With less than two hours to go, President Donald Trump backed down on his deadline for Iran, announcing a two-week suspension of attacks conditioned on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed Tehran's acceptance of the ceasefire proposed by Pakistan and said Iran would allow “safe passage” of the Strait of Hormuz “via coordination with Iran’s armed forces.” This two-week period is to be used to negotiate a larger agreement to potentially end the war.

The U.S. and Iran are expected to hold peace talks on Friday in Islamabad, two sources familiar with the plans told Axios. Vice President Vance is likely to lead the U.S. delegation. A U.S. Defense official said the ceasefire is now in effect and the U.S. has suspended all strikes. The same official said it might take time for the ceasefire order to filter down to the lower ranks of the Revolutionary Guards.

The Washington Post reports that Pakistan has led a group of mediators, including Egypt and Turkey, that has been looking for an exit to the war that has destabilized the entire region. In the 10-point proposal Trump said was a basis for negotiations, Iran demanded a permanent end to the war as well as an end to any attacks against the “Axis of Resistance,” as it calls its proxy groups in the region, including Hezbollah. According to a government statement reported by Iranian media late Tuesday, demands also included establishment of a formal protocol for passage through the Strait of Hormuz “that ensures an oversight role for Iran.”

Still, it will take months for global jet fuel supplies to return to normal even after the Strait of Hormuz reopens because of the disruptions to refineries in the Middle East, said Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, which represents more than 360 airlines. He told reporters in Singapore on Wednesday that because of the refinery issues, he expected crude oil prices to fall but jet fuel costs to remain elevated.

It’s no surprise that when gas is more expensive, the idea of an electric car sure sounds nice. And several brands have reported an uptick in EV sales in the opening months of 2026. Tesla has reported a modest year-over-year increase in sales, and Hyundai and General Motors’ Cadillac division have also seen electric car sales increase.

Analysts believe the fallout from the latest Middle Eastern conflict is likely to drive further interest in battery-powered vehicles, according to CNBC. The uptick in demand comes in the wake of a near industry-wide decision to pivot back to combustion engines. As of Tuesday, April 7, the average price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. is $4.14, according to AAA. On Thursday, Feb. 26, two days before the start of the war, the national average was $2.94.

But gas prices aren’t the only factor fueling EV sales. Used electric vehicles are currently in demand. First-quarter used EV sales increased 12% compared with the same quarter last year, according to TechCrunch. There’s a bit of momentum over a shorter term too; used EV sales popped 17% between the fourth and first quarters. Why, well, EV leases were a popular choice in the early 2020s, and now that they’ve expired, hundreds of thousands of pre-owned EVs are entering the marketplace. And consumers are ready for them.

If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, then you know I’m ready and eager to try a folding iPhone. But Apple has run into “more issues than expected” with its foldable iPhone that may set back its release, according to Nikkei. The engineering problems reportedly cropped up during the device's early test production phase and may delay first shipments by months, according to multiple sources briefed on the matter. However, a separate report in Bloomberg refutes the gist of Nikkei’s claims.

As for what to expect, The Verge shared photos from leaker and journalist Sonny Dickson, which he says is a dummy unit of the wide foldable, alongside similar models of the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max. Apparently, he has a good track record for sourcing accurate dummy models of Apple and Samsung phones used by case makers to test and design their products and this shows “two rear cameras side-by-side in a raised pill-shaped island that stretches about two thirds of the way across the phone’s unusually wide body.”

Following chatter that it keeps running into delays and could not be launching until 2027, Mashable reports that the foldable iPhone will still be released alongside the new iPhone 18 lineup in September, as expected. The report doesn’t have many details on what, exactly, these issues are. One source, however, said they have to do with engineering challenges, and are not related to components and materials supply issues. Let’s just make it happen, okay Tim Cook?