President Trump says US Navy will begin blockade of Strait of Hormuz

Ahead of President Donald Trump’s meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte this afternoon, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the possibility of the U.S. withdrawing from NATO is something the two will likely discuss.

“I have a direct quote from the president of the United States on NATO, and I will share it with all of you. ‘They were tested and they failed,’” Leavitt said.

Congress would need to provide permission if the president were to withdraw from NATO. In 2023, Congress approved a measure aimed at preventing any U.S. president from unilaterally withdrawing the United States from NATO without congressional approval.

-ABC News' Emily Chang

Israeli Prime Minister Benhamin Netanyahu said despite Iran being "weaker than ever," Israel still has "more goals to complete and we will achieve them, either by an agreement or by a return to fighting."

"We are prepared to return to fighting at any moment necessary. Our finger is on the trigger," Netanyahu said in Hebrew at a press conference Wednesday.

Netanyahu said of the ceasefire, "this is not the end, but a station on the way to reaching our aims."

Netanyahu also said that the ceasefire agreement does not include Hezbollah, saying: "We will continue to go after them." He also said Israeli strikes on Lebanon today were the "hardest since the beeper attack," referencing the 2024 attack on Hezbollah members using exploding electronic devices.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Following Israel's attacks on Lebanon, oil tankers are suspended from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency reported on Wednesday.

"This morning, after Trump accepted Iran's terms and a ceasefire was formed, two oil tankers were able to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz with permission from Iran," Fars added.

"Simultaneously with the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, the passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz has been halted," according to Fars.

Fars News Agency is affiliated with the IRGC but did not attribute the report to a specific source.

-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that “the President is dispatching his negotiating team, led by the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, Special Envoy Witkoff and [Jared] Kushner to Islamabad for talks this weekend. The first round of these talks will take place on Saturday morning local time.”