"Expect Unimpeded Flow Of Commerce Through Hormuz": India On Iran Ceasefire

04/08/26 4:04 PM

Iran-US-Israel Ceasefire - "Expect Unimpeded Flow Of Commerce Through Hormuz": India On Iran Ceasefire

"I Hear Yes": Trump On China's Role In Iran War Mediation

04/08/26 11:58 AM

For Beijing, there is an incentive to see the war subside before Trump travels to China in mid-May. Citing demands of the war, Trump has been postponing his China trip, initially set for the end of March.

"No Tolls Can Be Imposed For Crossing Hormuz": Oman Contradicts Iran's Demand

04/08/26 4:03 PM

Iran-US Ceasefire - "No Tolls Can Be Imposed For Crossing Hormuz": Oman Contradicts Iran's Demand

'Cannot be excused away': Republicans break ranks to bash Trump's 'rhetoric' on Iran

04/07/26 10:26 PM

A pair of Republican lawmakers broke ranks on Tuesday to bash President Donald Trump's latest threat to Iran. Trump threatened to destroy the entire Iranian "civilization" in a Truth Social post on Tuesday morning if the Iranian regime did not agree to a deal to end the war by the 8:00 p.m. ET deadline that Trump set. Trump has said negotiations are ongoing, and sources told CNN that a deal seems likely to be approved before the deadline. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-TX) lashed out at Trump's statement in separate social media posts. "The President’s threat that 'a whole civilization will die tonight' cannot be excused away as an attempt to gain leverage in negotiations with Iran," Murkowski wrote on X. "This type of rhetoric is an affront to the ideals our nation has sought to uphold and promote around the world for nearly 250 years. It undermines our long-standing role as a global beacon of freedom and directly endangers Americans both abroad and at home."Moran added that he "does not support" Trump's threat. "I have and will continue to support a strong national defense—one that is focused, disciplined, and firmly rooted in protecting the safety and security of the American people," Moran wrote on X. "But, how we protect the lives of the innocent is just as important as how we engage the enemy. America is great because America is good."

'Dude is insane': Trump reamed for suggesting US could take cut of Iran's shipping tolls

04/08/26 12:44 PM

President Donald Trump's two-week "ceasefire" agreement with Iran was quickly flagged by experts as being lopsidedly in favor of Iran — with one of the most notable aspects being the United States being open to negotiating Iran's right to collect shipping tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, a massive concession.But in conversation with ABC correspondent Jonathan Karl on Wednesday, Trump tried to spin it as a good thing — because maybe America could get in on the action and help Iran enforce the toll in exchange for a cut of the revenue.“We’re thinking of doing it as a joint venture. It’s a way of securing it — also securing it from lots of other people,” Trump told Karl. “It’s a beautiful thing.”Commenters on social media largely did not agree with the president on that."Counterpoint: It’s not a beautiful thing," wrote columnist Michael A. Cohen."Dude is insane. 25th amendment," wrote former MS NOW host and Zeteo News chief Mehdi Hasan."Are we gonna do joint ventures for tollbooths at all the major global straits — Malacca, Gibraltar, etc — or are joint ventures possible only if we have a costly war first with the littoral states?" wrote SUNY Albany political science professor Christopher Clary. "Trump went from 'we’re going to wipe Iran off the map' to 'maybe we’re going into business with them' literally overnight," wrote anti-Trump GOP focus grouper and Bulwark founder Sarah Longwell."The truly amazing thing is that there are people in the world who will believe this line of [expletive]. There truly is a sucker born every minute," wrote Penn political science lecturer and Niskanen Center senior fellow Damon Linker.

'Humiliating his understudy': Analyst says Trump will discard Vance as MAGA fractures more

04/07/26 5:39 PM

Vice President JD Vance has taken multiple hits from President Donald Trump — and might not realize that the joke is at his expense, an analyst suggested. Dana Milbank, a NOTUS columnist, described in a New York Times opinion guest column published Tuesday how Trump has continued to embarrass Vance as the MAGA coalition has cracked."At a closed-door Easter luncheon at the White House, President Trump decided to entertain the crowd by humiliating his understudy," Milbank wrote, revealing the interaction between the two men amid the ongoing negotiations with Iran. Trump asked Vance how the talks were going. "It’s going good, sir," Vance told Trump, as the president cut off Vance mid-response while he was sitting in the audience. "Do you see it happening?" Trump asked, referring to "a successful end of the war," Milbank wrote. "Uh," Vance said. "We’re going to brief it to you."That's when Trump threw Vance under the bus, saying "So, if it doesn’t happen, I’m blaming JD Vance." The group was laughing as Trump added, "If it does happen, I’m taking full credit."Vance's political ambitions have put him in this position, Milbank explained. "Over and over in recent years, Mr. Vance struck devil’s bargains, first to gain a Senate seat and then to become Mr. Trump’s No. 2," Milbank wrote. "He embraced the anti-immigrant stances he once called 'reprehensible' and other dark elements of the MAGA movement in hopes of positioning himself as its next leader."But Vance's fate could be similar to other close Trump allies, despite his hope for a 2028 presidential run. "What once might have been a cruise to the 2028 Republican presidential nomination now looks more like a run through the Strait of Hormuz," Milbank wrote. "Mr. Vance is experiencing a version of the pain experienced by other ambitious Republicans who embraced Mr. Trump only to see themselves used and (eventually) discarded by him."And while MAGA fractures further, Vance has been forced into a tough position defending the president's moves. "The ethnonationalist right to which Mr. Vance tethered himself now appears to be faltering at home and abroad," Milbank added. "The Iran war has exposed a rift in the MAGA movement, alienating those who believed Mr. Trump’s 'I’m not going to start a war' promise — and then watched the 'America first' president bomb Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Nigeria, Iraq and Venezuela while threatening Cuba and Greenland."

'I'm sick to my stomach': Lawmakers call for 25th Amendment as Trump heightens Iran threat

04/07/26 5:58 PM

A number of congressional Democrats were raising concerns and demanding that it was time to invoke the 25th Amendment on Tuesday after President Donald Trump raised a serious threat to permanently damage Iran and its people. Trump said via his Truth Social platform that if Iran did not meet his negotiation deadline by 8 p.m. ET, "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will." Lawmakers responded to the president's comments, citing it was time to force Trump from office and pass presidential powers and duties to Vice President JD Vance. On social media, Democrats made it known where they stood: "I’m sick to my stomach. The fate of millions of innocent civilians now depends on the whims of a sick and demented man. This is pure evil. Republicans, if there were ever a time to stand up, it’s now. We must invoke the 25th Amendment before it’s too late," Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) wrote on X."Trump is escalating a devastating, illegal war, threatening massive war crimes and targeting civilian infrastructure in Iran. In the last 48 hours alone, the rhetoric has crossed every line. Pete Hegseth is complicit. I’ve called for the 25th Amendment and am introducing Articles of Impeachment against Hegseth," Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) wrote on X. "After bombing a school and massacring young girls, the war criminal in the White House is threatening genocide. It's time to invoke the 25th Amendment. This maniac should be removed from office," Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) wrote on X."Donald Trump must be removed from office. Not only is he waging an illegal war—he’s threatening war crimes. To the members of our military: remember, you do not have to follow illegal orders," Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) wrote on X."This is sick and twisted from anyone, much less the president of the United States. Trump’s genocidal language and indiscriminate warfare cannot be normalized or accepted. He should be removed from office," Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) wrote on X."Donald Trump is an unhinged warmonger and war criminal using violence for personal gain and profit, while innocent people pay the price. We must stop this war immediately. Every member of Congress must stand up to these threats and put an end to this before more lives are lost. Congress must reconvene to pass the War Powers Resolution. The 25th Amendment must also be invoked. Congress has to do our damn job. War powers and impeachment," Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) wrote on X.

'Iran won' after they 'rope-a-doped' Trump: MS NOW analyst

04/08/26 12:55 PM

According to the panel on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” if Donald Trump’s ceasefire agreement with Iran holds, the US still came out as a loser after the US launched the unprovoked war.According to “Morning Joe” regular Mike Barnicle, there should be no doubt that Iran may have lost militarily, but now holds a stronger hand than before the war began.Before letting former Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haass expound on the long-term implications of the paused war, Barnicle bluntly stated, “Did not Iran, though, just play rope-a-dope with the United States? They won. Iran won.”“Look, so that's a larger question,” Haass replied, “Are we better off than we were five weeks ago? Absolutely not. Straight question, we'll see what happens with the nuclear, our standing in the world is worse off. Russia's better off. NATO's worse off. We can go around the horn and see who it is — but yeah.”“And Iran, actually, the regime is stronger than it was. It's military, in the immediate sense, weaker; it's ballistic missiles and all that. But it is stronger politically inside. Our attacks on Persian civilization may have actually helped the regime, because they can stand up and say, we have protected Persian-ness. I also think they're stronger in the region. They have now become much more of a force to be reckoned with and around the world.”“So Iran, yes, we hurt them in the classic sense, but in the strategic sense, they are, they are much better off. And I would say we are worse off for all of it,” he added. - YouTube youtu.be

'Pay To Pass': Is Iran Turning Strait Of Hormuz Into A Toll Route?

04/08/26 1:05 PM

Oman said it had held talks with Iran on options to ensure smooth transit through the Strait of Hormuz but did not confirm any agreements so far.

'TACO Tuesday': Internet erupts at Trump's announcement of two-week Iran ceasefire

04/07/26 11:14 PM

President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire "deal" with Iran with just hours to go before his threatened deadline to wipe the country off the map, essentially proclaiming a set of conditions proposed by Pakistan that Iran had already largely rejected, in exchange for two weeks of paused hostilities to allow shipping traffic to move through the Strait of Hormuz.It is unclear whether the ceasefire will have any actual effect on the Iranian side, but the upshot appears to be that Trump will not launch his carpet-bombing campaign at least for the time being. And this prompted an immediate reaction on social media.Many people immediately went live with "TACO" memes — an acronym for "Trump Always Chickens Out.""The best TACO Tuesday yet," wrote Kevin Rothrock, the managing editor of Russia watchdog site Meduza.io."Imagine if we still had diplomats. We'd have so many more options, including DIPLOMACY," wrote Noel Dickover of George Mason University, posting a GIF of a dancing taco."So Iran would have to agree to a complete reopening of the Straight, and elimination of their biggest source of global leverage, in exchange for a two-week ceasefire with an untrustworthy enemy?" wrote Toronto Star columnist Bruce Arthur."Two weeks, of course, just like tariffs," wrote University of Wisconsin political science professor Mark Copelovich.