April 13

Axios reports failed Islamabad offer 20-year freeze vs 5-year counter

Axios reports that Pakistan offered Iran a 20-year freeze on uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief, but Iran counteroffered only a 5-year freeze. The report cites unnamed U.S. officials. The gap between the offers highlights the difficulty of reaching a diplomatic resolution.

CENTCOM begins naval blockade of Iranian ports at 10 a.m. ET

U.S. Central Command began enforcing a naval blockade of all Iranian ports at 10 a.m. ET, with the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike groups ordered to board or turn back any vessel bound for Iranian ports in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. CENTCOM issued a Notice to Mariners directing ships to contact U.S. forces on channel 16 before proceeding through the region. Iran's armed forces declared the blockade illegal and an act of piracy under international law. The IRGC warned U.S. military vessels in the Strait would be treated as a ceasefire violation.

Senate blocks 4th war powers resolution on Iran as 60-day deadline approaches April 28

Senate Republicans defeated the fourth war powers resolution on Iran in six weeks, with Democratic Sen. John Fetterman again crossing the aisle to oppose it and Republican Sen. Rand Paul the only Republican to support it. The resolution co-sponsored by Senators Tim Kaine, Adam Schiff, and Chris Murphy would have directed Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran under the War Powers Resolution. The defeat came hours after CENTCOM launched a naval blockade, and with the War Powers Resolution 60-day clock expiring approximately April 28.

57-day DHS partial shutdown, longest single-department funding lapse in US history, ends

The 57-day Department of Homeland Security partial shutdown ended when the House passed the bipartisan Senate DHS funding bill, funding TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, CISA, and the Secret Service through September 2026. ICE and CBP were excluded from the bill and will receive party-line reconciliation funding separately. More than 240,000 DHS workers had been furloughed or forced to work without pay since February 19, and more than 450 TSA officers had resigned during the lapse.

Oil prices spike to $104 WTI on CENTCOM naval blockade announcement

Oil prices jumped 7 to 8 percent within hours of CENTCOM's naval blockade announcement, with West Texas Intermediate crude hitting $104.24 per barrel and Brent crude reaching $102.29. The price surge reversed most of the decline that followed the April 7 ceasefire, when oil had fallen more than 14 percent. WTI had traded near $70 per barrel before the Iran conflict began in late February 2026.

Trump threatens 50% tariff on China if it supplies Iran with anti-aircraft missiles

President Trump publicly threatened to impose a 50% tariff on all Chinese goods if China was caught supplying anti-aircraft missiles to Iran, responding to a CNN intelligence report about imminent weapons delivery. Trump said consequences would be immediate. Administration sources told reporters Trump was unlikely to follow through before his planned May summit with Xi Jinping. A 50% tariff would exceed Section 122's 15% statutory cap, the administration's only remaining tariff authority after the Supreme Court struck down IEEPA tariffs in February.

Sen. Graham announces ICE reconciliation bill targeting Trump June 1 deadline

Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham announced he was working expeditiously to meet President Trump's June 1 deadline for a reconciliation bill covering ICE, CBP funding, and Iran war costs. Graham's announcement formalized the two-track plan, a bipartisan bill for non-immigration DHS agencies now, and a party-line reconciliation bill for ICE and CBP through 2029. Republicans used the same reconciliation process to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025, which already gave ICE $75 billion in additional funding.

Acting AG Blanche announces DOJ will prosecute buyers and sellers of sanctioned Iranian oil

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that the Department of Justice would vigorously prosecute anyone who buys or sells sanctioned Iranian oil, extending the naval blockade's coercive reach into domestic criminal enforcement. Blanche assumed the acting AG role on April 2 after Trump fired Pam Bondi. His announcement targets buyers and sellers in any country whose transactions flow through U.S. financial infrastructure.

Speaker Johnson reverses course and agrees to House vote on bipartisan Senate DHS funding bill

House Speaker Mike Johnson agreed to schedule a House vote on the Senate-passed DHS funding bill after weeks of blocking it and publicly calling the deal a crap sandwich. Johnson's reversal came after President Trump signaled support for pursuing ICE and CBP funding through a separate budget reconciliation bill rather than including them in the bipartisan deal. The Senate had previously passed a bill funding TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, CISA, and the Secret Service but explicitly excluding ICE and CBP from the bipartisan legislation.

Reps. Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales resign amid House ethics investigations

Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Tony Gonzales (R-TX) both resigned from Congress on April 13, 2026, hours before a threatened expulsion vote. Swalwell faced House Ethics and Manhattan DA investigations over sexual assault allegations from multiple former staffers. Gonzales faced Ethics scrutiny over an admitted affair with a staffer who later died by suicide and allegations of lewd texts to a former campaign staffer. Their departures reduced the House Republican majority to 216-213.

U.S. and Iran deadlock on nuclear enrichment as April 21 ceasefire deadline nears

U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a stalemate on nuclear enrichment by April 13, 2026, with the ceasefire expiring April 21. U.S. officials proposed a 20-year uranium enrichment suspension; Iran countered with five years, which the U.S. rejected. Iran's Atomic Energy Organization head declared Iran would not accept any enrichment limits. Pakistani, Egyptian, and Turkish mediators worked to bridge the gap as the deadline neared. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi separately cited the U.S. naval blockade as evidence of American bad faith.

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Witkoff and Vance hold second round of Iran nuclear talks in Muscat

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Vice President JD Vance held a second round of nuclear talks with the Iranian delegation in Muscat, Oman on April 13, 2026. The talks centered on Iran's demand to retain a domestic uranium enrichment capability, which the U.S. rejected; both sides described the session as technical. No joint statement was released after the session.