Trump and Iran Talks, Iran Reacts to Ship Seized, Tariff Refunds
Up First from NPR
Apr 20, 2026
U.S.-Iran tensions hit a boiling point as the military seizes a cargo vessel just hours before a critical ceasefire expires. Meanwhile, the administration faces a domestic financial reckoning, forced to refund $166 billion in illegal tariffs to 330,000 businesses. Tamara Keith and Jane Eraf reveal how these simultaneous crises test the limits of maximalist diplomacy.
Key insight: President Trump threatened to “knock out every single power plant and every single bridge in Iran” in all-caps posts, even while sending JD Vance and Jared Kushner to Pakistan for last-minute peace talks.
