US stocks hit record highs as ceasefire with Iran is extended

Former White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said US pressure on Iran through what he described as a “Hormuz blockade” is Washington’s most powerful financial weapon and could force Tehran into submission.

“President Trump’s economic squeeze on Iran through the Hormuz blockade is the biggest and most powerful financial weapon,” Kudlow said on Wednesday on Fox. “We’ve never tried this before, and it might just bring Iran to their unconditional knees.”

The US naval blockade against Iran, launched April 13 is working and disrupting the regime’s oil exports to China, according to United Against Nuclear Iran.

"At least 29 vessels have been turned around, with selective enforcement targeting high-value crude tankers proving effective through deterrence and higher evasion costs," the report said.

The US Senate voted 46–51 on Wednesday against a motion to discharge S.J.Res.114, a War Powers resolution introduced by Senator Tammy Baldwin regarding US military operations involving Iran.

The vote, known as a motion to discharge from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, would have advanced the measure to the Senate floor for debate and a final vote. Its failure keeps the resolution stalled in committee.

Iran’s state broadcaster Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) on Wednesday released the video showing Iranian naval forces seizing vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

US Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is departing the administration effective immediately, according to a statement released on Wednesday by Pentagon spokesperson.

"On behalf of the Secretary of War and Deputy Secretary of War, we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy," Sean Parnell posted on X. "Undersecretary Hung Cao will become Acting Secretary of the Navy."