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Apr 8, 2026 - World

Donald Trump claims to have reached a successful but still evolving ceasefire agreement with Iran, but National Review editor Jim Geraghty has a different assessment: the president has been completely outmaneuvered and is poised to capitulate on nearly every significant demand.According to Geraghty's scathing analysis, Trump and Iran are describing fundamentally different agreements. The Iranian proposal includes concessions that represent a catastrophic setback for American national security interests.The Iranian demands include: "Iran's continued control of the Strait of Hormuz," "Iran's uranium enrichment right should be accepted," and "Payment of compensation for damages inflicted on Iran."Trump celebrated the deal, writing: "We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate. Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated."Geraghty was not impressed. "The first things that jumps out about President Trump and the Iranian government's statements is that the two sides seem to have a dramatically different sense of what they just agreed upon."His verdict on Iran's demands was withering: "Your mileage may vary, but my answers to this list of demands would be 'depends upon how you define 'non-aggression'; no; no; heck no; hell no; [bad word] no; [even worse word] no; no [bad word]-ing way; absolutely no [bad word]-ing way; and you can stick this where the sun doesn't shine.'""These are nine-and-a-half unreasonable and unrealistic demands, and a U.S. concession to just about any of them would represent a dreadful setback to American national security interests. This is an ayatollah's wish list," Geraghty wrote.The ceasefire is already unraveling, he noted with reporting that Bahrain claimed Iranian drones damaged homes after the announcement. The United Arab Emirates military said air defenses are "actively engaging" incoming Iranian missiles and drones. Israel declared its agreement to cease attacks on Iran doesn't include stopping strikes on targets in Lebanon. So far, this is a ceasefire in name only — a violent catastrophe dressed up as diplomacy, he suggested.

Apr 8, 2026 - World

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz after U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to a ceasefire that required the waterway to remain open.Iran had threatened to close the strait again on Wednesday morning due to Israeli strikes in Lebanon. For his part, Trump insisted that Lebanon had never been part of the ceasefire deal."Chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet says that despite Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announcing a ceasefire on all fronts, attacks in Lebanon have continued - and in some ways intensified," BBC reported.Within hours, the IRGC said that traffic through the strait had been stopped. The Associated Press also confirmed the report."Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated news agency Fars has reported that while two oil tankers were able to pass through the strait with permission from Iran this morning, the passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz has been stopped," according to the BBC report. "The Islamic Republic News Agency is also reporting ships have been halted, with both outlets referencing Israel's continued strikes on Lebanon."Ship-broker SSY confirmed that vessels in the Gulf had been notified of the situation."Attention all vessels," an IRGC announcement said. "Attention all vessels. Attention all vessels in Persian Gulf and Oman Sea. This is the IRGC Navy Station. Transiting the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and you need permission from the IRGC before sailing through the strait. Any vessel trying to travel into the sea will be targeted and destroyed."

Apr 8, 2026 - World

A Democratic lawmaker sounded the alarm on Wednesday that it was time for Democrats to proceed ahead with impeachment articles against President Donald Trump. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) explained to CNN anchor Pamela Brown why he has called for Trump to be removed from office for threatening war crimes against Iran — criticizing his Republican colleagues for their silence amid the ongoing war and negotiations. "What Trump and Hegseth were planning was a war crime," Markey said. "They were planning an actual genocide — an actual destruction of a civilization. That's why Trump should be impeached. That's why Democrats should file impeachment articles against Trump. That's why the 25th Amendment to remove him should be invoked.""We need to work as hard as we can to put the Republican party — which is morally bankrupt, which is spineless, which wants to be in a witness protection program — even as moral atrocities are being planned in their name," Markey added. "We must proceed towards the goal of removing Donald Trump from office. And we must do this now. And that has to be the Democratic agenda."

Apr 8, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at media outlets over their coverage of the two-week ceasefire agreement his administration reached with Iran, which has been heavily scrutinized for the concessions the United States would make to the Middle East nation.On Tuesday, Trump announced that “authorities” were investigating CNN for having published a “false” statement from the Iranian government, a statement in which Iran claimed to have achieved a “great victory” in the conflict. Other media outlets have also published stories that include statements, letters and documents from the Iranian government.“Numerous Agreements, Lists, and Letters are being sent out by people that have absolutely nothing to do with the U.S.A. / Iran Negotiation, in many cases, they are total Fraudsters, Charlatans, and WORSE,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “They will be rapidly exposed after our Federal Investigation is completed. There is only one group of meaningful ‘POINTS’ that are acceptable to the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these Negotiations. These are the POINTS that are the basis on which we agreed to a CEASEFIRE. It is something that is reasonable, and can easily be dispensed with.”The Trump administration tentatively agreed to a ten-point peace plan proposed by Tehran on Tuesday that Iranian officials have repeatedly claimed to be a “great victory,” with provisions that would allow Iran to maintain control of a critical shipping waterway, and require the lifting of U.S. sanctions.

Apr 8, 2026 - World

During an appearance on MS NOW on Wednesday morning, noted historian Douglas Brinkley expressed surprise that Vice President JD Vance has chosen to ally himself so closely with Hungarian strongman Viktor Orbán as he seeks re-election.While the US was prepping for a massive escalation of the war in Iran, which was averted at the last moment after Pakistan brokered a two-week ceasefire that heavily favors Iran, Vance was taking part in a MAGA-style rally for the Hungarian prime minister who is fighting an uphill battle to hang on to his job.Appearing with “Morning Joe” co-host Jonathan Lemire, Brinkley was quick to point out that Orbán is a high-profile puppet belonging to Vladimir Putin.“Can you think of another moment where a sitting president or vice president would openly campaign for a foreign head of state, particularly one who we learned yet again today with Michael Weiss, terrific reporting a couple hours ago, is firmly in the pocket of Vladimir Putin?” Lemire pressed his guest."It's utterly nutty,” Brinkley quickly replied. “The F-grade goes to NATO, the failing of NATO, meaning Donald Trump's failure to keep NATO engaged. NATO doesn't want to be engaged with war crimes either. And we forget that our foreign policy has to have NATO at its center.”“And the disrespect and the disassembling of NATO under the Trump/Vance regime is disheartening, to say the least, because we're losing, squandering soft power all over the world,” he added. “And we're seeing the great alliance that's been with us, Truman, through Biden, just starting to wobble, almost crumble. And you can't expect our NATO allies to trust what President Trump says because he does a 180 the next day and he's ruling as if he's he's not really part of an alliance writ large.” - YouTube youtu.be