Free Republic

Following the US-Iran Ceasefire, Iran announced a closing of the international traffic separation scheme by mining the area and re-routing ships through a new traffic pattern within the territorial waters of Iran and under jurisdiction and control.

Keir Starmer: “We just reached a ceasefire”. We? WE!?? No, they reached a ceasefire. You had nothing to do with it.

Donald Trump's dramatic climbdown from his chilling threat to wipe out Iran's civilization has exposed the limits - and the rising risks - of the U.S. president's typically unpredictable negotiating style. His decision on Tuesday to back down and agree to a two-week ceasefire – which critics mockingly called another example ​of “TACO,” or “Trump always chickens out” – marked the biggest step so far toward de-escalating a 40-day-old war that has shaken the Middle East and disrupted global energy markets. But Trump’s claims of victory over Iran overlooked questions about ‌the effectiveness of mixing maximalist demands, erratic rhetoric and...

Investors around the globe on Wednesday cheered what appears to be the beginning of the end of the military clash between the U.S. and Iran, sending stocks higher and government bond yields lower. Oil prices plunged on the promise that the Strait of Hormuz may soon be open for shipping.The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 1,000 points by midday, a 2.3 percent gain. The S&P 500 rose 2.1 percent. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.6 percent. Stocks had been even higher earlier in the morning but pared gains as reports on ongoing missle strikes and a drone attack on...

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, accused the U.S. on Wednesday of violating the two-week ceasefire agreement. “The deep historical distrust we hold toward the United States stems from its repeated violations of all forms of commitments — a pattern that has regrettably been repeated once again,” Ghalibaf said in a statement posted on social media. Three parts of Iran’s 10-point ceasefire proposal have been violated, Ghalibaf said. The violations are Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon, the entry of a drone into Iranian airspace, and the denial of the Islamic Republic’s right to enrich uranium, he said. “In such situation,...

The US and Iran have apparently agreed to a two-week ceasefire. President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that, based on conversations with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, he will delay the "bombing and attack of Iran" for two weeks.Trump said the decision came after the leaders requested the U.S. "hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran," which the president previously threatened would start at 8 p.m. eastern time if a deal was not reached. The president said the postponement is subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to "the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE,...

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued an ultimatum to Iran Wednesday, urging the nation to give up its enriched uranium — or President Trump will launch another “Operation Midnight Hammer” to seize it. While the two-week cease-fire deal between the US and Iran does not address the nearly 1,000 pounds of highly enriched uranium in Tehran’s possession, Hegseth told reporters on Wednesday that the US will secure the atomic material no matter what. “We’ll get it. We’ll take it, we’ll take it out,” Hegseth said of the enriched uranium, vowing to complete one of President Trump’s main goals of the...