Trump is trying to make Iran’s request for a REAL cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon happen….
THAT IS gonna be REAL Difficult….
3 week cease fire or not?
Israel and Hezbollah ARE gonna keep shooting at each other I’d bet…
Reports are that US efforts to de-mine the Strait of Hormuz Could take Six Months….
The US AND Iran are grabbing ships sin the Strait…..
The more Trump beats his chest about his accomplishments ?
The harder the Iraninan Military digs in AGAINST him….
The US HAS burnt thru weapons, bombs and fuel to the tune of OVER $1 Billion a Day….
The Ukraine is quietly signing security ‘deals’ with Middle Eastern countries ….
- U.S. President Donald Trump says Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a ceasefirebetween Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House on Thursday. The meeting was the second high-level negotiationbetween the two countries since last week. The initial 10-day ceasefire, which took effect last Friday, had been due to expire Monday.
- Trump has ordered the U.S. military to “shoot and kill” Iranian small boats that deploy mines to choke traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. In a social media post Thursday morning, he said the military is intensifying its mine-clearing efforts in the critical waterway. The move escalates the U.S.-Iran standoff in the Persian Gulf.
- Earlier Thursday, the U.S. military said it seized another tanker associated with smuggling Iranian oil, deepening confusion over efforts to end the war. Ship-tracking data showed the ship, Majestic X, in roughly the same location in the Indian Ocean as the oil tanker Tifani that was previously seized by American forces.
- On Wednesday, Iran attacked three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz and captured two of them, calling it retaliation for the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. The attacks unfolded just a day after Trump said he would extend the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely.
Bloomberg: “The prospect of Iran agreeing to more in-person peace talks with the US is being hindered by President Donald Trump’s threats and brash social media posts, according to several officials with knowledge of the diplomatic efforts to end their war.”
“Trump’s Truth Social posts — as well as his decision to continue with a naval blockade of Iranian ports — have been detrimental to ongoing negotiations through mediators such as Pakistan, according to two US officials familiar with the matter.”
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President Trump announced a three-week extension of a cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday, shortly after he hosted a meeting at the White House between Israeli and Lebanese diplomats.
Hezbollah, the militant group Israel is fighting in Lebanon, did not have representatives at the talks, and did not immediately comment on the announcement. The prime minister of Israel and the president of Lebanon did not either. A durable peace would hinge upon the ability of Lebanon’s government to rein in Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.
A halt in fighting in Lebanon is considered crucial to advancing any peace agreement between Iran, the United States and Israel. Before the cease-fire was brokered last week, nearly 2,300 people were killed in Lebanon and 13 in Israel. Since then, the number of Israeli airstrikes and Hezbollah attacks have been dramatically reduced.
Still, in the hours before the president’s announcement on social media, Israel and Hezbollah were trading attacks in southern Lebanon, testing the existing cease-fire.
Mr. Trump said the meeting at the White House had been attended by a range of high-ranking U.S. officials including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the American ambassadors to Israel and Lebanon.
Hostilities between the United States and Iran have shifted to the waters in and around the Strait of Hormuz, where both sides have seized ships in recent days that they deemed to be violating rules they have set for the right to use the crucial oil and gas shipping lane.
On Wednesday, Iranian forces claimed to have seized two cargo ships near the strait. There has been little public indication that either Washington or Tehran is intent on restarting their peace talks and on Thursday Mr. Trump shifted to a more aggressive tone toward Iran, ordering the U.S. Navy to “shoot and kill any boat” that is laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
The tensions over the strait have injected fresh fear into energy markets. Oil was trading above $100 a barrel again.
On Thursday, the Pentagon said that American forces had stopped and boarded the M/T Majestic X, a sanctioned tanker carrying oil from Iran, in the Indian Ocean. Earlier this week, Navy SEALS boarded another ship in the Indian Ocean, the M/T Tifani, the Pentagon said.
Here’s what else we are covering:
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Fighting in Lebanon: Early on Thursday, Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia in Lebanon, continued to trade fire. An Israeli strike near the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh killed three people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, and a second Israeli strike wounded two people, including a child, in Yater village. Hezbollah claimed three separate attacks on Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon.
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‘Nuclear dust’: When Mr. Trump uses the term “nuclear dust,” he is referring to the uranium that Iran has enriched to 60 percent, near the 90 percent purity normally used to make a bomb. The material is not, in fact, “dust.” It is typically a gas when stored inside the canisters, though it becomes a solid at room temperature. Read more about the enriched uranium and why it’s important for an end to the war here.
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High price tag: White House officials have refused to estimatethe cost of the Iran war so far, but two independent groups say the expense is staggering: between $28 billion and $35 billion, or just under $1 billion a day. Read more ›
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Ukraine deals: President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Thursday made public details of security agreements that he had signed with three Middle Eastern countries as they bolstered their defenses against Iranian drones and missiles….
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- US President Donald Trump’s messages have appeared to elicit a choreographed response by the Iranian regime that is directed both to regime factions and to the United States. The heads of Iran’s three branches of government issued a series of statements likely aimed at defending themselves from accusations of “moderation” in the Islamic Revolutionary context. Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei acknowledged Ghalibaf, Pezeshkian, Ejei, and Aragchi’s obeisance several hours later in a choreographed manner that likely seeks to demonstrate unity and signal an end to the internal competition between pragmatic and hardliner officials.
- Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is likely unable to seriously impact Iranian decision-making due to injuries sustained during the war. The New York Times reported on April 23 that Mojtaba is under frequent medical attention and heavily reliant on the advice and guidance of senior IRGC commanders led by Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander Major General Ahmad Vahidi, citing a number of former IRGC and current regime officials.
- Vahidi continues to support Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and efforts to retain the nuclear program, because he views negotiations with the United States as having no present value, according to IRGC sources and anti-Iranian regime media. Vahidi is part of the first generation of revolutionaries, and he prioritizes ideological purity and hard power over the economy and well-being of Iranian citizens.
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The Trump administration has suspended some deliveries of U.S. currency to the Iraqi government amid Washington’s growing anger at the actions of Iranian-aligned militias in the country and its corresponding campaign to influence the selection of Iraq’s next prime minister, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move affects roughly $500 million in proceeds from Iraqi oil sales, two people said. Like some others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a worsening diplomatic fracture between Washington and Baghdad amid the U.S. war in Iran. The cash deliveries are part of a years-long arrangement set up during the U.S. occupation of Iraq that sees revenue from international sales of Iraqi oil sent first to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York…..
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“Don’t rush me. So were in Vietnam for 18 years. Iraq, many, many years… I’ve been doing this for… six weeks.”
— President Trump, talking to reporters about the war in Iran.
Note…
With daily reports of Hegseth firing General’s and Admiral’s and the continual reports of MORE military troops and assets to the Middle East?
One hope that Hegseth does NOT talk Trump into something stupid like a ground attack against Iran…..
Just thinking/saying outloud folks….
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