WAR WITH IRAN - DAY 40 APR 08,26 - 2 WEEK CEASEFIRE WITH IRAN.

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

WAR WITH IRAN - DAY 40  APR 08,26 - 2 WEEK CEASEFIRE WITH IRAN.

THE NEXT US-ISRAEL HIT ON IRAN SHOULD BE VERSE 37. ALL OFFENSIVE NUKE SITES MISSLES,DRONES,AND OF COURSE KHEMENI AND THE IRGC GUARDS.THEN AFTER IRANS REGIME CHANGE. MUSLIMS COME TO JESUS BY THE MILLIONS.

JEREMEIAH 49:32-39 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR OR ARAK NUKE SITES AND ALL OFENSIVE WEAPONS DESTROYED IN IRAN)
Jeremiah 49:32-39    
32 Their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners [of their hair] cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, says Yahweh.
33 Hazor shall be a dwelling-place of jackals, a desolation forever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.(Location & Size: It was strategically located along the Via Maris (Way of the Sea), a major trade route connecting Egypt with Syria and Mesopotamia.)
34 The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam,(IRAN) in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
35 Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS) the chief of their might.(MISSLES AND NUKE SITES)
36 On Elam (IRAN) will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(SINCE 1979 IRANIANS HAVE GOTTIN OUT OF IRAN BECAUSE OF KHEMENI AND HIS APOCOPOLIPTIC DEATH CULT BELIEF-BLACK HATER 12ERS)
37 I will cause Elam (IRAN) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before those who seek their life;(ISRAEL THE LITTLE SATAN AND THE U.S THE BIG SATAN) and I will bring evil on them, (MISSLES) even my fierce anger,(FIRE) says Yahweh; and I will send the sword after them,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS) until I have consumed them; (DESTROYED THEM ALL NUKE SITES,MISSLES ETC)
38 and I will set my throne in Elam,(IRAN WILL BECOME A CHRISTIAN NATION) and will destroy from there king (KHEMENI, ISLAM) and princes, says Yahweh.(IRANIAN ARMY GUARDS)
39 But it shall happen in the latter days, that I will bring back the captivity of Elam,(IRAN) says Yahweh.(WERE IN THE LATTER DAYS NOW)

WHEN ARE THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL IN THE SPRING TIME.(GET READY ISLAM TO BE BIRD SEED FOR THESE BIRDS)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/m0bXU5Xqc5M
The 500 million migratory birds in Israel during the spring arrive from Africa and head toward Europe and Asia, with the peak migration occurring in March and April. While migration starts in late February, the most intense movements, particularly of birds of prey, storks, and pelicans, occur during the third week of March and continue into April. 
Key Details on the Spring Migration
Peak Period: Mid-March through April.
Main Migration Route: The birds use the Great Rift Valley, which includes the Hula Valley and Eilat, acting as a "bottleneck" where millions of birds fly through the narrow land bridge.
Best Spots: The Hula Lake Park (Northern Israel) and the Eilat Birding Center (Southern Israel) are primary locations for observing the migration.
Key Species: Hundreds of thousands of white storks, along with black kites, raptors, and pelicans, pass through over these months.
uration: The spring migration runs from late February and continues into June, though the heaviest traffic is in March/April. 

The 500 million migratory birds fly over Israel in the fall between late August and mid-December. The peak migration period for the autumn, when the highest volume of bird traffic occurs, is typically October and November. 
Key Fall Migration Details
Location: The Hula Valley (Agamon Hula Park) in northern Israel is the premier spot to witness this phenomenon.
Timing: Migration starts as early as late June with some waders, but intensifies from mid-August through November.
Peak Festival: The "Annual Hula Valley Bird Festival" is usually held in November to align with the peak migration traffic.
Key Species: Many birds of prey (raptors), including honey buzzards and steppe eagles, cross during this time, along with massive flocks of storks and cranes.
While roughly 500 million birds pass through in the autumn on their way to Africa, the same number crosses again in the spring (mid-February to May) on their way back to Europe and Asia. 

JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23  Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24  Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25  How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26  Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27  And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)

IRANS 10 POINT PLAN.
🔴 BREAKING | These are IRAN’s 10-point conditions Trump mentioned in his tweet as the basis for negotiations to end the war; 
💥The U.S. commits in principle to guaranteeing non-aggression.
💥IRAN maintains control over the Strait of Hormuz.
💥Acceptance of enrichment.
💥Removal of all primary sanctions.
💥Removal of all secondary sanctions.
💥Termination of all UN Security Council resolutions.
💥Termination of all IAEA Board of Governors resolutions.
💥Payment of reparations to IRAN.
💥Withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from the region.
💥Cessation of war on all fronts, including against the resistance in Lebanon 
Trump agreed to save face. Negotiations to begin on Friday according to Iranian officials

TRUMPS 15 POINT PLAN.
AI Overview - The U.S. 15-point plan for Iran, proposed in March/April 2026 to end regional conflict, focuses on dismantling Iran's nuclear capabilities, limiting its missile program, ending regional proxy support, and ensuring the free flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran initially rejected these as "illogical" but they remain the basis for ongoing negotiations.Key points of the 15-point US proposal, as reported in various sources, include:Nuclear Constraints: Iran must commit to never pursuing nuclear weapons.Enrichment Halt: A complete ban on uranium enrichment on Iranian soil.Facility Dismantlement: Decommissioning and destroying key nuclear facilities at Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow.Stockpile Handover: Handing over all highly enriched uranium to the IAEA.IAEA Monitoring: Granting full, unrestricted access to the IAEA to inspect all sites.Proxy Support: Halting all funding and arming of regional proxies, including Hezbollah and Hamas.Missile Program: Limiting the range and quantity of Iran’s ballistic missiles.Strait of Hormuz: Reopening the Strait of Hormuz as a free maritime zone.Regional Attacks: Ending attacks on regional energy facilities.Sanctions Relief: The U.S. would support the lifting of international sanctions.Nuclear Support: Supporting civil nuclear projects, such as power generation at the Bushehr plant."Snapback" Removal: Eliminating the UN mechanism that allows for the automatic reimposition of sanctions.Defense Limits: Future missile use restricted strictly to self-defense.Regional Stability: A one-month ceasefire.Israel Recognition: A reported requirement for the implicit acknowledgment of Israel's right to exist.Note: These points were reported based on diplomatic discussions and leak reports by, among others, the New York Times, Al Jazeera, and SBS News.

US, Iran hail victory; Israel backs move, claims coordination-Trump: US to ‘suspend bombing’ of Iran for 2 weeks while talks held on ‘longterm peace’ deal-Saying ‘everyone’s had enough,’ US president writes ‘double-sided CEASEFIRE’ dependent on Strait of Hormuz reopening. But Pakistani PM claims it’s ‘effective immediately’ and also covers Lebanon, which Netanyahu disputes By Jacob Magid,Emanuel Fabian and Agencies Today, 6:27 amUpdated at 6:56 am-APR 8,26

US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday evening that he was pushing off a major bombing campaign in Iran for two weeks and that Washington had agreed to a two-week ceasefire, potentially ending the war against Iran launched by the US and Israel on February 28.An official said the US had halted all offensive operations against Iran, although, in the first two hours after the announcement, Iran continued to fire missiles at Israel, and Israeli forces kept striking targets in the Islamic Republic.Declaring the ceasefire in a Truth Social post at 6.32 p.m., shortly before he was set to escalate attacks with the expiration of his latest ultimatum to the regime, Trump said it was subject to the Strait of Hormuz being reopened. He had threatened to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants if it failed to open the vital waterway, and warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight.”However, the premier of Pakistan — which has served as the key mediator between Washington and Tehran — claimed the truce was “effective immediately” and that in addition to the US and Iran, “their allies” agreed to “an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere.”Iranian state TV soon after flashed an announcement claiming that Trump had accepted Iran’s terms for ending the war, describing it as a “humiliating retreat” by the US president. Pro-government demonstrators in the streets of Tehran screamed: “Death to America, death to Israel, death to compromisers!” They also burned American and Israeli flags in the street.Some four hours later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he supported what he depicted as a conditional ceasefire, dependent on the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, while also maintaining that it did not cover Lebanon. In a statement issued by his office, he also said he had been assured that the US remained committed, in the upcoming negotiations, to ensuring that “Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terror threat to America, Israel, Iran’s Arab neighbors and the world.”That followed a statement sent to reporters by a senior Israeli official saying that the US had “coordinated in advance” with Israel on the “temporary ceasefire.”“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post, some 90 minutes before his 8 p.m. deadline for Iran to reopen Hormuz and agree to a US proposal for ending the war was set to expire.“This will be a double-sided CEASEFIRE! The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East,” Trump wrote.“We received a 10-point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate.”Breaking news: President Trump says he has agreed to stop bombing Iran for two weeks to allow for agreement to be finalized. pic.twitter.com/4FQvSROhoj — Politics & Poll Tracker ???? (@PollTracker2024) April 7, 2026“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,” he added.“On behalf of the United States of America, as President, and also representing the Countries of the Middle East, it is an Honor to have this long-term problem close to resolution,” Trump said.The announcement marked the fourth time Trump had pushed back his threat to bomb Iran’s energy and civilian infrastructure sites if it did not agree to his demands. He first gave Tehran 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz on March 21 and had since pushed back that deadline by five days, 10 days and one day, respectively, with the latest postponement following his warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran did not agree to his demands by Tuesday, 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.After Trump spoke, a US official confirmed the American military halted all offensive operations against Iran, though the official said defensive measures and operations remain in effect. Signaling Iranian attacks would continue, an American defense official quoted by Axios said the US expected some time to pass before the ceasefire order was relayed to the lower ranks of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.Iran and US claim victory-In its official response to Trump, Iran said it would stop launching attacks if strikes against it stopped, according to a statement on behalf of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council issued by Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.“For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations,” the statement added.Separately, Iranian state media quoted the regime’s Supreme National Security Council confirming that talks with the US will begin Friday in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, adding that the negotiations did not mean an end to the war.Claiming victory, Iran said the talks, which may last up to 15 days and can be extended by agreement, aim to finalize details of its 10-point proposal, which calls for “continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz, acceptance of enrichment, lifting of all primary and secondary sanctions.”Other key demands in the 10-point blueprint, offered through mediators in Pakistan, include US military withdrawal from the Middle East, an end to attacks on Iran and its allies, the release of frozen Iranian assets and a UN Security Council resolution making any deal binding.These terms, if agreed, would represent an extraordinary step down by the US after 47 years of hostilities with Iran, starting from the 1979 Islamic Revolution.“It is to be noted that the adoption of such a resolution shall render all these agreements binding under international law and shall constitute a significant diplomatic victory for the Iranian nation,” the Supreme National Security Council said.That statement appeared to irk Trump, who falsely claimed on social media it was “made up” by a site in Nigeria and berated CNN for reporting on it, as the White House quickly tried to frame the two-week ceasefire as a win.“This is a victory for the United States that President Trump and our incredible military made happen,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to The Times of Israel.“From the very beginning of Operation Epic Fury, President Trump estimated this would be a 4-6 week operation,” she said. “Thanks to the unbelievable capabilities of our warriors, we have achieved and exceeded our core military objectives in 38 days.”“The success of our military created maximum leverage, allowing President Trump and the team to engage in tough negotiations that have now created an opening for a diplomatic solution and long-term peace,” Leavitt added.“Additionally, President Trump got the Strait of Hormuz reopened,” she said.The channel was open before the war started, though, and Iran now says safe passage must be coordinated with its forces.Trump himself later echoed Leavitt, telling AFP in a telephone interview that the United States won a “total and complete victory. 100 percent. No question about it.”He added that Iran’s uranium “will be perfectly taken care of, or I wouldn’t have settled,” without elaborating.A big day for World Peace-In a post on Truth Social early Wednesday, Trump hailed “a big day for World Peace!” as he tried to frame the two-week ceasefire as a win.“Iran wants it to happen, they’ve had enough! Likewise, so has everyone else!” Trump wrote.  “The United States of America will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said, without elaborating, in an apparent reference to vessels waiting to traverse the waterway.“There will be lots of positive action! Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process,” he said.“We’ll be loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just ‘hangin around’ in order to make sure that everything goes well,” he added, appearing to again threaten Iran if it doesn’t fall in line. “I feel confident that it will.”“Just like we are experiencing in the US, this could be the Golden Age of the Middle East!” Trump wrote.Trump says that Iran wants World Peace along with everyone else in new Truth Social post. pic.twitter.com/uWtZr02M1B — Politics & Poll Tracker ???? (@PollTracker2024) April 8, 2026-Netanyahu backs Trump, says truce does not cover Lebanon-Several hours after Trump’s initial announcement, Netanyahu’s office issued a statement supporting the ceasefire, while stressing that it does not cover Lebanon despite Pakistani mediators’ claims to the contrary.“Israel supports President Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, subject to Iran immediately opening the straits and stopping all attacks on the US, Israel and countries in the region,” the Prime Minister’s Office said, in a statement only released in English.“Israel also supports the US effort to ensure that Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terror threat to America, Israel, Iran’s Arab neighbors and the world,” the statement continued.“The United States has told Israel that it is committed to achieving these goals, shared by the US, Israel and Israel’s regional allies, in the upcoming negotiations.”“The two-week ceasefire does not include Lebanon,” the premier’s office added.The response from Netanyahu followed a statement sent by a senior Israeli official to reporters saying the US “coordinated in advance” with Israel and insisting that Iran “is opening the Strait of Hormuz without getting any of its demands it advance, such as a commitment for a final end to the war, reparations, the removal of heavy sanctions against it and more.”The official added that the Trump administration told Israel that during the coming negotiations hosted by Pakistan, the US will stick to its guns in demanding Iran remove all nuclear material from the country, halt uranium enrichment, “remove the ballistic missile threat and more.”A regional official, however, said the two-week ceasefire allows both Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, with the Islamic Republic to use the money for reconstruction. The strait, which is in the territorial waters of both Oman and Iran, is considered an international waterway and tolls have never been paid before to pass through it. There were also no “technical limitations” in place, which Iran says there now will be, prior to the war, when over 100 ships a day passed through as part of a decades-old traffic system.Three wounded in Iranian missile attack on south-Right after Trump declared the ceasefire, Iran launched a ballistic missile at the Jerusalem area and central Israel, which was followed by several more attacks on the center, north and south of the country.Medics reported that three boys were lightly wounded by an Iranian cluster submunition that struck the southern town of Tel Sheva, with the Magen David Adom ambulance service saying it treated two 15-year-olds and a 12-year-old who were hurt by the blast and glass shards.Several others were treated for acute anxiety, MDA added.The Islamic Republic also continued attacking the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, with the latter reporting a fire at the Habshan gas processing facility.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Analysis-How Trump went from threatening Iran’s annihilation to reaching a truce within a day-Analysts say US president was deterred by prospect of indefinite operation to forcibly lift blockade of the Hormuz strait, note he has history of backing down from maximalist demands By AAMER MADHANI, Will Weissert and Josh Boak Today, 9:36 am-APR 8,26

WASHINGTON (AP) — US President Donald Trump over the course of a day went from threatening Iran with “annihilation” to proclaiming that the battered Islamic Republic’s leadership had presented a “workable” plan that led him to agree to a 14-day ceasefire that he expects to pave the way to end the nearly six-week-old war.The dramatic shift in tenor came as intermediaries, led by Pakistan, worked feverishly to head off a further escalation of the conflict. Even China — Iran’s biggest trading partner and the United States’ most significant economic competitor — quietly pulled strings to find a pathway toward a ceasefire, according to two officials briefed on the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.“The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East,” Trump declared in a social media post announcing the temporary ceasefire, about 90 minutes before his deadline for Tehran to open the critical Strait of Hormuz or see its power plants and other critical infrastructure obliterated.Trump is set to meet at the White House on Wednesday with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. The emerging ceasefire and plan to reopen the strait are expected to be at the center of talks.As the deadline neared, Democratic lawmakers decried Trump’s threat to wipe away an entire civilization as “a moral failure” and Pope Leo XIV warned strikes against civilian infrastructure would violate international law, calling the president’s comments “truly unacceptable.”But in the end, Trump may have ultimately backed down because of a simple truth: Escalation could risk involving the United States in the sort of “forever war” that had bedeviled his predecessors and that he had vowed he’d keep the United States out of if voters sent him back to the White House.Controlling the strait would have been a long, costly operation-As Trump boasted about US and Israeli military success over the last six weeks, he appeared to be working from the premise that he could bomb Iran into capitulation.Starting with the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the opening salvos of the war on February 28, Trump seemed to discount that the Iranian leadership could opt for a long, bloody war.The Islamic Republic over the last 47 years has repeatedly shown it’s willing to dig in, even when it appears to America they’re working against their own self-interest.The clerical leadership held American hostages for 444 days, from late 1979 to early 1981, at the cost of the country’s international standing. The mullahs allowed the ruinous Iran-Iraq war to go on for years, leaving hundreds of thousands dead. It stood by Hamas after the October 7 attack that spurred a war with Israel that would defang the Iran-backed group in Gaza as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon, and created the conditions that led to the collapse of Tehran-backed Bashar Assad’s authoritarian rule in Syria.Iran’s leadership — battered and outgunned — exuded confidence that it could very well bog down the world’s superpower in a costly, extended conflict, even if it might not defeat a mighty US military.Defense analysts largely agreed that the US military could quickly take control of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow Persian Gulf waterway between Iran and Oman through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil flows on any given day. But maintaining security over the waterway would require a high-risk, resource-intensive operation that could be a years-long American commitment.Ben Connable, executive director of the nonprofit Battle Research Group, said securing the strait would require the US military to maintain control of about 600 kilometers (373 miles) of Iranian territory, from Kish Island in the West to Bandar Abbas in the East, to stop Iran from firing missiles at ships passing through the strait. It’s a mission that Connable said would likely require three US infantry divisions, roughly 30,000 to 45,000 troops.“This would be an indefinite operation — so, you know, think: be ready to do this for 20 years,” said Connable, a retired Marine Corps intelligence officer. “We didn’t think we were going to be in Afghanistan for 20 years. We didn’t think we were going to have to be in Vietnam as long as we were, or Iraq.”The two-week ceasefire plan includes allowing both Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting through Hormuz, a regional official said. The official said Iran would use the money it raised for reconstruction. It wasn’t immediately clear what Oman would use its money for.The strait is in the territorial waters of both Oman and Iran. The world had considered the passage an international waterway and never paid tolls before.Connecticut’s Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy said after the ceasefire was announced that Trump was effectively giving Tehran “control” of the strait and delivering “a history-changing win for Iran.”“The level of incompetence is both stunning and heartbreaking,” Murphy said.Trump has a pattern of backing down from maximalist demands-The ceasefire announcement came after Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged Trump to extend his deadline by two weeks to allow diplomacy to advance, while also asking Iran to open the strait for two weeks.Two weeks has become Trump’s favorite interval to buy himself time when making major decisions. Last summer, the White House said he’d decide about launching an initial bombing campaign against Iran within two weeks — only to have the president order airstrikes that he said “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program before that interval was up.Trump has also repeatedly used two weeks to set deadlines that ultimately led to very little during negotiations to end Russia’s war with Ukraine and even going back to his first term, suggesting he’d have major policy issues like health care solved over such a timeframe.Trump has repeatedly made maximalist demands throughout the first 15 months of his second White House term, only to dial them back.The president backed off on many of the sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs he first announced in April 2025 after they caused the financial markets to go haywire. Perhaps the most spectacular example came during a January meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where Trump insisted that he wanted the US to take control of Greenland “including right, title and ownership,” only to switch course and abandon his threat to impose widespread tariffs on Europe to press his case.The pretext for backing down that time was Trump saying he’d agreed with the head of NATO on a “framework of a future deal” on Arctic security — even though the US already enjoyed widespread military latitude in Greenland, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark.The White House celebrated on Tuesday evening with aides crediting the US military’s prowess and Trump’s maneuvering for setting conditions for the ceasefire.“The success of our military created maximum leverage, allowing President Trump and the team to engage in tough negotiations that have now created an opening for a diplomatic solution and long-term peace,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declared. She added, “Never underestimate President Trump’s ability to successfully advance America’s interests and broker peace.”

Trump says he believes China got Iran to come to the negotiating table-Iranian officials cited by NYT also say Beijing stepped in at last minute amid concern of economic fallout, as deadline loomed for Trump’s threats to strike crucial infrastructure By AFP and ToI Staff Today, 8:54 am-APR 8,26

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he believed China had persuaded Iran to negotiate, after he announced a two-week halt in the bombing of Iran in return for its reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.“I hear yes. Yes they were,” Trump told AFP when asked if Beijing was involved in getting its key ally Tehran to negotiate shortly before the deadline he had set for bombing key infrastructure in Iran.Citing three Iranian officials, The New York Times also said Iran accepted the Pakistani-mediated ceasefire following a last-minute intervention by China, which asked Iran “to show flexibility and defuse tensions” amid concern of economic fallout.The officials claimed the truce was approved by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who was reportedly wounded at the start of the US-Israeli bombing campaign, and has yet to be seen in public since being appointed to replace his father Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strike.Beijing is a close partner of Tehran and the main buyer of Iranian oil, most of which passes through the Strait of Hormuz. But it also has strong economic ties to the Gulf countries and has repeatedly criticized Iran’s attacks on them during the war with Israel and the US.Trump is expected to travel to Beijing in mid-May to meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, in a crucial summit between the two superpowers. The trip was originally scheduled for early April, but Trump postponed it, saying he had to stay in Washington to oversee the Iran war.Trump’s announcement of the ceasefire overnight came some 90 minutes before the deadline he had set for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. He had threatened to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants if it failed to open the vital waterway, and said as the deadline neared that “a whole civilization will die tonight.”Iran has launched missile and drone strikes across the region and effectively blockaded the Strait of Hormuz after the US and Israel launched a bombing campaign on the Islamic Republic on February 28 in a bid to destabilize its regime and destroy its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.Traffic in the Strait — through which about a fifth of the world’s oil travels in peacetime — has dropped by some 90%, sending energy prices soaring worldwide.

Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly in ‘severe’ condition, unable to govern Iran-New supreme leader incapacitated in Qom, according to US-Israeli intelligence summarized in diplomatic memo, which also says Tehran prepping to bury father with others — possibly Mojtaba himself By ToI Staff 7 April 2026, 4:56 pm-APR 8,26

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is unconscious and being treated for a “severe” medical issue, rendering him unable to govern the country, according to an intelligence assessment obtained by The Times British news outlet on Tuesday.“Mojtaba Khamenei is being treated in [the Iranian city of] Qom in a severe condition, unable to be involved in any decision-making by the regime,” read a diplomatic memo, which The Times said is based on US-Israeli intelligence and shared with their Gulf allies.It marked the first time a report has revealed Khamenei’s location publicly since the beginning of the war. He is believed to have been wounded in the opening wave of US-Israeli strikes on February 28.The document also revealed preparations for the burial of his father and former supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Qom — considered a holy city in Shi’ite Islam — after he was killed in the same strikes that launched the fighting.Intelligence agencies surmised preparations were underway to lay the “groundworks needed to build a large mausoleum in Qom,” south of Tehran for “more than one grave,” the memo read.The memo apparently implied that other family members — possibly Mojtaba himself — would be buried alongside the late ayatollah.Since being chosen to lead Iran, the younger Khamenei has not been seen or even heard from, leading to intense speculation over his condition and whereabouts, as well as to what extent he is in control of the Iranian government and military.In the weeks after the regime confirmed that Khamenei was wounded in the same airstrike that killed his father, mother, wife and son, state media began to release written statements purportedly authored by the 56-year-old leader.On Monday, a state-run news channel released an AI-generated video of the new supreme leader entering a war room and surveying a map of Israel’s nuclear research facility in Dimona. State media regularly publish images of Khamenei, but without giving any indication that they are new. He also has his own official Telegram and X accounts.On March 23, American and Israeli security officials told The Washington Post that Khamenei was “wounded, isolated and not responding to messages being relayed to him,” amid rumors that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and some clerics had tightened their control over Iran.Iranian state media has previously indicated that the elder Khamenei would be laid to rest in a Shia shrine in his native Mashhad, but a state funeral has not yet been announced. The regime postponed such a public event due to “anticipation of unprecedented turnout,” according to The Times report; however, questions have swirled over the delay.It is customary in Shi’ite tradition to bury the dead immediately after their passing. Wednesday is the 40-day anniversary of Khamenei’s death on February 28, marking the end of the sect’s mourning period.Funerals have been held for other high-ranking Iranian officials killed in ongoing US-Israeli strikes, among them former Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani and former Basij chief Gholamreza Soleimani.

'Trump’s hawkish thinking aligned with Netanyahu’s' - NYT-Top Trump aides told him PM’s prewar regime change forecast was ‘farcical’ — report-NYT reveals PM’s high stakes Situation Room pitch to Trump included series of predictions — such as Tehran being too weak to close Hormuz or attack neighbors — that haven’t panned out By ToI Staff Today, 8:41 am-APR 8,26

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a high-stakes pitch this February in the White House Situation Room for the US to launch a war against Iran together with Israel, selling US President Donald Trump on a range of predictions regarding how swiftly the joint operation would go that have largely not panned out, according to an extended report in The New York Times on Tuesday.The report, which detailed how Trump arrived at his decision to go to war on February 28, said Netanyahu told Trump that Iran’s ballistic missile program could be destroyed in a few weeks; Tehran would be so weakened by US-Israeli attacks that it would be unable to block traffic through the Strait of Hormuz; it would likely be unable to strike US assets in neighboring countries; and the regime was ripe for collapse, thanks to help from Kurdish fighters capable of invading the country from Iraq.While Trump’s CIA chief and secretary of state would later characterize Netanyahu’s regime change prediction as “farcical” and “bullshit,” the president and many of his advisers were sold on the ideas that Iran’s leadership could be taken out and that its military arsenal could be destroyed, according to the report, which cited extensive interviews with administration officials conducted on the condition of anonymity.While the report credited Netanyahu’s scenario with talking Trump into green-lighting the war, it also said that the US president needed little persuasion.“Mr. Trump’s hawkish thinking aligned with Mr. Netanyahu’s over many months, more so than even some of the president’s key advisers recognized,” the report said.Along with Netanyahu’s pitch, the US newspaper noted that during his non-consecutive terms in office, Trump has considered Iran “a uniquely dangerous adversary and was willing to take great risks to hinder the regime’s ability to wage war or to acquire a nuclear weapon,” and that the prime minister’s advocacy complemented the president’s own desire to topple the Islamic Republic.Despite Netanyahu’s reported assertions, Iran has continued daily ballistic missile launches nearly six weeks after the initial strikes and is still assessed to have enough missiles and launchers to do so for an extended period. It also immediately moved to block the Strait of Hormuz, causing a global energy crisis, and has carried out thousands of missile and drone attacks on nearly all of its neighbors.Additionally, it was apparently said that Mossad had predicted that the Iranian protest movement would be reignited, with the spy agency playing a role, allowing the Iranian opposition to take power amid an intensive campaign of airstrikes.The report said the Israeli team also suggested Kurdish fighters could enter Iran from Iraq in a ground operation. This plan, which was also reported by Channel 12 news last week, was pulled by the White House after various leaks to the media, lobbying by allies, and wariness among the Kurds themselves.According to The New York Times, CIA Director John Ratcliffe told a meeting of top US officials a day after Netanyahu’s February 11 presentation that the views on potential regime change were “farcical.”Rubio then reportedly said: “In other words, it’s bullshit.”When Trump asked Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, for his opinion, the top military official reportedly told the president that the plan from the Israelis appeared overblown.Caine reportedly told Trump that such boisterous assessments were “standard operating procedure for the Israelis,” and that Israel’s planning is “not always well-developed.”“They know they need us, and that’s why they’re hard-selling,” Caine reportedly said.A very quick war-The report specified that Trump appeared most interested in killing the supreme leader Ali Khamenei and delivering a blow to the regime’s military capabilities, with other aspects of the plan, including sparking an uprising and regime change, less relevant.“Over the following days, General Caine shared with Mr. Trump and others the alarming military assessment that a major campaign against Iran would drastically deplete stockpiles of American weaponry, including missile interceptors, whose supply had been strained after years of support for Ukraine and Israel. General Caine saw no clear path to quickly replenishing these stockpiles,” the report said.It added that Caine noted the “enormous difficulty” of securing Hormuz if Iran moved to block it, though Trump dismissed such a possibility, believing that the regime would “capitulate before it came to that.”“The president appeared to think it would be a very quick war — an impression that had been reinforced by the tepid response to the US bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities in June,” the Times said.The newspaper added that while Caine’s colleagues believed the military official thought war with Iran was a bad idea, he did not tell Trump his opinion on the matter, believing his role was to provide Trump with options, not sway policy.Additionally, far-right media personality Tucker Carlson made several trips over the past year to visit Trump’s Oval Office, during which he repeatedly lobbied against military conflict with Iran. According to the report, Trump replied: “I know you’re worried about it, but it’s going to be OK.”When Carlson asked the president how he was so sure, Trump said: “Because it always is.”Situation Room-When it came time to actually green-light the plan, Trump held a “final” Situation Room meeting on February 26, two days before the US and Israel ultimately launched their attacks.Given the extreme sensitivity of the topic, several senior cabinet secretaries were kept from the meeting, namely Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.At the meeting, which only lasted some 90 minutes, Vice President JD Vance, who made his opposition to military action with Iran well known in previous discussions, reportedly told Trump: “You know I think this is a bad idea, but if you want to do it, I’ll support you.”White House communications director Steven Cheung also voiced concern, laying out what he saw as a likely “public relations fallout,” the Times added. Among his concerns was the fact that Trump specifically campaigned on not involving the US in any new wars.Additionally, Cheung reportedly wondered how the administration would be able to “explain away” the fact that it had repeatedly insisted that Iran’s nuclear program was “obliterated” after the US strikes on three facilities last June, while now saying that it had to act to remove Iran’s “imminent” nuclear threat.According to the report, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth suggested that Trump should strike, while Rubio cautioned against a major operation, saying: “If our goal is regime change or an uprising, we shouldn’t do it. But if the goal is to destroy Iran’s missile program, that’s a goal we can achieve.”“I think we need to do it,” Trump then told the room. Less than a day later, Trump gave the official go-ahead, saying: “Operation Epic Fury is approved. No aborts. Good luck.”

Op-ed-Trump’s ‘new, reasonable’ Iran is neither new nor reasonable, and he knows it-‘We won, okay,’ the US president declared. Not so long as the regime retains power, its nuclear ambitions undimmed * Also, Netanyahu’s empathy deficit By David Horovitz-7 April 2026, 4:36 pm

This Editor’s Note was sent out earlier Tuesday in ToI’s weekly update email to members of the Times of Israel Community. To receive these Editor’s Notes as they’re released, join the ToI Community here.There is a blatant contradiction between US President Donald Trump’s repeated insistence, on the one hand, that the war against Iran has achieved “regime change” and he is now negotiating with new, “much more reasonable leaders,” and his simultaneous acknowledgement, on the other, that any Iranian who dares to take to the streets faces an immediate death sentence.“Well, they should do it,” he said at his White ‌House press conference on Monday, when asked whether the Iranian public should try anew to rise up against its oppressors. “But, ​again, the consequences are ​great… I mean, they were told, ‘If you protest, you will be shot immediately.'”The same goes for his simultaneous contention, also expounded at Monday’s press conference, that the purportedly new regime is “not as radicalized” as its predecessor, but that, nonetheless, “Israel will be gone, the Middle East will be gone,” if Iran gets the bomb.The fact is that the “new” faces of Iran are just like the “old” faces — except newly aware of their immense potential to extort the world via control over the Strait of Hormuz, and more aware, too, that nuclear weapons would make them broadly invincible.What that underlines, in turn, is the imperative to close down the Islamic Republic’s pathways to the bomb as hermetically as possible.Along with the tactical successes of a war now in its sixth week — the targeting of key leaders, commanders and nuclear scientists, of military facilities, of military-related industries — have come a series of disappointments and surprises: Iran has fired potent missiles, with longer ranges and a mix of devastating warheads, at far more diverse targets than expected; it has managed to keep on firing despite the relentless strikes on its launchers and stocks; a hoped-for Kurdish invasion failed to materialize; and US allies, in the region and beyond, did not join the fight, even after some of them were heavily targeted.In terms of strategic goals and expectations, the campaign to date has not created a sufficiently secure reality on the streets to enable the Iranian masses to “take control of your government,” as Trump had promised on February 28, when assuring Iranians that “the hour of your freedom is at hand.”And crucially, Iran, for now, retains that 450-kilogram stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent — just a short step away from weapons grade — albeit buried underground, with the US constantly “watching” by satellite, the president said last week.“If we see them make a move, even a move for it, we will hit them with missiles very hard again,” Trump vowed.But what about the not-so-distant future, when he is no longer president? And what if it turns out that other, untenable, surprises lie in wait, in terms of hitherto unknown progress toward the bomb, including in weaponization? Were the current Israeli government more diplomatically capable, it would be coordinating with the many nations in this region who fear for their futures if the Islamic Republic is allowed to stand, and galvanizing a chorus of public and private advocacy to further impress upon the wider American public that today’s buried or obliterated Iranian nuclear program can become tomorrow’s Iranian nuclear arsenal, and that the danger is not regional, but global.“We won, okay,” the US president claimed on Monday night. But for all his contradictions, as Trump knows full well, the Iranian regime against which he went to war remains in power, and its nuclear ambitions are anything but dimmed.The prime minister’s priorities-This has been a particularly ignominious few days in terms of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s skewed priorities and familiar incapacity for empathy.Last week, in a late-night maneuver, he furtively redirected hundreds of more millions of dollars from the public purse to the coalition’s ultra-Orthodox partners — funding those who oppose performing military service to protect the country, at the expense of those who are fighting on the front lines.Then, on Sunday, even as search and rescue teams were working to recover what tragically proved to be the four bodies of a beloved Israeli family from the rubble of a Haifa building hit by an Iranian ballistic missile, the prime minister was busy denouncing the Supreme Court for approving “a left-wing demonstration in Tel Aviv” while ostensibly restricting Jews “from praying at the Western Wall” during Passover.In fact, the court ruled to raise the numbers allowed to gather at the Western Wall and the Temple Mount amid the ongoing war from the Home Front Command’s recommended 50 to 100. And the court’s president Isaac Amit, a prime focus of the coalition’s efforts to demonize and subjugate the judiciary, lamented while hearing petitions on the matter that the Western Wall, the “innermost soul of the Jewish world,” was empty. “Freedom to demonstrate and freedom of worship and religion carry the same constitutional weight,” Amit specified.That same evening, in a quite astonishing act of political self-harm, the prime minister also announced he had refused to accept the resignation of his spokesman and chief of staff, who was found to have made a series of highly derogatory racist remarks about Sephardi Jews in general and several of Netanyahu’s Likud Party lawmakers of Middle Eastern origin in particular. Only when his own supporters, including the insulted MKs, rose up in protest did the prime minister reverse course.And finally, most egregiously, Netanyahu filmed an Instagram video that day in which he castigated those who are warning that Israel “has lost the north” amid the battering of northern Israel by Hezbollah rocket and missile fire. Local leaders have been among those issuing that anguished criticism, but the prime minister declared to the camera that Israel is in the ascendant, Hezbollah is being ground down, and that naysayers are amplifying Iranian and Hezbollah propaganda when they ought to be joining “the national struggle” on the road to victory.Can he not manage even a modicum of empathy for hundreds of thousands of Israelis under nonstop enemy attack, with little or no time to seek shelter — not to mention the rest of the country, responsibly and resiliently either serving in the IDF or doing its best to stay safe and function in a war whose necessity it fully recognizes?

Spain says ‘unacceptable’ for Israel to continue Lebanon campaign By AFP Today, 11:26 am-APR 8,26

Spain’s foreign minister says it is “unacceptable” that Israel is continuing its ground campaign in Lebanon after the United States and Iran agreed on a two-week ceasefire to halt the regional war.“All fronts must cease, and all fronts also means Lebanon. It is unacceptable that Israel’s war, Israel’s invasion of a sovereign country like Lebanon… continues,” Jose Manuel Albares tells public radio RNE.Israeli forces entered Lebanon to drive away Hezbollah after the terror group began launching attacks on Israel in response to the war with Iran.Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez welcomed the US-Iran ceasefire as “good news” on X but said Spain would not “applaud those who set fire to the world because they show up with a bucket.”