The U.S. is reinforcing its military presence in the Middle East ahead of upcoming U.S.–Iran negotiations in Pakistan.

Fighter and attack aircraft have already arrived.

1,500–2,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division may deploy soon.

The USS George H.W. Bush carrier strike group is en route from the Atlantic.

The USS Boxer and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit are also heading to the region from the Pacific.

Source: WSJ

Qatar shows remains of two Iranian Su-24 fighter jets that were shot down by Qatar early in the war.

Trump:

My Administration stands ready to use the full Economic Might of the United States to strengthen Hungary’s Economy, as we have done for our Great Allies in the past, if Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the Hungarian People ever need it.

We are excited to invest in the future Prosperity that will be generated by Orbán’s continued Leadership!

France plans to replace some Microsoft Windows systems in government with Linux to reduce reliance on U.S. tech and gain more control over its data.

Iranian delegation arrives in Islamabad, welcomed by Field Marshal Munir and Deputy PM Ishaq Dar.

Iran’s Ghalibaf leads the delegation, accompanied by Araghchi.

The ceasefire will only be extended if JD Vance returns from Pakistan with “some sort of deliverable.”

Source: Axios, citing a U.S. official

📸 The Iranian delegation in Pakistan.

Trump:

The Strait will be open.

Reporter: You’re not going to let Iran toll the strait, are you?

Trump: We are not gonna let them do it. Nobody knows if they are doing that. If they are doing that, we will not let that happen.

Trump:

The Strait of Hormuz will open up automatically… Otherwise, they make no money. We will open the strait anyway.

Reporter: What is your backup plan if there is no deal?

Trump: You don’t need a backup plan.

Iran’s Ghalibaf:

My companions on this flight.

Trump:

We are not doing much talking.

Reporter: What does a good deal look like for you?

Trump: No nuclear weapon, number one. I think it has already been regime change—we never had that as a criteria.

No nuclear weapon—that is 99% of it.

Trump:

We have other countries coming up to help with the Strait of Hormuz.

We will have that open fairly soon.

Tucker Carlson on Trump:

I’ve always liked Trump and still feel sorry for him, as I do for all slaves.

He’s hemmed in by other forces. He can’t make his own decisions. It’s awful to watch.

Source: Newsmax

Lebanon and the U.S. have asked Israel to pause its strikes ahead of planned talks next week.

The U.S. supports the move, but Israel hasn’t agreed yet, with Netanyahu still reviewing it.

Source: Axios