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 My son has narrated the last book I wrote. Please consider listening to it and encouraging others to do so too. (Click HERE) World & Nation US, Iran Warn: With Talks in Limbo, We're Ready for War  The United States and Iran on Monday each warned they were ready for war as the clock ticked on a ceasefire, with lingering uncertainty over talks that President Donald Trump had announced would resume in Pakistan. The White House said Vice President JD Vance was ready to fly back to the Pakistani capital Islamabad, which was visibly preparing for a second round of talks on ending the war that has engulfed the Middle East and shaken global markets. But Tehran's cleric-run government declined to confirm that it would participate and accused the United States of violating the truce through its blockade of Iranian ports and seizure of a ship.
US Navy Turns Back 27 Ships Near Iran Ports Amid Strait of Hormuz Blockade  The U.S. Navy has turned back 27 ships attempting to enter or leave Iranian ports since an American blockade began about a week ago near the contested Strait of Hormuz, according to a New York Times report citing U.S. Central Command. A U.S. military official said on Monday that the most recent escalation involved the Iranian cargo ship Touska, which was disabled and seized by the Navy in the Gulf of Oman on Sunday after trying to evade the blockade, according to the report. It marked the first reported attempt by a vessel to run the U.S.-imposed blockade since it took effect last week.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard sidelines president as military grip expands President Pezeshkian reportedly unable to contact Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei as a 'military council' controls access  Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite branch of the Iranian armed forces, has blocked President Masoud Pezeshkian’s presidential appointments and erected what sources described as a security cordon around Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, a report published Tuesday by Iran International said. The IRGC effectively has assumed control over key state functions, the report claimed. "It was always a matter of when, not if, the IRGC was going to step forward even more than it has in the last three decades," Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. Pezeshkian has reached a "complete political deadlock" as tensions between his administration and the military leadership deepen, according to the report. Trump doesn’t want to extend Iran cease-fire — and sends firm warning to Islamic Republic: ‘I expect to be bombing’  President Trump has rejected the idea of letting talks with Iran keep going if they run past tomorrow’s cease-fire expiration without a deal in place. “Well, I don’t want to do that. We don’t have that much time,” Trump told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Tuesday morning when asked about the idea. “They have to negotiate. And, you know, the one thing I’ll say is this: Iran can get themselves at a very good footing. If they make a deal, they can make themselves into a strong nation again, a wonderful nation again,” the president continued. Later, Trump clarified that if the cease-fire ends without an agreement, he is prepared to resume attacking the Islamic Republic. “I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with,” he said. Iran ‘prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield’ as Trump threatens to drop ‘lots of bombs’ if there’s no deal  Iran has threatened to reveal “new cards” if the cease-fire isn’t extended and conflict restarts, while President Trump warned “lots of bombs” will start going off if there’s no peace deal. Mohammed-Bagher Ghalibaf, the Islamic Republic’s parliamentary speaker, said Monday the country has “prepared” during the truce — before lashing out at Trump, who renewed his threat to blitz Iranian infrastructure if talks are unsuccessful. “Trump, by imposing a siege and violating the cease-fire, seeks to turn this negotiating table — in his own imagination — into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering,” Ghalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation in Islamabad last week, wrote on X. “We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield.” Dem Sen. Chris Murphy bizarrely applauds disputed report that Iran broke through US blockade: ‘Shameful’  Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, who has drawn 2028 presidential buzz, bizarrely applauded a disputed report claiming that over two dozen Iranian shadow vessels bypassed the US blockade. “Awesome,” Murphy (D-Conn.) posted on X Monday in response to a report from the shipping journal Lloyd’s List. Follow The Post’s live coverage of President Trump and national politics for the latest news and analysis The Post contacted Murphy’s office for comment and context on his social media post. Nancy Mace introduces resolution to expel Cory Mills from Congress: ‘Protected for far too long’  Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) introduced a resolution on Monday to expel Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) from the House of Representatives over allegations of domestic violence, sexual misconduct, stolen valor and profiteering from federal contracts as a member of Congress. Mills has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee since November, when an effort by Mace to censure the congressman failed, and the slew of allegations against the Florida Republican were referred to the panel. “The swamp has protected Cory Mills for far too long and we are done letting it slide,” Mace said in a statement. “We tried to censure him and strip him from his committee assignments. Both parties blocked it, but we are not backing down,” she continued. While the House Ethics Committee has yet to release its findings in the Mills probe, Mace argued the evidence against the congressman is “overwhelming.” Indicted Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick refuses to resign as expulsion vote looms Cherfilus-McCormick told Fox News Digital she will not resign, saying 'this is not the time to abandon the district'  Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., may be running out of road as Republicans lay the groundwork for an expulsion vote as soon as Tuesday. The House Ethics Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday afternoon to formally recommend punitive action against the embattled lawmaker. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., has vowed to force a vote on Cherfilus-McCormick’s expulsion regardless of the committee’s suggested sanction. Despite the looming expulsion threat, Cherfilus-McCormick has resisted calls to quit Congress on her own terms. A successful expulsion vote would make Cherfilus-McCormick the first lawmaker since former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., in 2023 to be expelled by the House. Just six lawmakers have been expelled from the House in U.S. history. James Comer raises felony questions over Ilhan Omar's finances after disclosure discrepancy Revised filing showed Omar, husband's assets between $18,004 and $95,000, down from up to $30M  House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is raising questions about possible felony conduct with Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s finances after a glaring discrepancy between an initial disclosure listing up to $30 million in net worth and a revised filing showing less than $100,000. "Who makes a multimillion-dollar mistake on their financial disclosure form?" Comer asked Monday on "Hannity." "Either her accountant went to one of those 'Quality Learing Centers' in Minnesota, or she lied about it," he continued, mocking an allegedly fraudulent Minneapolis daycare whose sign was notoriously misspelled. Trump Says He Would Be Disappointed If Warsh Didn't Cut Rates Quickly  President Donald Trump on Tuesday told CNBC that he would be disappointed if Kevin Warsh, his nominee for Fed chair, did not cut interest rates right away once he took office after being approved by the Senate. Trump also said "we have to find out" about the construction costs of the new Federal Reserve building.
President Trump must reject a second Munich and hold firm against Iran President Trump’s place in history depends upon his resolve right now, as does freedom for the Iranian people and stability for the entire region Hugh Hewitt By Hugh Hewitt
Americans must worry that Munich 2.0 looms. 2026 cannot become as infamous as 1938. President Donald Trump’s dispatch of negotiators to Islamabad for the resumption of negotiations with the rump regime atop the Islamic Republic of Iran is a moment of peril for the world, the region, the people of Iran, Israel, the United States and, of course, for President Donald Trump. There is no doubt that all of the above parties — except the Iranian regime and its proxies — are in much improved positions than they were on Feb. 27 — the eve of the battle with the Islamic Republic. The world is safer that the military and defense industrial might of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp is smashed and its proxy force of terrorists — Hezbollah in Lebanon — has been humbled again by the Israel Defense Forces. The leaders of the civilized world, whether they say it out loud or not, are relieved. Epic Fury just sent China’s Xi Jinping an unmistakable message By Zineb Riboua
After weeks remaining largely absent from the diplomatic picture as the US conducted Operation Epic Fury against Iran, Xi called Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman to publicly urge a peaceful reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The pressure on Beijing is showing. At least five Iranian-linked tankers heading from the Gulf of Oman to Malaysia have changed course after the US Navy warned that ships carrying Iranian oil would be intercepted anywhere in the world. And now, every concession the IRGC withholds costs it more than the one before. Operation Epic Fury destroyed the military capacity Iran has used to threaten to close the strait, and dismantled the architecture the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps built to survive the decapitation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. |
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