Hi, everyone. It is 4 o'clock here in Washington, D.C. I'm Alicia Menendez, in for Nicole Wallace.

Day 24 of the war with Iran, and here's where things stand. Gas prices are now more than a dollar,

a gallon higher than they were just a month ago, and the Trump administration has eased sanctions

on oil from Iran, the country that we are at war with. And a series of head-spinning announcements

from Donald Trump has made it even less clear whether we're about to see an end to the war

or an escalation, or just whether in the face of growing economic concerns, Trump simply blinked. Let's begin with

the threat that had the world on edge all weekend. Donald Trump threatened to attack Iran's

power plants if the regime did not reopen the Strait of Ormuz, a critical shipping route for a fifth

of the world's oil. It was an ultimatum they had 48 hours to comply.

Then, this morning, just ahead of the markets opening here in the U.S., Trump announced on

Truth Social that he was postponing strikes on Iran's power grid for at least five days,

and that the U.S. and Iran were negotiating an end to the war.

Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Whitkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who has no

official role in the government, are leading the negotiations on the U.S. side.

That's according to Trump. The price of oil fell almost immediately, even though Iran says

that no such talks are taking place. Here's what Trump had to say about it just this morning.

Mr. President, Iran's foreign ministry says you're not telling the truth when it comes to

productive conversations to end the war.

Well, they're going to have to get themselves better of public relations, people.

We have had very, very strong talks.

Stop speaking with, Mr. President.

A top person.

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