A Times Investigation Into Epstein’s Death, and Why Gas Prices Might Stay High

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The Headlines 11 min 4 speakers 6 chapters transcribed 3 months ago
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What are the main unanswered questions surrounding the U.S.-Iran deal?

Jonathan Knight 0:01
I'm Jonathan Knight, and I'm the general manager of New York Times Games. Our puzzles are human-made, every day, with the standards you'd expect from the New York Times. And this matters because when you choose to spend time with our games, it should be time well spent solving puzzles handcrafted for you. We think that's something worth investing in and something worth paying for.
Tracy Mumford 0:22
Subscribe now for a special offer on all of our games at nytimes.com slash joingames. From The New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Tuesday, June 16th. Here's what we're covering.
I think there's still a lot of confusion about what exactly is in this deal. Can you lay out the terms for us?
JD Vance 0:51
First of all, good morning, everybody. Thanks for having us. So first of all, I think it's a great day for the American people because what this deal does fundamentally is two things. It immediately reopens the Straits of Hormuz.
Tracy Mumford 1:01
A day after the U.S. and Iran announced they'd agreed to a framework to end the war, the specific language of what's in the short-term truce has not been released. And the exact terms remain a secret.
JD Vance 1:13
On a number of issues, we are going to have to figure this stuff out during the technical negotiation phase.
Tracy Mumford 1:19
That's led to confusion and conflicting statements from both sides about what is included.

How might the U.S.-Iran deal affect gas prices in the long run?

Tracy Mumford 1:24
So we're going to quickly run through some of the big outstanding questions that my colleagues have been working to answer. To start, what will happen to Iran's nuclear program? President Trump has said the main reason he went to war with Iran in February was to prevent the country from acquiring a nuclear weapon. With this deal, both sides have indicated they did not settle the topic of Iran's nuclear program. So they have put off those discussions for a later round of talks. Next question, will the Western sanctions on Iran end? This is another big unknown and has also been left to later negotiations. It's a central demand for Iran, where the crippling economic penalties have taken a huge toll on the country.
Tracy Mumford 2:10
Iran also wants to recover billions of dollars of its frozen assets, money that's been locked up in foreign financial institutions. But Vice President J.D. Vance said the U.S. has not promised any financial benefits to Iran as part of this truce. Next question, what does all of this mean for the Strait of Hormuz? Now, both countries have said they're going to lift their blockades, but how fast the waterway gets back up to full traffic remains unclear. Trump said things will be back to normal by Friday. Other U.S. officials say it will take weeks, and the U.S. military wants to ensure there are no mines along the passage. There's also confusion around whether it's going to cost ships carrying oil and other goods money to go through the strait.
Tracy Mumford 2:57
It was free before the war, but an Iranian official said his country will now assess fees on passing ships, which legal experts say could violate international law. And one more question to follow up on the straight. What about gas prices? Drivers in the U.S. will probably have to wait weeks to see meaningful improvement at the gas station. And there may be long-term effects, given how much oil infrastructure was damaged or destroyed during the war. Also, energy analysts have a saying about gas prices in general. Up like a rocket, down like a feather. They go up quick, then they really take their time coming down. Now, beyond the many unanswered questions swirling around the deal, there is also the issue of whether the ongoing fighting in Lebanon could derail the whole framework.
Tracy Mumford 3:51
Iran claims the ceasefire includes Lebanon, where Israel and the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah have been fighting. But Trump hasn't publicly commented on that.
This agreement was made by the United States, by the United States.
Tracy Mumford 4:06
Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to distance himself from the deal, which he wasn't involved in negotiating, suggesting he did not feel bound by it. That's his decision, Netanyahu said, referring to President Trump.

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