Quizzical,
Paul Craig Roberts, Does Iran Comprehend Who Iran is Negotiating with and about what?
Iran thinks Iran is negotiating with Trump about restrictions being imposed on Iran’s rights under the non-proliferation treaty. Iran is totally incorrect. This is a proxy issue. Iran’s real issue is with Israel, and it is about Iran’s right to exist. The Zionist agenda of Greater Israel, the foreign policy of the Netanyahu Israeli Government, requires the elimination of Iran as an organized sovereign state. Why does the Iranian government think that Iran’s continued existence is something they want to negotiate? After the Muslim world watched Washington destroy three of the “seven countries in five years” for Israel, why cannot the Iranian government comprehend that Iran is the fourth to be destroyed, with Turkey, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia waiting their turn.
Iran cannot gain anything from negotiations. Iran can only fight for its life. If the Iranian government is incapable of comprehending this basic fact, “Turkey will be next Iran” as former Israeli prime minister Bennet said last February at a conference of Jewish organizations in the US. https://paulcraigroberts.org/does-iran-comprehend-who-iran-is-negotiating-with-and-about-what/
Iranian leadership is more divided than usual. Unpopular IRGC takes the reins: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard sidelines president as military grip expands
President Pezeshkian reportedly unable to contact Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei as a 'military council' controls access https://www.foxnews.com/world/irans-revolutionary-guard-sidelines-president-military-grip-expands That's really far away. US Forces Board Iran-Linked Tanker in the Indian Ocean
The seizure comes two days after the US attacked and boarded an Iranian ship in the Gulf of Oman https://news.antiwar.com/2026/04/21/us-forces-board-iran-linked-tanker-in-the-indian-ocean/Larry Johnson claims Donald Trump sought to use nuclear codes in Iran but Gen Dan Caine stopped it; no evidence backs a Saturday Pentagon emergency meeting. https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/did-trump-want-to-use-nuclear-codes-in-iran-did-dan-caine-stop-him-ex-cia-analysts-claim-fact-checked-101776723007694.html
Tit-For-Tat Assaults On Shipping Widen: US Intercepts 3 More 'Illicit' Tankers In Asian Waters, Iran Seizes Additional 2 In Hormuz
At least two fully laden Iranian tankers slip past US naval blockade, amid reports of more going dark, BBG reports, but Pentagon denies.
Reports of three more Iranian tankers being seized by US in Asian waters. Iran in turn seizes 2 more ships in Hormuz, citing "dangerous navigation".
Trump extends ceasefire by 3-5 days, per White House statement to Fox. Third US carrier precisely 3-5 day away from Mideast waters: Fox
IRGC seized the MSC Francesca and a Greek-owned ship named Euphoria, which had been attempting to transit the Hormuz chokepoint earlier today. Within hours, a third ship comes under fire by the IRGC.
Senior Iranian adviser says the US naval blockade is "no different than bombing" and must be met "with a military response". https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/iran-seizes-two-ships-hormuz-chokepoint-tehran-received-some-signs-us-ready-end
Reports of three more Iranian tankers being seized by US in Asian waters. Iran in turn seizes 2 more ships in Hormuz, citing "dangerous navigation".
Trump extends ceasefire by 3-5 days, per White House statement to Fox. Third US carrier precisely 3-5 day away from Mideast waters: Fox
IRGC seized the MSC Francesca and a Greek-owned ship named Euphoria, which had been attempting to transit the Hormuz chokepoint earlier today. Within hours, a third ship comes under fire by the IRGC.
Senior Iranian adviser says the US naval blockade is "no different than bombing" and must be met "with a military response". https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/iran-seizes-two-ships-hormuz-chokepoint-tehran-received-some-signs-us-ready-end
Trump Orders Navy 'Shoot & Kill' Iranian Boats Laying Mines, As US Intercepts Tankers From Hormuz To Indian Ocean
Iranian sources to Chinese state media says 'breakthrough' toward restarting US talks again could come 'tonight or tomorrow'.
Media sources confirm based on prior Trump post that US has extended the ceasefire indefinitely until 'unified proposal' can be brought forward by Tehran. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-intercepts-iranian-tankers-tehran-keeps-hormuz-chokepoint-shut
Iran rejects ceasefire extension, IRGC fires on ship in Strait of Hormuz. Iran refused to attend Pakistan talks, Trump extended ceasefire "indefinitely" while maintaining the naval blockade. Hours later, IRGC boats opened fire on a container ship in the Strait. Iran's FM Araghchi called the blockade "an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire". Iran says it did not request any extension. Multiple container ships attempting to transit the Strait were stopped by IRGC... Iran's position: no talks while blockade continues ... Media sources confirm based on prior Trump post that US has extended the ceasefire indefinitely until 'unified proposal' can be brought forward by Tehran. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-intercepts-iranian-tankers-tehran-keeps-hormuz-chokepoint-shut
Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-04-22
..US missile stocks depleted to ~50%, creating "window of vulnerability" in Pacific. Per CNN reporting, roughly half of key THAAD, Patriot, and precision-strike munitions have been expended in seven weeks of the Iran war. Replenishment could take 1-4 years...
..Iran's oil wells face permanent damage by April 26. Per FDD analysis cited by multiple accounts, Iran has ~20M barrels spare onshore storage against 1.5M bbl/day surplus. Storage fills ~13 days from April 13 blockade start.....Touska Seizure & China Tensions - USS Spruance fired into the engine room of Iranian-flagged container ship Touska, then Marines boarded
Trump on CNBC: ship was carrying a "gift from China" that "wasn't very nice" - Ship originated from Zhuhai's Gaolan port, identified by WaPo as a loading point for sodium perchlorate (missile propellant precursor)
Separately, a second tanker (M/T Tifani) boarded in Indo-Pacific - first interdiction outside Hormuz theatre [Chinese tanker]
Trump effectively admitted his "understanding" with Xi is broken...
James O'Keefe published undercover video of Andrew Hugg, Branch Chief of Nuclear and Chemical Surety, casually revealing that the US plans to kill Iran's Supreme Leader, US strikes killed children in Iran, and the US still possesses nerve agents... Hugg was escorted out of the Pentagon and placed on administrative leave within ~60 minutes...
US National Debt Hits $39 Trillion - Latest trillion added in 145 days - $6.9B every day, $79,821 every second - Interest costs exceed $1T annually https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-04-22 Trump on CNBC: ship was carrying a "gift from China" that "wasn't very nice" - Ship originated from Zhuhai's Gaolan port, identified by WaPo as a loading point for sodium perchlorate (missile propellant precursor)
Separately, a second tanker (M/T Tifani) boarded in Indo-Pacific - first interdiction outside Hormuz theatre [Chinese tanker]
Trump effectively admitted his "understanding" with Xi is broken...
..EU quietly removed ban on transporting Russian oil from its latest sanctions package ...
..Pentagon Nuclear Official Caught on Camera, Escorted OutJames O'Keefe published undercover video of Andrew Hugg, Branch Chief of Nuclear and Chemical Surety, casually revealing that the US plans to kill Iran's Supreme Leader, US strikes killed children in Iran, and the US still possesses nerve agents... Hugg was escorted out of the Pentagon and placed on administrative leave within ~60 minutes...
Simplicius, Left With Nothing But Gimmicks, Trump Gets Bluff Called Again By Confident Iran
Trump then expectorated an even more unhinged series of ravings, which made little sense. After threatening to blow up the country and kill all Iran’s leaders, Trump suddenly “extended the ceasefire indefinitely”, despite Iran stating they did not even request such an extension and are ready for full resumption of hostilities...
..Many still believe the US is gearing up for a major escalation, but Trump knows he has little leverage and more aimless bombing of an increasingly entrenched IRGC structure is not going to accomplish anything. Hitting power plants will only invite a likewise response onto a Gulf region facing crippling economic damage. News continues to pour out that UAE in particular has been hard hit, with its economy allegedly nearing the brink, which is why it’s now begging the US for a lifeline...
..Not only are major strains growing between US and its Gulf allies—most notably now UAE—but oil prices may continue to rise with many experts predicting global economic shocks that will filter down to the US and even more of its allies. On top of which, each day that US squats on the Strait while doing effectively nothing leads to major political and credibility loss for Trump, who is being eaten alive by the press, and whose constituents are growing increasingly tired of his aimless political charades and impotent military adventures. There’s an argument to be made that Iran can in fact outlast such a blockade while it is the US that will take the more lasting damage overall. That’s not even to mention the monetary costs of imposing the blockade with the current naval forces active in the region...
..Directly from the CNN article: The US military has significantly depleted its stockpile of key missiles during the war with Iran and created a “near-term risk” of running out of ammunition in a future conflict should one arise in the next few years, according to experts and three people familiar with recent internal Defense Department stockpile assessments...
..In only a couple short weeks the US fired thousands of its rarest and most valuable munitions, which are only produced at a trickle of a few dozen per year each. This is why, as we had just written about in the last piece, the Pentagon is apparently in talks with major US automakers like Ford, GM, Oshkosh, etc., about converting their production lines into munitions production... At a production rate of only a few dozen per year, the US simply cannot afford to prolong the conflict much longer, lest it run its magazines completely dry and becomes exposed for all time. This is why we can only assume that Trump’s gasbag lecturing is nothing but inert bluffery meant to frighten an increasingly unvexed Iran into making concessions. https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/left-with-nothing-but-gimmicks-trumpThe Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system is a crucial element of the US missile defense system, responsible for intercepting targets at the boundary between the atmosphere and space (at altitudes of up to 150 km). Its "eyes" are the AN/TPY-2 radars, which were among the primary targets of the Iranian strikes in March 2026. These radars were destroyed in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the CSIS think tank, noted this in an interview. https://en.topwar.ru/281404-ljudi-nachinajut-panikovat-posledstvija-porazhenija-amerikanskih-radarov-iranom.html
The US has admitted its inability to destroy Iran's "mosquito fleet" in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to an analysis in The New York Times, the American coalition has so far failed to neutralize the so-called Iranian "mosquito flotilla," which has become the main threat to the tanker fleet. This fleet consists of thousands of high-speed boats operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. These stealthy vessels can reach speeds of up to 185 kilometers per hour, making them extremely difficult targets for even the most sophisticated targeting systems. Iranian tactics rely on lightning-fast attacks, after which groups of boats instantly disperse and disappear. https://avia-pro.net/news/ssha-priznali-nesposobnost-unichtozhit-iranskiy-moskitnyy-flot-v-ormuzskom-prolive
..Reflexivity With Warships - What Trump appears to be doing here—whether consciously or not—is something that looks a lot like George Soros’s principle of reflexivity. Soros’s basic idea was that markets don’t just passively reflect reality; they can also change it. Prices move, expectations shift, financing conditions tighten or loosen, and those moves feed back into the real economy and even into political decisions.
That’s especially relevant in a war centered on oil flows, shipping lanes, and financial pressure.,,
That’s especially relevant in a war centered on oil flows, shipping lanes, and financial pressure.,,
..Iran’s Lever - Iran’s preferred lever has been obvious for weeks: threaten the Strait of Hormuz, raise oil prices, spook global markets, and put pressure on Washington through the U.S. economy... higher gasoline prices are one of the fastest ways to create political pain for an American president...
..Trump’s Lever - Trump’s pressure campaign has been different. Much more of it has been in the physical world.
First, there’s the blockade itself. It’s not a general closure of the Strait. It’s a targeted effort to stop Iranian oil sales, block Iranian maritime commerce, and deny Tehran both export earnings and imports flowing through the Gulf...
..Second, there’s the pressure that builds as time passes. A blockade doesn’t just reduce cash inflow. It also creates storage problems for a producer... As time passes, Tehran has to think not just about lost revenue, but about storage, field management, and what happens if production has to be curtailed under pressure.
First, there’s the blockade itself. It’s not a general closure of the Strait. It’s a targeted effort to stop Iranian oil sales, block Iranian maritime commerce, and deny Tehran both export earnings and imports flowing through the Gulf...
..Second, there’s the pressure that builds as time passes. A blockade doesn’t just reduce cash inflow. It also creates storage problems for a producer... As time passes, Tehran has to think not just about lost revenue, but about storage, field management, and what happens if production has to be curtailed under pressure.
The Market As Battlefield... If Iran can push oil high enough, long enough, it can create pressure on Trump through markets and through consumer prices. But if Trump can keep oil from rising too much—through his own rhetoric, through repeated hints of imminent talks, through confidence that the conflict will end soon—then he can blunt Iran’s pressure on the U.S. economy while continuing to squeeze Iran physically through the blockade.
In other words, the market itself becomes part of the battlefield.
If crude stays lower than Tehran wants, Trump buys time. Lower oil prices mean less pressure from American drivers, less political pressure on the White House, and more room to keep the blockade in place. If crude spikes, the reverse happens: Tehran’s leverage rises, not because it has sunk the U.S. Navy, but because it has raised the domestic economic cost of continuing the campaign. https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2026-04-19/schrodingers-strait
In other words, the market itself becomes part of the battlefield.
If crude stays lower than Tehran wants, Trump buys time. Lower oil prices mean less pressure from American drivers, less political pressure on the White House, and more room to keep the blockade in place. If crude spikes, the reverse happens: Tehran’s leverage rises, not because it has sunk the U.S. Navy, but because it has raised the domestic economic cost of continuing the campaign. https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2026-04-19/schrodingers-strait
Two upset primary at the Michigan Democratic nominating convention are material and symbolic victories for pro-Palestinian activists at the University of Michigan. https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/michigan-democrats-student-protesters-palestine-israel-elections
Hamas: Israel continues “engineered starvation” in Gaza through Rafah crossing closure https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/04/20/361643/
Embassy Tells Americans Still In Lebanon Depart Now While Flights Available As Ceasefire Collapsing https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/embassy-tells-americans-still-lebanon-depart-now-while-flights-available-ceasefire
In March-April, Russian troops liberated 34 settlements and about 700 square kilometers of territory in the special military operation area https://tass.com/defense/2120089
Alex Krainer explains that the Ukrainian coup-government really needed the 80% of national assets that were in the Donbass, or the bankers would walk away.
Kiev's 2014 anti-terror operation was a bankers' war The war, which left 14,000 casualties, was instigated by IMF's "key shareholders," and discussed by Arianne de Rothschild and Jeffrey Epstein https://alexkrainer.substack.com/p/kievs-2014-anti-terror-operation
The Lithuanian army earlier said that, as part of cooperation with the Ukrainian army, they were receiving "combat experience" training from the Ukrainian troops https://tass.com/defense/2120545
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the Russian Armed Forces are gradually establishing a security zone on the border with Ukraine. He stated that this zone will remain in place until the threat to Russia's border regions is "eliminated." https://www-kommersant-ru.translate.goog/doc/8606385?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Return for the meat-grinder: Zelensky Demands Ukrainian Men Abroad Return to Fight His War https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/corruption/zelensky-demands-ukrainian-men-abroad-return-to-fight-his-war/
Charles, who commanded some My Lai vets in Vietnam, sent this history of that event, and how the US military works: Mỹ Lai massacre https://cherrieswriter.com/2023/05/06/my-lai-massacre/
This is long and detailed. It is the global control structure. You can start at "The Circuit", halfway down: Escape Key, The Full Technical Stack https://escapekey.substack.com/p/the-full-stack
AI Lab Leak: Anthropic's 'Too Dangerous To Release' AI Model Was Accessed By Discord Group On Day One https://www.zerohedge.com/ai/anthropics-too-dangerous-release-ai-model-was-accessed-discord-group-day-one
Less than a month after Farm Action called for an investigation, the DOJ opened one. Now it appears headed to court. https://angelasuehuffman.substack.com/p/doj-prepares-case-over-egg-prices
Dr. Chatbot: Half of AI Health Answers Are Wrong Even Though They Sound Convincing – New Study https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2026/04/half-of-ai-health-answers-are-wrong-even-though-they-sound-convincing-new-study.html
Dr. Marik explains Non-alcoholic fatty-liver: NASH: A Metabolic Disease Hiding in Plain Sight - The Misunderstood Liver Disease
For decades, liver disease was viewed through a narrow lens—alcohol, viruses, toxins. If a patient did not drink excessively and tested negative for hepatitis, their liver was assumed to be safe. That assumption is now dangerously outdated.
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)—the progressive and inflammatory form of fatty liver disease—is not rare, not benign, and not incidental. It is the hepatic manifestation of a systemic metabolic crisis. And like coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension, it is fundamentally driven by insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction, not by isolated organ pathology.
NASH is not a liver disease. It is a metabolic disease that happens to involve the liver. https://substack.com/home/post/p-193908117
Meryl Nass MD, Amongst all the craziness, a bit of good news
The USG and telecommunications companies did not obtain the right to put their towers up wherever they wanted today. https://merylnass.substack.com/p/amongst-all-the-craziness-a-bit-ofJohn Klar Esq. Why We Must Listen to the Vaccine Injured https://www.themahareport.com/p/why-we-must-listen-to-the-vaccine
For months, a quiet battle has been unfolding inside the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
It began with an analysis of child deaths after Covid vaccination, followed by strategic leaks to major media outlets, and has now erupted into the open with a memo from the regulator’s own vaccine chief.
In September, it was reported that FDA officials had privately investigated 25 paediatric deaths following Covid vaccination — the first systematic review of such cases since the rollout began.
The findings were meant to be presented to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). But the presentation never came. The meeting passed without a word. Something had happened behind closed doors. Now we know what. https://brownstone.org/articles/a-reckoning-is-underway-at-the-fda/
It began with an analysis of child deaths after Covid vaccination, followed by strategic leaks to major media outlets, and has now erupted into the open with a memo from the regulator’s own vaccine chief.
In September, it was reported that FDA officials had privately investigated 25 paediatric deaths following Covid vaccination — the first systematic review of such cases since the rollout began.
The findings were meant to be presented to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). But the presentation never came. The meeting passed without a word. Something had happened behind closed doors. Now we know what. https://brownstone.org/articles/a-reckoning-is-underway-at-the-fda/
One does not have to be a Bible-believing Christian or a conspiracy theorist to appreciate the possible scenarios, but it helps. https://jdrucker.substack.com/p/the-12-missing-or-dead-scientists
1700 BC in the Jordan Valley: clay glassified and microdiamonds formed by intense heat and pressure: The First Nuclear War — And the Archaeological Evidence Nobody Will Discuss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYe4tZ4_83c
We present evidence that in ~ 1650 BCE (~ 3600 years ago), a cosmic airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam, a Middle-Bronze-Age city in the southern Jordan Valley northeast of the Dead Sea. The proposed airburst was larger than the 1908 explosion over Tunguska, Russia, where a ~ 50-m-wide bolide detonated with ~ 1000× more energy than the Hiroshima atomic bomb. A city-wide ~ 1.5-m-thick carbon-and-ash-rich destruction layer contains peak concentrations of shocked quartz (~ 5–10 GPa); melted pottery and mudbricks; diamond-like carbon. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-97778-3#:~:text=Abstract,a%20%3E%2025%2Dkm%20radius.
Living With Mysteries (pictured with Jenny, and Yoakum garden in background)
