WHY TRUMP HAS FAILED TO TURN THE CEASEFIRE INTO A DEAL
If nothing else, the Iran war has shown that the US and Israel can’t bring every country to its knees by an air war against military targets alone, especially a country that has prepared in advance by protecting much of their offensive weapons deep underground. So far they have wisely held back from using their air power to destroy the infrastructure but Trump’s verbal volley about an “entire civilization will die,” is impossible without becoming a war criminal. In short, the “cards” that Netanyahu and Trump so confidently played (or threatened to play) against Iran haven’t produced the hoped for results: quick regime change and easy capitulation of Iran that Netanyahu claimed when he talked Trump into this war. In fact, Iran still has enough missiles and drones left to threaten Israel and nearby US allied Arab nations. And, it has sufficient anti-ship missiles, drones and mines left to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed for quite some time. There is even one more card Iran can play: they can get the Houthis to use their missiles and drones to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on the Red Sea, and again block the Suez Canal. With both major sea routes closed, the world economy would really feel the pinch. So, contrary to Trump and Vance’s boasting about “holding all the cards,” they don’t. And that is why Vance came back empty-handed from Pakistan this week. Trump is desperate for a deal with Iran but it’s not going to be totally “on his terms” as he is demanding. To receive a free one-time sample of the brief, along with options on how to subscribe, click on Request a sample on the left.
President Pezeshkian cites "historical distrust" and states on X: "they seek Iran's surrender. Iranians do not submit to force."
Vance intends to depart Tuesday to Pakistan, though still unclear whether Iranians will join - Pakistanis say yes, but timeline is fluid. Trump warns "nobody's playing games" & "lots of bombs will go off" if no deal (PBS)
Xi to Saudi crown prince important phone call: "the first time the Chinese leader had called for the reopening of the strategically vital waterway."
Ethane is a natural gas liquid primarily used to produce ethylene, a key building block for plastics, and China depends almost entirely on the US for supply. The product became a political flashpoint between Beijing and Washington last year after the US tightened export controls during a bitter trade war.
The carrier is rejoining an expanding US military buildup in the region - with the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group already deployed, and the USS George H.W. Bush expected to soon join, which would bring the number of US carriers in the Middle East to three.
Radev, a eurosceptic former fighter pilot, built his campaign around calls for pragmatic ties with Moscow, resumption of Russian energy supplies and an end to military aid for Ukraine.
The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom.
Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel.
Europe faces an imminent jet fuel crisis as the Iran war and Hormuz disruption cut off key Middle Eastern supplies.
Long-term refinery closures and rising import dependence have left Europe highly exposed, with limited alternatives and growing competition from Asia.
Airlines are already cutting capacity and warning of higher fares, with potential flight cancellations looming as fuel shortages intensify.
US officials: War may resume if no peace talks breakthrough: Axios
Two Iranian gunboats Open Fire on a tanker near Oman; 2nd tanker hit by 'unknown projectile'.
India summons Iranian ambassador to condemn incident
Pentagon prepared to expand anti-vessel action, signals prepared to board Iran-linked ships globally
Friday: Hormuz Open; Saturday: Hormuz Closed
Trump: Iran wanted to close up Strait again, can't blackmail us
On Friday, Trump declared the US had "prohibited" further Israeli strikes just as the administration-brokered 10-day ceasefire with Lebanon kicked in. The US President was unusually harsh in rhetoric with America's longtime #1 Mideast ally, writing on Truth Social that "enough is enough".
The Trump administration renewed a key sanctions waiver on April 17, allowing countries to purchase Russian oil stranded at sea, responding to urgent pressure from Asian nations battered by skyrocketing energy costs. [Putin wins again]
the Foreign Secretary conveyed India's deep concern at the shooting incident earlier today involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz," the statement from India said. The full statement, which is still somewhat tame in its rhetoric in light of the fact that what the Indian vessel thought was an "approved" transit came under direct attack:
Two gay men in Nashville recorded themselves taunting the baby they obtained through surrogacy as he cried desperately for his mother. The now viral clip has ignited fury across X.
The clip opens with one man asking the infant, “Who do you want, Dada or Pop?” The baby responds, “Mama.” The man replies, “No, there is no mama,” and the baby cries.
The plan involves replacing older satellites with newer third-generation models and adjusting their orbits to improve worldwide coverage. The system will be streamlined from 50 to 37 active satellites, most operating in medium Earth orbit like GPS and Europe’s Galileo.
Donald Trump announced today that a Lebanon–Israel meeting has been set, presenting it as a diplomatic step forward and hinting at talks “at the level of leaders.” On the surface, it is packaged as de-escalation. In reality, it is the language of urgency from Washington, trying to contain the wider Iran crisis before it spins out of control. Such a meeting gives Israel nothing it has failed to seize by force, brings Netanyahu no closer to any meaningful war aim, and will not erase Hezbollah from the battlefield, the government, or parliament. It reveals the opposite: not Israeli success, but the failure of war to produce the political outcome Israel wanted, and the growing American need to disguise that failure as diplomacy. A staged photo or a phone conversation between Lebanese and Israeli decision-makers, officials, whatever their rank, cannot erase the domestic image of Netanyahu’s defeat, especially when every other party involved rushes to declare victory.
Federal health officials have renewed and revised the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee charter, broadening membership criteria and increasing focus on vaccine safety and injury. The changes come amid ongoing legal disputes and scrutiny over the committee’s structure and direction.
The House passed H.R. 1689 by a vote of 224-204. The bill would codify Temporary Protected Status – known as TPS – for more than 350,000 Haitian nationals until April 2029. TPS is a government program that grants foreign nationals work permits and protection from deportation during a crisis in their home country. It was designed to be temporary. It has become a backdoor amnesty.
If the allegations are true, former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., is slime. He represents the worst variety: the kind who lectures the world about morality while living in the gutter. Multiple women have accused him of sexual assault, claiming he preyed on them when they were too intoxicated to consent.
A top government doctor who declined to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in 2021 was worried he would lose his job and medical license in retaliation, according to newly obtained emails.
Federal prosecutors deliberately withheld evidence while pursuing cases against individuals who protested at abortion clinics, according to a new Department of Justice (DOJ) report released on Tuesday.
The recent strikes conducted by the US over the past month surprised many around the world, but data from transporters refueling flights provided valuable information about their locations.
CENTCOM: "During the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the U.S. blockade & 6 merchant vessels complied with direction from US forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman," it said.
Diplomacy is not yet dead, as Bloomberg reports Iran is mulling a short-term pause to shipments through Hormuz Strait. Trump tells NYP talks could happen again in two days in Pakistan.
Mediators are scrambling to put together another round of US-Iran talks in the coming days: Iran is reportedly offering a 5-year moratorium on nuclear program, while US demands 20.
Across the U.K., motorists face record-breaking fuel costs at the gas pump as the Gulf energy shock ripples around the world. One of the clearest second-order effects now emerging is a surge in petrol station thefts, spanning from organized crime gangs to even drivers in exotic cars simply filling up and driving off.
Iran's military says the US blockade on Gulf ports, now in effect, is an "illegal" act tantamount to "piracy" as Trump is also weighing limited strikes on Iran. Trump warns Iranian fast boats to be 'eliminated'.
US military says it is enforcing the blockade in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea, Reuters reports. No major incidents or acts of aggression reported, hours into US operation.
Pundits review breakdown of Pakistan talks, where the "gaps were enormous" - and yet Iran's FM says the sides were "inches away" from an "Islamabad MoU".
Tehran has meanwhile accused Washington of making "excessive demands" - with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi having alleged negotiations collapsed because the US changed its position late in the process.
"In intensive talks at the highest level in 47 years, Iran engaged with the US in good faith to end war," he earlier wrote on X. He added: “But when just inches away from ‘Islamabad [Memorandum of Understanding],’ we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade. Zero lessons [l]earned."
After 19 ships went through the Strait in either direction on Sunday - the most since the early stages of the war - the momentum reversed by Monday morning. Only four were observed passing on Monday: a single liquefied petroleum gas carrier was sighted entering the Gulf, and three small fuel tankers were raced to exit just hours before the blockade took effect at 10 a.m. New York time.
Don’t take my word for it. Researchers in Finland published a groundbreaking study in the peer-reviewed pediatric journal Acta Paediatrica, which pretty much destroyed the notion that “gender reassignment” surgeries and treatments help gender-confused kids.
According to the study, the surgeries and treatments may, in fact, be making things worse.
US-Iran peace talks have broken down over Iran's commitment to no nuclear weapons, Vance said "it's bad news for Iran, much more than for the US."
CENTCOM confirms two mine-sweepers are clearing the Strait, Iran claims it turned the warships back.
