council secretary: dead. The Supreme Leader office advisor: dead. The Supreme Leader Military Office Chief: dead. The defense minister: no longer with us. The IRGC commander: dead. The Armed Forces General Staff commander: dead. The Intelligence Minister: dead. The IRGC Navy Commander: no longer here. The IRGC Intel chief: dead. I skipped over a bunch, and I could go on and on and on.

He said Iran has little left to leverage, and echoed a social media post from the President.

HEGSETH: Iran begged for this ceasefire and we all know it. Iran wants it to happen. They’ve had enough.

But both sides have demands as they come to the table, and some seemingly in direct conflict.

Iran’s list includes coordinating the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, war reparations, sanctions relief, and a binding UN resolution. The President called it a “workable basis on which to negotiate.” But it also includes a demand that Iran retain the right to enrich uranium—a key step in potentially producing a nuclear weapon.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt:

LEAVITT: The president’s red lines, namely, the end of Iranian enrichment in Iran have not changed.

She also pushed back on the idea of the President accepting an Iranian wish list as “absurd.”

LEAVITT: The President will only make a deal that serves in the best interests of the United States of America, and he and his negotiating team will focus on this effort over the next two weeks, so long as the Strait of Hormuz remains open with no limitations or delays.

Caine made the stance of the American military plain:

CAINE: Let us be clear: a ceasefire is a pause and the joint force remains ready, if ordered or called upon.

Leavitt said talks are scheduled in Islamabad, Pakistan. 

The U.S. will send Vice President J.D. Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Special Peace Envoy Jared Kushner for the talks scheduled to begin Saturday morning.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Lindsay Mast.

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