Hours before he said bombing would resume, Donald Trump accepted a Pakistani request to indefinitely extend the ceasefire while the U.S. waits for a unified Iranian response, writes Joe Lauria.
Donald Trump extended Iran ceasefire indefinitely on Tuesday. (Official White House Photo/Molly Riley)
Tuesday, April 21
By Joe Lauria
Special to Consortium News
After a request from Pakistan, Donald Trump on Tuesday indefinitely extended a ceasefire with hours to go before U.S. bombing was set to resume while the U.S. waits for an Iranian response to U.S. proposals, Trump said.
“I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance was held back in Washington from going to Islamabad on Tuesday because Iran had not committed to sending a delegation. Earlier on Tuesday Trump had told CNBC that if Iran rejected U.S. demands, “I expect to be bombing” when the ceasefire was scheduled to end on Wednesday.
As Trump has threatened to destroy Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure and Iran has vowed to retaliate in kind against Gulf Arab states and Israel, a resumption of hostilities promises to bring about extensive regional destruction that would plunge the world into a long-term economic crisis of historic proportions.
Having won the 40 day war and refusing to go to Islamabad, Iran stood up to genocidal threats of the bully, who backed down, at least for the moment.
In his social media post, Trump emphasized that the ceasefire will now remain in effect until Iran’s “leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal.”
Iranian leaders have been publicly split over whether to resume the negotiations. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf have until now supported continued diplomacy, while the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has opposed it.
Responding to Trump’s announcement, an Ghalibaf adviser wrote on social media: “The extension of the cease-fire by Donald Trump has no meaning.”
Araghchi put out the following extensive statement:
“Sending a US delegation to Pakistan for negotiations is pointless at this stage. For the past two months, President Trump has spread falsehoods daily. You cannot negotiate with a partner who abandons truth. Let the record be clear, Iran has never agreed to surrender its Uranium. China has never agreed to stop defense cooperation with us.
The Strait of Hormuz was never opened by us under pressure. While the US President and his son profit daily, ordinary Americans and citizens across the world bear the cost of these lies and wars. The world must see what this is really about. This is not a fight over Iran’s uranium.
This is a fight to undermine the sustainability and self-sufficiency of China, Russia, and India. Until there is honesty, there can be no diplomacy.”
Esmail Baghaei, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said on Iranian TV Tuesday night: “No final decision has been made yet on whether to participate in the Pakistan talks. The reason is the contradictory messages, inconsistent behavior and unacceptable actions of the American side,” he said.
“Going back and forth is neither a criterion for success nor inherently valuable. What matters is that participation in a diplomatic process serves our national interests,” Baghaei said.
“That is why decision-making on this process, like any other matter, is done carefully and with all considerations in mind,” he said.
These rather firm statements and the fact that Ghalibaf and Araghchi did not go to Islamabad this week as both had indicated they would, shows that the IRCG position has, at least for the moment, prevailed.
The Unusually Public Iranian Split
All governments have internal divisions, sometimes severe. But all governments do what they can to hide it from their own people and especially from their enemies.
That rule of thumb of governing was perplexingly ignored over the weekend by the leadership in Iran.
In the midst of the tense ceasefire with the United States and Israel, and with the resumption of peace talks about to supposedly take place, the split broke into the open between the hardline IRGC leadership and the more moderate Araghchi and Ghalibaf (himself a former IRGC commander.)
The most bitter point of contention has been whether to attend the talks at all. Araghchi and Ghalibaf have been in favor of attending while the IRGC leaders have not.
The row began, inexplicably, in public at the weekend after a tweet by Araghchi on Friday saying that because of the ceasefire with Lebanon the Strait of Hormuz was now “completely open.” A day later the IRGC said it was closed again until the U.S. lifts its blockade.
On X, the IRGC’s Tasnim News Agency very frankly reported the split, scolding the foreign minister in public:
“Bad and Incomplete Tweet by Araghchi and Incorrect Ambiguity-Creation Regarding the Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz Our country’s Foreign Minister wrote in a tweet just minutes ago that, following the ceasefire in Lebanon, the Strait of Hormuz will be fully open for the passage of commercial ships for the remaining duration of the ceasefire period.
This tweet by Araghchi, which was published without the necessary and sufficient explanations, created various ambiguities regarding the conditions for passage, details, and mechanisms of passage, and led to a great deal of criticism.
While various conditions have been considered for this matter, one of the most important among them is the complete oversight by Iran’s armed forces over the passage of ships, and this passage shall be deemed null and void in the event of the continuation of the claimed naval blockade.
Publishing this tweet, without any verbal explanation or at least sufficient written explanations, constitutes a complete lack of tact in communication. It is obvious that the Foreign Ministry itself must either reconsider this type of communication or the Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council must fulfill its duty.
And while providing proper notifications in its own domain, it should create a more cohesive and better mechanism for notifications from some institutions, including the Foreign Ministry, and control them. The tweets that officials publish—even if they write them in English—are not seen only by foreign officials!
The great nation of Iran, too, is fully monitoring the scene in accordance with its revolutionary duty. Any attempt to create anxiety or despair among this divinely inspired nation constitutes political disobedience and disruption of national unity.”
Later on Saturday, Ghalibaf went on Iranian national television to air out the differences. Defending his decision to go to Islamabad, he said:
“Diplomacy… is neither a retreat from Iran’s demands nor separate from the battlefield, but a way to consolidate military gains and translate them into political outcomes and lasting peace … For me there is no distinction between the battlefield and the negotiating table. … ”
He said diplomacy is “neither a retreat from Iran’s demands nor separate from the battlefield, but a way to consolidate military gains.” He warned that Iran is ready if the U.S., for the third time, uses the cover of negotiations to launch a sneak attack. He said he would not negotiate under threat, and has “no trust in the enemy,”
Ghalibaf gave a key, and frank insight into how he sees U.S. military capability, with a hint that Trump may just be made enough to carry out his genocidal threats. “U.S. military superiority and capabilities should not be underestimated.” he said.
Who ultimately wins this battle will be key to who holds the most power in post-Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Iran. His son, now the supreme leader, has not weighed in publicly on whether Iran should take part in the talks. This could be why the disagreement broke into the public.
The differences between the two sides are tactical rather than fundamental with the nation rallying around the government after it was illegally attacked on Feb. 28.
Ghalibaf has made clear that diplomacy for him is not surrender but further victory through negotiation. What is most noteworthy is how public the Iranians allowed these differences to become.
Given the extreme danger the resumption of hostilities would pose to the region and to the world economy, every effort should be made for a diplomatic solution as untrustworthy as the Americans are. But it will require an acknowledgement by the U.S. and Israel that none of their war aims have been met — something it is difficult to imagine them doing. Hence the dangerous situation the region — and the world — are in.
Splitting Christ’s Head
Widely-circulated social media image, confirmed as real by Israel, of an Israeli soldier pounding the head of Christ. (Photographer unknown/first. posted on X by Younis Tirawi @ytirawi/Fair Use)
Meanwhile Israel is dealing with a public relations nightmare after a photo published on social media went viral of an occupying IDF soldier in a Lebanese village slamming a sledgehammer into the head of a fallen graven image of the crucified Christ.
It’s just what Israel needed. The Israeli government confirmed that the photograph is real and the soldier is being investigated. Netanyahu scrambled to contain the fallout from such a disastrous image on an America that everyday slips through the Zionists’ grasp.
He said he was “stunned and saddened” by the photo and regretted the pain caused “to believers in Lebanon and around the world.” Netanyahu vowed the IDF would “take appropriately harsh disciplinary action against the offender.”
On Wednesday it was announced that the two IDF soldiers involved had been jailed.
The photo provided an opening for pro-Israel, mainstream papers like The New York Times to air criticism of Israeli society normally banished from its pages. It reported:
“Hana Bendowsky, who leads a Rossing Center project to teach Israeli Jews about Christianity, said that hostility toward non-Jews was being fueled by the rise of Israeli nationalism, and by a growing sense that ‘the whole world’s an antisemite, that everyone who’s not us should be rejected and should not be here.’
She cited widespread ignorance and an attitude among some Israelis of ‘Jewish superiority,’ and said that many failed to appreciate that, as the majority in their country, Jews had ‘a responsibility to the minority.’
Ms. Bendowsky lamented that no one around the soldier stopped him.
‘There’s not enough education about how inappropriate and damaging this kind of thing is, not just to our image,’ she said. ‘It’s damaging to our souls, to our identity, to our humanity.’”
Between Trump posing as Christ, him attacking the pope and this, Jesus has had a rough week. To be fair, for Muslims, Jews and Protestants such statues of Christ constitute forbidden idolatry.
The Prophet Muhammad made his mark in the world by destroying the pagan idols inside the Qaaba in Mecca. Abraham destroyed idols in Ur, the iconoclasts smashed idols in 8th and 9th century Byzantium and 16th century Protestants broke icons in churches throughout Europe.
Meanwhile, this is what Grok initially had to say about the photograph:
“The image you shared appears to be a digitally altered or AI-generated photograph (or a heavily manipulated real photo) depicting a soldier in modern combat gear hammering a large nail or spike into the body of a pig carcass that has been hung upside down and positioned in a crucifixion-like pose on a vertical pole/stake, with a small solar panel visible in the background.”
Did anybody say AI has a helluva long way to go?
Joe Lauria is editor-in-chief of Consortium News and a former U.N. correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and other newspapers, including The Montreal Gazette, the London Daily Mail and The Star of Johannesburg. He was an investigative reporter for the Sunday Times of London, a financial reporter for Bloomberg News and began his professional work as a 19-year old stringer for The New York Times. He is the author of two books, A Political Odyssey, with Sen. Mike Gravel, foreword by Daniel Ellsberg; and How I Lost By Hillary Clinton, foreword by Julian Assange.
Not for nothin’; but, “in accordance with the truth, facts or standards“ Joe Lauria & Hana Bendowsky, “Bring It”:
….“Jesus had a rough week.” Joe Lauria (“Between Trump posing as Christ, him attacking the pope and this” [photo, above, The desecration of Jesus Christ]. “To be fair, for Muslims, Jews and Protestants such statues of Christ constitute forbidden idolatry”).
…. “hostility toward non-Jews was being fueled by the rise of Israeli nationalism, and by a growing sense that ‘the whole world’s an antisemite, that everyone who’s not us should be rejected and should not be here.’ Hana Bendowsky
And, IMO, what “Grok, initially, had to say about the photograph”, “When pigs fly” i.e., “Don’t get played. it’s unlikely it happened, as photographed.” Obviously, the ask, “Grok, Now do, Abu Ghraib’s photos, “Prison life in Iraq.” There’s a plethora of photos of the USG’s Armed Forces & C.I.A.’s Agents’ Aggressive Criminal Engagement, the physical, sexual, psychological torture, rape, death of detainees i.e., “Operation” Use, Abuse, Abandon. The USG’s standard operating procedure. As well, back in 2004, reporting war crimes & crimes against humanity was a standard operating procedure; & was trusted:
….i.e., In April, 2004, CBS News, broadcast photos, of war crimes, committed @ Abu Ghraib’s prison, in Iraq, i.e., Operation, Shock & Awe! Followed by “worldwide outrage & condemnation.” To date, April, 2026, “that Cowboy fm Texas,” G.W. Bush, “who started his own war in Iraq”, is “living” free, fm accountability. As for Dick Cheney, he’s “gone” home, to that roach motel, in hell. No doubt, Cheney’s “Keeping the Lights On” for the Hors d’War: AND, “Trump Extends Ceasefire as World Remains on Edge” … “Pray for Birdies”. TY.
MEMO TO: The Opposition
FM: The Resistance
RE: A “Peace” Plan NOT A “Piece” Plan. “Give her,” The USA, “Eyes” & Ears. ..
…“The Strait of Hormuz was never opened by us under pressure. While the US President and his son profit daily, ordinary Americans and citizens across the world bear the cost of these lies and wars. The world must see what this is really about. This is not a fight over Iran’s uranium. This is a fight to undermine the sustainability and self-sufficiency of China, Russia, and India. Until there is honesty, there can be no diplomacy.” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi
Hence, “Do NOT buy a boat that is under water,” i.e., Tuesday Night, broadcast on Iranian TV: “No final decision has been made yet on whether to participate in the Pakistan talks. The reason is the contradictory messages, inconsistent behavior and unacceptable actions of the American side. Going back and forth is neither a criterion for success nor inherently valuable. What matters is that participation in a diplomatic process serves our national interests. That is why decision-making on this process, like any other matter, is done carefully and with all considerations in mind,” Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
…..*“You” [DJTrump] “placed GCC countries at the heart of danger they didn’t choose. Your “Board of Peace” initiatives were funded by Gulf states. Now we’re getting attacked. Where did that money go? You promised no wars. You’ve conducted operations in 7 countries: Somalia, Iraq, Yemen, Nigeria, Syria, Iran, Venezuela. Americans were promised peace. They’re getting war funded by their taxes.” Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor’s, UAE billionaire’s Open Letter” @ Mario Nawfal-X) @ hxxps://consortiumnews.com/2026/03/05/day-6-updates-attack-on-iran/.
The ask, Mr. Trump, “REPENT!” Your favorite General, Dan “Raising” Caine, didn’t sugar-coat or whitewash “What Happens Tomorrow” IF, your “whims” are honored. FORE!!! Generally, “Raising” Caine, straight-up, said, “that an American attack [WAR, Blockade, Genocide] could prompt Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz; &, a Gemini’s $cheme, Trump-Vance, Inc. ., “Operation Change Iran’s Regime” is dead! In sum, Trump-Vance, Inc., hands-down, the cards are NOT in your favor. Therefore, “Do NOT attempt what you cannot bring to a good end.” TY.
TY, Joe Lauria!!! “Keep It Lit!”
He’s ageing rapidly. Won’t be long _ _ _
President Rubio is counting the days.
If I were Iran I would send as honored official negotiators a goat and a donkey. This deed would as live as long as history shall survive.
Netanyahu “saddened”? Ha! That man doesn’t have the ability to be saddened by anything with the possible exception of his citizens being harmed.
Whether it is on the protractedly looming U.S.-Iran diplomacy, oops dupelamacy or the AI-blamed bashing of Christ statue and/or character by the currently trifuricated Western christiandom, the bottomline addressed by Joe Lauria’s impressive narrative is : we are currently living in a post-honesty world where it is imperative for everyone to proceed with due diligence and not jump the gun; in this sense at least, the Iranian circumspection is welcome. And the world has to bear with it for its own good !
Apropo rumours of a division; in an interview with Drop Site, Dr. Hassan Ahmadian, Associate Professor of Middle East Studies at Tehran University describes the Iranian political system as basically very institutionalised and run by constitution NOT individuals.
A ‘must listen’ interview to understand Iran.
You wrote, “To be fair, for Muslims, Jews and Protestants such statues of Christ constitute forbidden idolatry. The Prophet Muhammad made his mark in the world by destroying the pagan idols inside the Qaaba in Mecca. Abraham destroyed idols in Ur, the iconoclasts smashed idols in 8th and 9th century Byzantium and 16th century Protestants broke icons in churches throughout Europe.”
Really, Mr. Lauria? You want to explain away an obviously anti-Christian action as the righteous destruction of idols?
You can readily imagine the reaction if a US soldier were smashing up a big Star of David. This soldier’s action is exactly equivalent. He is ‘giving the fig’ to Christianity.
I am disappointed. You can do better than this.
That there is a very long history of this behavior needs to be pointed out. Of course Christians are rightly outraged.
Regarding the reference to Grok at the end of this article, I am probably the last person on Earth who signed up to Twitter, so I am still learning how it works and made the mistake of engaging with a user I presume is a young man, who replied to a comment of mine under some post or other.
This young man seems not to know anything or have any experiential frame of reference in terms of which to evaluate or understand anything someone says to him. Unbelievable as this may sound, he actually asked Grok whether each statement I made as I conversed with him is true or false.
I meant to go back and make a record of all of my statements and all of Grok’s replies to this young man, but this exchange occurred before I realized that replying to replies on Twitter guarantees that you will never find those replies again. So I can only speak in general terms; but suffice it to say that Grok seems to me to be trained exclusively on legacy mass media narratives. Grok grants no legitimacy whatsoever to socialist logic — economic democracy, deprivatizing finance, distributing the fruits of the productive economy in the form of public services.
For Grok, Russia’s “full-scale invasion” violated international law. In Iran, “the regime” murdered thousands of protesters. Maduro’s 2024 election was illegitimate. No nuance. No statement of fact that PartyA said or did this, PartyB said or did that. Grok, as far as I can see, is filling this kid’s head with nonsense.
The reason I have gone to the trouble of typing all this here is to share with you that I find ChatGPT far superior to what I have seen of Grok. I use ChatGPT occasionally to gather factual information — names, dates, who said what, what is the link to a paper I want to read — and its replies are full of nuance. So you chase down threads within a debate to get a fleshed-out picture you can work with to arrive at your own conclusions.
If you use ChatGPT for a while, depending on what you use it for, of course, and how, and then come back to Grok, I guarantee you Grok’s lack of nuance will hit you square in the face. I think this is deliberate, especially its antisocialist aspect. Millions, maybe billions, of people are on Twittwe, and Twitter, like every social media platform, is organized to keep you on it. Its algorithm boosts the visibility of “Articles” written on Twitter, gives slightly less to mainstream press, less to alternative media, and gives idiosyncratic stuff from obscure websites the boot.
“Of course,” you say. But this selection process — and Grok — are optimized to promote mainstream narratives and drop dissenting analysis on the floor. I know this because I conversed with Grok about the drop-off in engagements I experienced when I started posting links to original work on my own website.
Anyway. My point is that ChatGPT curates much more robust and nuanced information by far in response to queries than Grok does. Check it out. You’ll be amazed.
I find ChatGPT to produce about 15% falsehood. Unacceptable.
Replaying history all the way back to a Roman occupation and weaponization of religion and monotheism to plague human civilization as empires of their own.
The photo, real or fabricated, represents symbolism in its clearest form of the actions of the Israeli government and its supporters throughout the world.
Murdering tens of thousands of Palestinian children is fine. But destroying a statue somehow crosses a line.
my thought, exACTly!
Don’t forget the @ 180,000 Christian Palestinians who lived in the West Bank and Gaza before October 7. Hated equally by the Z’s as much as their Muslim brothers and sisters. I read the image in that context.