Steve Witkoff

Senior US officials said: "One of the important things for Israel is that it will not withdraw as long as there is a Hamas threat; Israel's withdrawal will occur according to a [later] schedule."

Olha Stefanishyna told reporters that Ukraine was in discussions with the Pentagon about a license to produce Patriot PAC-3 missiles itself, but that process could take 12 months to five years.

Ushakov said Trump made the offer in the context of his participation next week at the NATO summit in Turkey.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, told Iranian state media that talks included an initial meeting of a monitoring group to ensure implementation of the recently signed US-Iran MoU.

US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner met Qatar's prime minister on Tuesday to lay the groundwork for Wednesday’s technical sessions but are not attending the talks themselves.

"Iranian officials have made it clear in discussions with multiple parties that it is unreasonable for ships to pass through without seeking their authorization," a Western diplomat told the Post.

Bipartisan lawmakers pressed the administration officials on issues such as lifting sanctions on Iran and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

“I would say that the primary reason Iran has decided to renew attacks on the Persian Gulf states has to do with the balance of leverage in the ongoing negotiations," one expert says.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were busy with other issues, but that it expected contacts with them over Ukraine would resume once they became available.

The backlash to Trump's ceasefire push reflects a wider crisis: Israel and the West are no longer speaking the same strategic language.