Trump's Iran War Timeline, Iran Blockade And Peace Talks, GOP And Trump Pope Feud
Up First from NPR
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4.6 • 59K Ratings
🗓️ 16 April 2026
⏱️ 13 minutes
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Summary
Pakistan is trying to restart peace talks between the U.S and Iran, and Trump posted that the leaders of Israel and Lebanon will speak today for the first time in 34 years.
Vice President JD Vance told a Catholic audience that the Pope should be careful when he talks about theology, as Trump's feud with Pope Leo puts some of his most loyal supporters in an awkward spot.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Rebekah Metzler, Ruth Sherlock, Dana Farrington, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Lindsay Totty.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.
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We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
And our deputy Executive Producer is Kelley Dickens.
(0:00) Introduction
(01:57) Trump's Iran War Timeline
(05:42) Iran Blockade And Peace Talks
(09:34) GOP And Trump Pope Feud
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | President Trump keeps saying the war with Iran is ending soon. |
| 0:05.6 | I think it's close to over here. I mean, I view it as very close to over. |
| 0:09.3 | We've heard some version of that for three weeks now. How much longer will the war that Trump said he won in March last? |
| 0:14.7 | I mean, Martinez, that's Lila Faddle. And this is up first from NPR News. |
| 0:20.9 | Pakistan is trying to get the U.S. sent Iran back to the negotiating table before the end of the two-week ceasefire. |
| 0:27.2 | Since the last round of talks, the U.S. imposed a blockade on Iran. |
| 0:31.2 | What are the chances of the two sides reaching an agreement? |
| 0:33.7 | And Vice President Vance, a Catholic jumped to the president's defense after Pope Leo criticized the war with Iran. |
| 0:39.4 | I think it's very, very important for the Pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology. |
| 0:44.9 | The Pope says the world needs to hear a message of peace. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. |
| 0:56.7 | President Trump is talking about the war with Iran in the past tense. |
| 1:00.6 | Fox business anchor Maria Bart Romo noted the president's word choice in an interview with Trump |
| 1:05.6 | that aired Wednesday. |
| 1:06.6 | Well, you keep saying was. Is this war over? |
| 1:10.0 | I think it's close to over. Yeah. I mean, I view it as very close to over. You know what? |
| 1:15.5 | If I pulled up stakes right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country. |
| 1:21.3 | And we're not finished. We'll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal very badly. |
| 1:26.4 | But Trump has been using variations of that line for three weeks now. |
| 1:30.1 | With the latest, we're joined by NPR senior political correspondent Tamara Keith. Hey, Tam. |
| 1:35.3 | Good morning. Okay, so there were peace talks over the weekend in Pakistan that stalled out, |
| 1:40.9 | that went nowhere. So how is it that the president says the war is very close to over? |
| 1:47.6 | I mean, the president has been making bold claims about the war being nearly over since just a |
... |
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