Provenance manifest: US-Iran war and Hormuz negotiations

Output: video.mp4 in this folder (30 seconds), rendered from animation.html (web page: index.html; web version of this manifest: manifest.html). Storyline 2 of storylines-data/trump-administration.json.

Built by outputs/motion-kit/motion.py, which checks every quote and figure below against the fetched article text before the animation is written. The animation reads its words only from this list, so what is on screen is exactly what is listed here.

Entries are grouped by the beat of the video in which they appear, in order. Labels (dates, stage names) are marked as such. Narrated lines are listed under the beat in which they are spoken (sections marked "narration"), follow the same rules as on-screen text, and are also collected with their timings in narration.md.

Three things are generated from the Storylines data and not listed entry by entry: the Storyline title (used exactly as given), the end card crediting each article by headline and date, and the Read more list on the web page. The soundtrack is music and sound effects synthesised in code by outputs/motion-kit/audio.py (no samples, no licensed music, no speech), so it adds no words or facts. The end card closes with the line "Every fact on screen comes from these articles · theguardian.com". The date rail's stop labels are the dates of the beats listed below.

0:00 · Title

1Guardian reporting, 14–25 September 2026

NoteSpan of publication dates of the Storyline’s articles.

0:02 · February

2February

NoteThe UN speech article dates the joint strikes to “February” without a year.

3The US and Israel strike Iran

SourceTrump calls on allies to enforce ‘complete economic isolation of Iran’ in UN speech (22 September 2026)
Supportssince the US and Israel launched joint strikes in February

4Iran

SourceIran awaiting response from Trump on proposal to open strait of Hormuz in six days (24 September 2026)
SupportsIssues such as whether tolls or navigational fees could be imposed by the littoral states Oman and Iran
NoteMap label. The diagram puts Oman on the south side of the strait, as the 25 September article says, and Iran on the north.

5Oman

SourceTrump faces tough choices as Iran dangles deal to reopen Hormuz before US midterms (25 September 2026)
SupportsOman, located on the south side of the strait

6Strait of Hormuz

SourceIran denies dropping preconditions amid ‘very productive’ three-hour UN talks in New York (23 September 2026)
Supportsthe strait of Hormuz – a key waterway for transporting oil

7Diagram, not to scale

NoteLabel: the coastlines are drawn shapes, not a map.

0:04 · Since early in the war

8Since early in the war

NotePhrase from the UN speech article.

9Iran grips the strait of Hormuz

SourceTrump calls on allies to enforce ‘complete economic isolation of Iran’ in UN speech (22 September 2026)
SupportsIran has maintained a stranglehold over energy shipping through the strait of Hormuz since early in the war

10a key waterway for transporting oil

SourceIran denies dropping preconditions amid ‘very productive’ three-hour UN talks in New York (23 September 2026)
Supportsa key waterway for transporting oil

0:04 · Since early in the war · narration

11Iran has kept a stranglehold on energy shipping through the strait of Hormuz.

SourceTrump calls on allies to enforce ‘complete economic isolation of Iran’ in UN speech (22 September 2026)
SupportsIran has maintained a stranglehold over energy shipping through the strait of Hormuz since early in the war

0:09 · 15 September

1215 Sept

NoteDate: the CBO article was published on Tuesday 15 September 2026; the vote was “late on Tuesday”.

13The war has cost at least

SourceUS House votes for third time to end Iran war after $38bn cost is revealed (15 September 2026)
Supportsa Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report showed the conflict had cost at least $38bn

14$38bn

SourceUS House votes for third time to end Iran war after $38bn cost is revealed (15 September 2026)
Supportshad cost at least $38bn

15so far, says Congress’s budget office, and $3bn more each month

SourceUS House votes for third time to end Iran war after $38bn cost is revealed (15 September 2026)
Supportsa Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report showed the conflict had cost at least $38bn
SupportsIt estimated that the costs of the war will grow $3bn for every month the conflict continues

16The House votes to end the war, for the third time

SourceUS House votes for third time to end Iran war after $38bn cost is revealed (15 September 2026)
SupportsThe US House of Representatives has voted for a third time to end the war in Iran

17For 220

SourceUS House votes for third time to end Iran war after $38bn cost is revealed (15 September 2026)
SupportsThe final tally of 220-204
Note220 is the vote approving the war powers resolution; 204 against.

18Against 204

SourceUS House votes for third time to end Iran war after $38bn cost is revealed (15 September 2026)
SupportsThe final tally of 220-204

19None of the votes has reached Trump’s desk

SourceUS House votes for third time to end Iran war after $38bn cost is revealed (15 September 2026)
SupportsNone of the resolutions have made it to the president’s desk, where Trump would almost certainly veto them.

0:14 · 22 September

2022 Sept

NoteDate: the article, published on 22 September 2026, says the speech was “on Tuesday”.

21At the UN, Trump calls for the “complete economic isolation of Iran”

SourceTrump calls on allies to enforce ‘complete economic isolation of Iran’ in UN speech (22 September 2026)
Supports“I call on all nations to help to enforce the complete economic isolation of Iran,” Trump said in a speech to the UN general assembly on Tuesday.

22He also calls talks with Iran “very productive”

SourceIran denies dropping preconditions amid ‘very productive’ three-hour UN talks in New York (23 September 2026)
SupportsIran denies dropping preconditions amid ‘very productive’ three-hour UN talks in New YorkFrom the headline or standfirst, not the body text
SupportsTrump said the three-hour talks held in a room at the UN headquarters had gone very well and been very productive.
NoteThe talks were reported on 23 September; the article does not give their date.

0:14 · 22 September · narration

23Trump called for Iran’s complete economic isolation.

SourceTrump calls on allies to enforce ‘complete economic isolation of Iran’ in UN speech (22 September 2026)
Supports“I call on all nations to help to enforce the complete economic isolation of Iran,”

0:18 · 24 September

2424 Sept

NoteDate: the article was published on Thursday 24 September 2026.

25Iran says it has offered to reopen the strait in six days

SourceIran awaiting response from Trump on proposal to open strait of Hormuz in six days (24 September 2026)
SupportsIran said it has told Donald Trump it is willing to open the strait of Hormuz in six days

26Days 1–5

NoteLabel for the first stage of the timetable (“In the first four to five days under this timetable”).

27The US would lift its blockade and end the war on all fronts, including Lebanon

SourceTrump faces tough choices as Iran dangles deal to reopen Hormuz before US midterms (25 September 2026)
SupportsIn the first four to five days under this timetable, the US would have to lift the naval blockade on Iran’s oil ports, restore the waiver that lifted sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, end the war on all fronts and permit the release of some of Iran’s frozen assets.
NoteTwo of the four conditions, shortened for the screen; “including Lebanon” is from the same article: “order Benjamin Netanyahu to end Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon, thus achieving the “ceasefire on all fronts””. The explainer lists all four.

28Day 6

NoteLabel.

29The strait would reopen

SourceTrump faces tough choices as Iran dangles deal to reopen Hormuz before US midterms (25 September 2026)
SupportsOn the sixth day, the strait of Hormuz would be reopened by Iran

30Day 7

NoteLabel.

31Nuclear talks would start

SourceTrump faces tough choices as Iran dangles deal to reopen Hormuz before US midterms (25 September 2026)
SupportsAnd on the next day, negotiations would start on the future of Iran’s civil nuclear programme

32Proposed route: Oman and Iran

SourceTrump faces tough choices as Iran dangles deal to reopen Hormuz before US midterms (25 September 2026)
Supportswith ships using a new route designated by Oman and Iran

0:18 · 24 September · narration

33Iran says it has offered to reopen the strait, if the US meets its conditions.

SourceIran awaiting response from Trump on proposal to open strait of Hormuz in six days (24 September 2026)
SupportsIran said it has told Donald Trump it is willing to open the strait of Hormuz in six days
Supportsso long as the US lifts sanctions on Iran’s oil exports in return, ends the war on all fronts – including in Lebanon – and releases some of Iran’s frozen assets

0:24 · What happens next

34Iran is waiting for Trump’s answer

SourceIran awaiting response from Trump on proposal to open strait of Hormuz in six days (24 September 2026)
SupportsAbbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, said he was waiting to hear a response from the Americans to the proposal.

35Iran’s foreign minister wants a deal before the US midterm elections

SourceIran awaiting response from Trump on proposal to open strait of Hormuz in six days (24 September 2026)
SupportsAraghchi added he would like the deal to go through before the midterm elections

0:27 · End card

36Drawn from Guardian journalism

NoteEnd card heading. The card lists every article in the Storyline by date and headline.

Page header

37Thirty seconds on the war, its cost, and the offer Iran has put to Donald Trump to reopen the strait of Hormuz.

NoteSummary of the video. Each element is sourced in the script below.

Checks

The strait diagram. The coastlines are drawn shapes labelled "Diagram, not to scale", not a map. The only geography they assert is sourced: Oman lies on the south side of the strait (25 September article) and the strait's littoral states are Oman and Iran (24 September article). The moving dots stand for shipping, thinning as Iran grips the strait; they are not a count. The dashed line is the proposed route, not an existing one.
Oil prices. An earlier cut showed $64 rising to $107 a barrel. It was dropped: the $107 figure (24 September) sat out of date order, the pair implied a steady rise (the price fell below $100 on 23 September), and next to "Iran grips the strait" it implied a single cause, while the article says the war in Ukraine has also pushed prices up.
When Iran made its offer. The offer was laid out to US envoys earlier in the week (23 and 25 September articles) and described publicly by Araghchi on 24 September. The screen says "Iran says it has offered", dated 24 September, so it does not read as a reply to Trump's speech of 22 September.
Trump's side. Alongside his call for Iran's isolation, the video gives his description of the talks as "very productive" (reported 23 September).
The vote. The screen adds that none of the resolutions has reached Trump's desk, so the vote is not read as ending the war.
The vote tally. The article gives the tally as 220-204 on a resolution to end the war. The bars are labelled "For" and "Against" on that basis.
Iran's offer. The headline says "six days"; the timetable has the strait reopening on day six and nuclear talks on day seven. The screen shows two of the four US conditions for days one to five (lifting the blockade and ending the war on all fronts); the other two (restoring an oil sanctions waiver, releasing some frozen assets) are on the web page's script and in the explainer.
"Iran grips the strait". Paraphrases the UN speech article's "stranglehold over energy shipping".
Left out. The Minab school strike (conflicting figures between two articles), the talks in New York, and reactions from other countries. The opinion piece (Arwa Mahdawi) is credited on the end card but not quoted.
Images. None. Type, colour and drawn shapes only. Sound: narration by a synthetic voice (Kokoro, run offline), with music and effects synthesised in code; no samples, no licensed music.