Free Republic

A fragile ceasefire agreement in the war began with bombs continuing to explode in Lebanon and contradictory statements about whether Iran will continue to control the critical Strait of Hormuz energy choke point.But the most likely scenarios moving forward involve either Iran exerting more control over global energy markets than it did before the fighting started in March, or the current tenuous agreement merely delaying another military escalation by days or weeks, geopolitical and energy experts said.

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.

On Thursday’s Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough eagerly enlisted conservative voices—from Fox to Megyn Kelly to even Tucker Carlson—to do his anti-Trump dirty work. File it under: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. [snip] Brzezinski then introduced a lengthy clip of Megyn Kelly delivering a bleep-filled tirade against Trump’s social media posts on Iran. Amid widespread criticism of Trump’s use of an f-bomb in his Truth Social post on Iran, Kelly—ironically—delivered a profanity-laced rant of her own.Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

President Donald J. Trump laid out clear objectives in Operation Epic Fury — and in just 38 days, the greatest fighting force the world has ever known has met those objectives with overwhelming strength and lethal precision. Iran has now agreed to a ceasefire and reopening the Strait of Hormuz as the Trump Administration negotiates a broader peace agreement — once more proving Peace Through Strength victorious.Secretary of War Pete Hegseth: “From the strike that took out Qasem Soleimani to tearing up the disastrous Obama Iran deal, to the precision campaign that obliterated Iran’s nuclear sites in Operation Midnight Hammer...

Americans have increasingly negative views of Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. * 60% of U.S. adults have an unfavorable view of Israel, up from 53% last year. * 59% have little or no confidence in Netanyahu to do the right thing regarding world affairs – up from 52% last year. * In both political parties, majorities of adults under the age of 50 now rate Israel and Netanyahu negatively. The survey was conducted March 23-29 among 3,507 U.S. adults. It was fielded about a month into the U.S.- and Israeli-led...

All U.S. Ships, Aircraft, and Military Personnel, with additional Ammunition, Weaponry, and anything else that is appropriate and necessary for the lethal prosecution and destruction of an already substantially degraded Enemy, will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with. If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the “Shootin’ Starts,” bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before. It was agreed, a long time ago, and despite all of the fake rhetoric to the contrary - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS and, the...

Megyn Kelly on "Piers Morgan Uncensored" discussed the damage sustained by the Trump political coalition, the global economy, and U.S. allies, after 40 days at war with Iran. “The question is now not, who has Trump lost. The question is who remains," she said about the MAGA coalition. "He’s underwater with men, including young men and young people. The young person coalition that Charlie Kirk delivered to the president is gone. They’ve abandoned Donald Trump." "These battles in the Middle East have been fought now for 20-plus years, and we continue to learn the same lesson over and over. It’s...

Iran’s nuclear chief said on Thursday that demands by adversaries to limit the country’s uranium enrichment program would fail. Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said such calls were “wishful thinking” and could not stop Iran’s nuclear activities. “No law or individual can stop us,” Mohammad Eslami said, adding that past actions by adversaries, including the current war, had failed.

Like General Patton, President Trump also understands how to express himself in a way that serves the dual purpose of communicating with America’s enemies and, at the same time, with the American people. General George S. Patton knew how to get a point across: “When I want my men to remember something important, to really make it stick, I give it to them double dirty. It may not sound nice to some bunch of little old ladies at an afternoon tea party, but it helps my soldiers to remember.” On April 5, 2026, President Trump directed a profane Truth Social...

Hey, I’m as happy as everyone else, but I can’t help but notice those missiles raining down on Israel. Well, it’s another glorious day, or something. President Donald Trump’s threats against the Islamic Republic of Iran have apparently worked, a “ceasefire” has been concluded, and as he did when he forced Israel to stop fighting Hamas when it had a chance to destroy the jihad terror group once and for all, Trump is once again hailing the dawn of peace in the Middle East: A big day for World Peace! Iran wants it to happen, they’ve had enough! Likewise, so...

“And they breaking of My people easily, saying, “Peace, peace,” but there is no peace,” Jeremiah 6:14 Everyone who is anyone is calling for peace. The calls for peace, Pope Leo’s ‘Vigil for Peace’ and the protests of peace might have been of more use when Iran had been conducting a Jihad against us for 47 years, killing over 1,000 Americans, kidnapping, torturing and holding others hostages, firing rockets, plotting assassinations and doing other rather ‘un-peaceful’ things. Peace is not the absence of war. It’s the absence of evil. As long as evil exists, there is war. Not wars that...

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump All U.S. Ships, Aircraft, and Military Personnel, with additional Ammunition, Weaponry, and anything else that is appropriate and necessary for the lethal prosecution and destruction of an already substantially degraded Enemy, will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with. If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the “Shootin’ Starts,” bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before. It was agreed, a long time ago, and despite all of the fake rhetoric to the contrary - NO...

The Left and some on the Right went crazy over a recent Trump tweet. He warned that if the Iranian regime did not cease blocking the international Strait of Hormuz, he would hit its dual military-civilian infrastructure. He promised that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” His wording may have been sloppy, but Trump obviously meant that the murderous civilization/culture of radical Iranian theocratic Islam would cease to exist and wouldn’t come back once power plants and transportation systems crucial to the regime’s survival were cut off. Why do we know that? Because, unlike...

According to Lebanese social media accounts, without independent confirmation, and a report on Israeli Channel 24, Hezbollah was allegedly planning a military coup in Lebanon that was ultimately disrupted by Israeli strikes. The reports claim the plan, involving Hezbollah, Amal, and allied groups, aimed to seize key government institutions, including the Grand Serail, and topple the Lebanese government, drawing comparisons to the events of May 7, 2008. Some accounts further allege that the situation nearly unfolded earlier in the day, before Israeli strikes targeted what were described as operational cells ahead of “zero hour.” The Channel 24 report adds that...

Bungary's opposition party Tisza is on track to win a two-thirds parliamentary majority in Sunday's election, allowing it ‌to amend the constitution and key laws needed to unlock ‌EU funds, a projection from polling agency Median showed on Wednesday. Veteran nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban ​and his Fidesz party are facing the biggest challenge to their rule in 16 years as the centre-right Tisza party, led by Peter Magyar, is leading in independent polls. Tisza is seen winning between 138 and 142 seats in the ‌199-member parliament, according to ⁠an estimate based on an analysis of Median's five most recent...

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...

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,...

American multinational energy corporation Chevron is now importing an average of 250,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude oil per day into the United States, the BBC reported Tuesday.According to recent reports, Venezuela’s monthly crude oil exports have once again surpassed one million barrels per day. Andy Walz – president of downstream, midstream, and chemicals at Chevron – confirmed to the BBC that the company is importing the equivalent a quarter of a million barrels of Venezuelan oil per day. The BBC detailed that the crude oil tanker Minerva Gloria recently docked at a wharf in the Mississippi sound, carrying 400,000 barrels...

Former SAS soldiers warn the prolonged war crimes investigation into Ben Roberts-Smith threatens to create life or death hesitation for troops in combat situations.The father of an Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan has questioned why a dedicated team of investigators has spent six years building a case against Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith while his son’s killer remains free.It comes as former SAS soldiers warn the Office of the Special Investigator’s (OSI) prolonged investigation into alleged war crimes is causing mental health issues to military families and creating life or death issues for soldiers in combat.Hugh Poate’s son Robert was...

Australia’s most decorated soldier Ben Roberts-Smith faces five war crimes murder charges, but a retired army Colonel and ADF legal expert claims prosecutors will struggle to secure a conviction.Prosecutors squaring up against the nation’s most decorated soldier will struggle to get a successful war crimes conviction regardless of the quality of the evidence, according to a retired colonel of the Australian Army Legal Corps.Bruce Levet, who served the Australian Army Legal Corps until 2022, told The Daily Telegraph he did not believe Victoria Cross recipient and former Special Air Service corporal Ben Roberts-Smith would be convicted of five counts of...