The ceasefire President Donald J. Trump announced Tuesday the 07th of April 2026 night fell apart almost immediately. Israel complained that it hadn’t been consulted, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted Israel did not accept an end to its bombardment of southern Lebanon as a way to dislodge Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. Steven Scheer of Reuters noted on the 10th of April 2026 that Israel has been under a state of emergency that halted the work of the judicial system, but with the end of the war, Netanyahu’s trial for corruption was scheduled to begin again on Saturday the 11th of April 2026.
Iran has been permitting certain ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, but responded to Israel’s continued bombing by closing the strait again.
Vice President J.D. Vance said there was a “legitimate misunderstanding” about whether the ceasefire included Lebanon. “We never made that promise,” he said. But in fact, Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, who posted the terms of the ceasefire on Tuesday the 07th of April 2026, noted that the agreement did include a ceasefire in Lebanon. He tagged Vance in the post.
As more information about the achievement of the ceasefire became known, it reflected poorly on President Donald Trump. Humza Jilani, Abigail Hauslohner, and Demetri Sevastopulo of the Financial Times reported at the begining of April 2026 that while President Donald Trump claimed Iran was begging for a deal to end hostilities, it was actually the Trump administration that was pushing Pakistan to broker a deal with Iran. Tyler Pager and Katie Rogers of the New York Times reported that the White House was helping to craft Sharif’s social media statements, suggesting President Donald Trump “was actively looking for a way out of the crisis” as his own imposed deadline drew closer on Tuesday the 07th of April 2026 evening.
Although Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claims the U.S. has had a “historic and overwhelming victory” that achieved “every single objective,” David S. Cloud of the Wall Street Journal wrote at the begining of April 2026 that Iran saw the ceasefire as a “triumph” because it had survived a 38-day barrage from the United States and Israel and because it had gained control over the Strait of Hormuz, inflicting deep damage on the U.S. economy. Iran claimed the U.S. had suffered “an undeniable, historic, and crushing defeat.” Iran’s new leadership is even more anti-Western than the previous leadership, killed in the early days of the U.S.-Israeli strikes.
On the 10th of April 2026, the president posted his own interpretation of the terms of the agreement, but they were aspirational and asked for Iran to agree to terms that were less advantageous for the U.S. than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that President Barack Obama negotiated in 2015 and President Donald Trump tore up in 2018.
The actual terms of the ceasefire agreement were murky. On Wednesday the 08th of April 2026, Iran released its version of the points of the agreement ; the White House said those points weren’t the basis for the ceasefire.
Also on the 09th of April 2026, President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. was considering joining the Iranians in demanding tolls for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. “We’re thinking of doing it as a joint venture. It’s a way of securing it,” he told journalist Jonathan Karl. But today President Donald Trump posted : “There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait—They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now !” Hours later, he added : “Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz. That is not the agreement we have !”
By Wednesday the 08th of April 2026 night, President Donald Trump was backing away from his celebratory statements about the ceasefire. “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 Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE. In the meantime our great Military is Loading Up and Resting, looking forward, actually, to its next Conquest. AMERICA IS BACK !”
Meanwhile, Jonah Kaplan and Michael Kaplan of CBS News reported today that survivors of the deadly March 1 attack on U.S. forces in Kuwait, which killed six service members and wounded over 20 more, disputed Defense Secretary Hegseth’s description of the deadly drone that hit their position as a “squirter,” suggesting it squirted through the defenses of a fortified area. The survivors say their position was not fortified and was dangerously exposed to attack.
Although Congress was not scheduled to conduct business again until April the 13th 2026, Democrats were in Washington, D.C., on the 10th of April 2026 to try to force Republicans to vote on a war powers resolution to end the war on Iran. Republicans have steadfastly refused to discuss Trump’s attack on Iran, even on Tuesday the 07th of April 2026 after President Donald Trump threatened that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” That pattern continued today. The Republican in charge of the House, Chris Smith of New Jersey, refused to recognize the Democrats and ended the day’s session immediately. He later said the Democrats should get behind the ceasefire agreement.
Then, at the begining of April 2026 Trump’s social media account posted : “The Wall Street Journal, one of the worst and most inaccurate ‘Editorial Boards’ in the World, stated that I ‘declared premature victory in Iran.’ Actually, it is a Victory, and there’s nothing ‘premature’ about it ! Because of me, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON and, very quickly, you’ll see Oil start flowing, with or without the help of Iran and, to me, it makes no difference, either way. The Wall Street Journal will, as usual, live to eat their words. They are always quick to criticize, but never to admit when they’re wrong, which is most of the time ! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
