Balance of Power

Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

President Donald Trump sought to ratchet up pressure on Iran to cut a deal as the two sides prepared for direct talks in Pakistan to turn their fragile truce into a lasting peace.

Trump posted on social media Friday that Tehran’s only leverage is “short term extortion of the world by using International Waterways” — a reference to the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane for oil and natural gas that remains largely shut — and declared that the “Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards.”

While the two-week ceasefire was broadly holding across the Middle East, the continued closure of the strait and fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon threatened to complicate negotiations due to begin over the weekend in Islamabad.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Kailey speaks with:
Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
Republican Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis of New York.
Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino and Friday Reporter Public Affairs Founder Lisa Camooso Miller.
Former Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.
Bloomberg Europe Correspondent Oliver Crook.
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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

The US and Iran prepared for peace talks in Pakistan with a fragile ceasefire largely holding, though issues such as Israel’s offensive in Lebanon and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz remain unresolved.

US Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead the American delegation in discussions scheduled for Islamabad on Saturday, while Iranian officials were due to arrive in the Pakistani capital on Thursday. Both sides appear to have paused strikes across the region after President Donald Trump’s announcement of a truce after nearly six weeks of fighting.

The exception is in Lebanon, where Israel’s ongoing campaign against Tehran-aligned Hezbollah risks undermining the negotiations. Israel’s military on Thursday told residents in eight Beirut neighborhoods to leave ahead of strikes, after a major operation that killed more than 200 people the previous day.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Kailey speaks with:
Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
Chatham House Associate Fellow Natasha Hall.
Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Maywood Strategies Founder Doug Farrar.
Bloomberg News US Stocks Reporter Alexandra Semenova.
Kpler Head of Policy and Geopolitical Risk Michelle Brouhard.
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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

The US and Iran said they are prepared to hold talks to end the war in the Middle East during a proposed two-week pause in hostilities, even as Israeli strikes on Lebanon threatened to derail the fragile truce.
Further adding uncertainty, sporadic fighting continued throughout the region and the Strait of Hormuz remained largely blocked. President Donald Trump has said that reopening the strait was a condition for halting the fighting.

Trump’s announced ceasefire Tuesday night was a retreat from threats to unleash massive devastation on Iran, easing fears of a protracted global energy crisis. Mediator Pakistan has floated negotiations later this week in Islamabad, and Trump said they could start very soon, according to the New York Post.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Kailey speaks with:
Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
Former US Central Command Commander Gen. Frank McKenzie (Ret.).
Bloomberg News Senior Strategist Edward Harrison.
Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Commodities Strategist Mike McGlone.
Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Rebelle Communications CEO Laura Fink.
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The US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that’s expected to halt the American-Israeli military campaign in exchange for Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

President Donald Trump announced the agreement Tuesday on social media hours after Pakistan, a mediator in talks, implored the US leader to back off his deadline to unleash massive devastation on Iran if it did not meet his demands. The deal buys time for the two sides to reach a longer agreement to end the six-week-old war, which has killed thousands of people and sparked a global energy crisis.

Trump said he had agreed “to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks” as long as Iran agrees to “the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.”

For instant reaction and analysis, Bloomberg Radio host Doug Krizner speaks with:
- Bloomberg State Department and Foreign Policy Reporter Eric Martin
- Bloomberg This Weekend co-host Christina Ruffini
- Bloomberg White House and Washington correspondent Jeff Mason
-Terry Haines, founder of Pangea Policy
- Daniel Byman, Director of the Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program at the Center
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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

President Donald Trump threatened Iran with civilizational destruction as the US attacked military targets on the country’s key oil export hub, ramping up pressure on Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline or face massive strikes on critical infrastructure.

Iran halted participation in ceasefire talks in response to Trump’s social media post, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. Those discussions have been conducted through third-party channels. Mediators were scrambling to resuscitate negotiations ahead of the deadline, the person said.

A senior White House official downplayed Iran’s maneuver and said that legitimate negotiations continue to take place.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Kailey speaks with:
Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
Cohen Group Senior Advisor Jen Gavito.
Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino.
Democratic Congressman Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia.
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