As Trump claims ‘no sticking points’ and that deal possible in days, Iran insists he’s lying

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-says-no-sticking-points-at-all-predicts-deal-with-iran-could-come-in-days/

President says US will remove Iran’s enriched uranium ‘at leisurely pace,’ but Iran denies it; also claims Iran will stop backing Hamas, Hezbollah; US and Iranian officials say significant gaps remain

US President Donald Trump signaled growing optimism Friday about a potential deal with Iran to end the war amid a temporary ceasefire, saying negotiators could meet as soon as this weekend and that an agreement may be reached within days. He boldly claimed there were “no sticking points,” even as US and Iranian officials cautioned that major key issues remain unresolved.

The US leader spoke with several news outlets Friday and issued a long series of posts on his Truth Social network, following the Iranian announcement that it had opened the Strait of Hormuz as a response to the Israeli-Hezbollah ceasefire in Lebanon, with Trump predicting a deal to permanently end the war in a matter of days and saying that the US would remove Iran’s enriched uranium at a “leisurely pace.”

Iran swiftly denied any readiness to relinquish its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and it did not confirm another Trump claim, that it was ready to halt its support for proxy terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah — issues that have hitherto prevented an agreement.

IDF soldiers face threat from IEDs as Lebanon ceasefire terms prove weaker than previous deal

 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bkb1ik11azl

Two days after the ceasefire in Lebanon took effect, it is already clear that its terms are less favorable than those agreed following Operation Northern Arrows at the end of 2024. Now, the main concern in the IDF is improvised explosive devices planted before the ceasefire in areas under Israeli control.

One such device in the village of Jabin, about 3.5 kilometers from the border, killed reservist paratrooper Barak Kalfon, 48, from the community of Adi in the Jezreel Valley on Saturday. Three other soldiers were wounded in the incident, two moderately and one lightly. Kalfon was among the first to enter the structure alongside the company commander. During the search, the explosive device planted by Hezbollah detonated. The initial assessment is that it was not remotely triggered.

Similar incidents have occurred during ceasefires in the Gaza Strip, and the IDF is placing particular emphasis on the threat. Defense Minister Israel Katz paid tribute to Kalfon, saying: “Barak was a brave and dedicated fighter and a devoted family man. In his civilian work as an engineer at Rafael, he made a significant contribution to Israel’s security, combining the highest level of professional commitment with many years of meaningful reserve service in defense of the state.” 

Trump declares war in Lebanon over

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/423124

Updated US intelligence assessments indicate that Iran still holds a significant arsenal, amounting to roughly half of the capabilities it had before the outbreak of the conflict with the United States and Israel.

According to the data cited by The New York Times, Iran currently possesses 60% of its missile launchers and 40% of its UAV (drone) capabilities.

Tensions between the United States and Iran have once again reached a peak following a decision by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to once again close the Strait of Hormuz-less than a day after announcing its reopening following the ceasefire in Lebanon.

On Saturday, the IDF said that since the ceasefire came into effect, IDF soldiers south of the "yellow line" in southern Lebanon have identified in several incidents in which terrorists violated the ceasefire understandings by approaching from north of the yellow line toward IDF soldiers, posing an immediate threat.

Following their identification, and in order to remove the threat, the Israeli Air Force, together with ground forces, conducted precise strikes against the terrorists.

Artillery fire was carried out in support of the ground troops operating in the area, and terrorist infrastructure sites used to facilitate attacks were struck in response to the threats.

Earlier on Saturday, IDF soldiers identified a terrorist cell that violated the ceasefire understandings and approached IDF soldiers operating south of the ''yellow line" in southern Lebanon, a defense line dedicated to preventing an imminent threat to Israel’s northern communities.

Iran's Revolutionalry Guards 'mosquito fleet' is a serious threat in the Strait of Hormuz

 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rjxpoi11a11x

 Despite U.S. claims of crippling Iran’s navy, the Revolutionary Guards’ fast-boat fleet continues to enforce a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, using guerrilla tactics and hidden bases to disrupt global oil shipping routes; they have been a nuisance in the Persian Gulf for decades

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly boasted that Iran’s navy was almost entirely destroyed in the war, but he has largely ignored the fact that another Iranian naval force — that of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), rather than the regular Iranian navy — remains operational and continues to pose a significant threat to ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC /navy relies on small, fast boats that are hidden in fortified bases along Iran’s coastline or on islands in the strategic waterway. Although the U.S. military has sought to destroy them as well, it has acknowledged that only about half have been sunk so far, without providing exact figures.

Using these boats, which are sometimes armed with missiles or drones, along with concealed launch sites near the strait’s shores, Iran has continued to enforce its blockade of the strategic passage through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply normally flows. 

Netanyahu shocked Trump 'prohibited' strikes on Lebanon, believes it inconsistent with ceasefire

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-893414

Trump’s public remarks appeared to exceed the text of the US-backed truce, prompting Israeli officials to seek clarification while clashes on the ground continued.

Israel was surprised by US President Donald Trump’s announcement that the IDF is “prohibited” from continuing strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to a Saturday Axios report.

The report noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “personally stunned and alarmed” by the post, and that Israeli officials sought clarification from the White House.

This comes after Trump posted on Truth Social that Israel was prohibited from “bombing Lebanon any longer,” and that the US will work with Lebanon separately and “deal with the Hezbollah situation in an appropriate manner.”

FBI Director Kash Patel bashes media over Atlantic story, threatens lawsuit

 https://thehill.com/homenews/5838055-fbi-director-kash-patel-bashes-media-over-atlantic-story-threatens-lawsuit/?__vfz=medium%3Dconversations_top_pages

FBI Director Kash Patel has threatened to sue The Atlantic after the magazine reported that his colleagues have grown alarmed by what it described as episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.

The magazine published a story on Friday titled “The FBI Director Is MIA,” citing conversations with more than two dozen people, including current and former FBI officials, members of Congress, hospitality-industry workers and others.

“Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information and private conversations, they described Patel’s tenure as a management failure and his personal behavior as a national-security vulnerability,” reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick wrote.

The report stated that Patel has been known “to drink to the point of obvious intoxication” in front of White House and other Trump administration staff and that on multiple occasions within the past year, “members of his security detail had difficulty waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated.”

IDF confirms strikes on Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, in first since ceasefire

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-confirms-strikes-on-hezbollah-operatives-in-lebanon-in-first-since-ceasefire/

Army says it acted in accordance with deal, which allows Israel to strike in ‘self-defense’; Hezbollah official says terror group ‘not concerned’ by Israel-Lebanon talks

The Israeli military on Saturday confirmed carrying out several strikes in southern Lebanon over the previous day against Hezbollah operatives who “violated the ceasefire understandings,” in the first such action since the truce took effect at midnight between Thursday and Friday.

The announcement of the strikes came a day after US President Donald Trump said that Israel was “prohibited” from bombing Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, though a US official later clarified to The Times of Israel that while IDF can not carry out any offensive military operations, the terms of the truce allow it to carry out defensive strikes against “planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.”

This is the scariest question about Putin — and Trump

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/04/16/russia-putin-threat-europe-nato-raises-questions-about-trump/

Russian President Vladimir Putin, always paranoid about enemies, may be feeling cornered this spring. His army is at a standstill in Ukraine, despite suffering enormous casualties. He appears powerless to help Iran, one of his few allies. And his best friend in Europe, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, just got dumped.

Here’s Rumer’s stark warning: “Having invaded Ukraine under the false pretext of needing to secure its western flank, Russia is poised to emerge from the war less secure, more resentful, and more threatening to Europe than before the war. Its threat perceptions will cast a long shadow over Europe.”

Putin is a risk taker, as his invasion of Ukraine showed. What if he decides that his window of opportunity to challenge NATO and impose a new order is closing? In the most ominous passage of his report, Rumer writes: “If Putin is truly intent on imposing his vision of European security on the continent, he may decide that time is not on his side, as Europe is racing to rearm, and launch an attack against a Baltic neighbor to demonstrate that NATO’s Article 5 is essentially a dead letter.”

What would Trump do if Putin struck a European country? For me, that’s the scariest question. Trump spends so much time bad-mouthing NATO that Europeans already doubt the credibility of American security guarantees. His latest anti-NATO tirades have focused on its refusal to aid the United States and Israel in the Iran war. Before Rutte visited Washington this month, Trump called NATO a “paper tiger” that “Putin’s not afraid of.”

Rabbi Max Refuah Shleimah

 

Iran restores ‘strict management’ of Hormuz Strait as US blockade persists

 https://thehill.com/policy/international/5837564-iran-strict-control-strait-of-hormuz-us-blockade/

The Iranian regime said early Saturday that it is resuming “strict” control over the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.’s naval blockade in the critical trading corridor and as the fragile two-week ceasefire nears its end.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that the strait would return to its “previous state” and will be “under the strict management and control” of their military forces. 

The IRGC confirmed Saturday that it fired at two vessels in the waterway that “tried to bypass Iran’s authority.” This comes a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared that the strait was “completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire” for all commercial ships.

Iran reimposes Hormuz closure after US maintains blockade; IRGC gunboats fire at ships

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-reimposes-strait-of-hormuz-restrictions-accuses-us-of-violating-deal-to-reopen-waterway/

Tehran warns it will continue to block strait as long as Trump blockades Iran-linked shipping; US president says blockade ‘in full force’ until regime reaches a deal, including on its nuclear program

Iran swiftly reversed course on reopening the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, reimposing restrictions on the critical waterway after the US said it would not end its blockade of Iran-linked shipping.

Iran’s announcement came after Trump said Friday that even though Tehran announced the strait’s reopening, the American blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the US, including on its nuclear program.

Iran defies Trump: Our uranium is sacred and not going anywhere

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/425672

Trump told CBS News in an interview earlier on Friday that Iran has "agreed to everything" and will cooperate with the United States to remove its enriched uranium from the country.

Iran firmly rejects Trump’s claim that it agreed to hand over its enriched uranium stockpile, declaring it “as sacred as the soil of Iran" and will not be transferred “anywhere."

Iran's Foreign Ministry on Friday stressed the country's stockpile of enriched uranium would not be transferred "anywhere", after US President Donald Trump said that the Islamic Republic had agreed to hand it over.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told Iranian state media that "the transfer of uranium to the US has not been presented as an option."

Trump rails against court decision that once again stalls his White House ballroom project

 https://www.npr.org/2026/04/17/nx-s1-5788576/trump-rails-against-court-decision-that-once-again-stalls-his-white-house-ballroom-project

President Donald Trump railed against a federal judge's decision on Thursday that continues to block above-ground construction of a $400 million White House ballroom, allowing only below-ground work on a bunker and other "national security facilities" at the site.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon's latest ruling comes in response to an appeals court's instruction to clarify an earlier decision on the 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom planned for the site where it demolished the East Wing of the White House.

Trump on social media called Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush, a "Trump Hating" judge who "has gone out of his way to undermine National Security, and to make sure that this Great Gift to America gets delayed, or doesn't get built."

Hegseth shares air rescue group’s ‘Pulp Fiction’ prayer at Pentagon service

 https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5834822-hegseth-pulp-fiction-bible-reference/

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday repeated an air rescue group’s prayer that borrows from a scene in Quentin Tarantino’s film “Pulp Fiction.”

During a Pentagon service, Hegseth said the prayer — called CSAR 25:17, an apparent reference to Ezekiel 25:17 in the Bible — was recited during a mission to recover the pilot of a U.S. F-15E fighter jet shot down in Iran earlier this month.

On Thursday, videos of Hegseth reading the prayer circulated online, with some users and media outlets assuming Hegseth believed he was reading actual scripture.

Former White House strategist Steve Bannon on Thursday advised Hegseth to tone down religious references in briefings on the conflict with Iran, arguing they distract from the operational details outlined by military leaders.