Mike Baker

Iranian officials have not publicly endorsed Trump's announcement, and it remains unclear whether Tehran views the negotiations in the same optimistic light as the White House.

Now, what's particularly striking about today's development is the timing.

Only hours earlier, Trump had publicly threatened to hit Iran, quote, very hard Thursday night.

American officials had spent the last several days escalating military pressure following the downing of an Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian missile and drone attacks on U.S.

bases, and multiple rounds of American airstrikes against Iranian military targets.

At one point, Trump even floated the possibility of taking control of Karg Island, Iran's primary oil export hub.

That's a move that obviously would have represented a dramatic escalation of the conflict.

Instead, the president abruptly pivoted back toward whatever diplomacy is actually taking place.

Despite the increasingly hostile rhetoric, neither Washington nor Tehran appears eager to test just how far this confrontation can go.

Both sides have exchanged military blows.

Both sides have threatened escalation.

Yet, throughout the crisis, indirect negotiations appear to have possibly continued.

For now, the next round of strikes have been canceled.

Whether that decision marks the beginning of a genuine diplomatic breakthrough or merely just another head fake remains to be seen.

All right, coming up next, new satellite analysis suggests North Korea is dramatically expanding its nuclear program.

And on that cheery note, we'll be right back.

Hey, Mike Baker here.

Let me ask you a question.

How many times during the week do you drop 10 or 20 or $30 on essentially meaningless items, right?

Impulse buys or just stuff that you honestly don't need.