IRAN CLAIMS THAT IT HAS RE-CLOSED THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ, HOURS AFTER AGREEING TO OPEN IT-Ships began moving. And then Iran’s IRGC claimed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had stopped again — citing Israel’s continued strikes on Lebanon as a ceasefire violation.
Iran War, Day 40. Here are the 10 latest updates you should probably know…
1. IRAN CLAIMED IT RE-CLOSED HORMUZ HOURS AFTER AGREEING TO OPEN IT.
This is the most alarming development of Day 40. The ceasefire was announced.
Ships began moving. And then Iran’s IRGC claimed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had stopped again — citing Israel’s continued strikes on Lebanon as a ceasefire violation.
The White House called the reports false.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Iran’s accusations of U.S. ceasefire violations are untrue and that Hormuz remains open.
As of this writing, the shipping industry is still waiting for clarity.
One shipping executive said: “For sure, some ships will now exit the area — but it’s still tense.”
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2. ISRAEL LAUNCHED DEVASTATING STRIKES ON LEBANON HOURS AFTER THE CEASEFIRE. 254 KILLED.
Hours after the ceasefire was announced, Israel launched what Lebanon’s health ministry described as one of the most intense waves of strikes of the war, killing at least 254 people across the country including in Beirut.
Netanyahu called it “the greatest blow” to Hezbollah.
The UN Human Rights Commissioner responded: “The scale of the killing and destruction in Lebanon today is nothing short of horrific. Such carnage, within hours of agreeing to a ceasefire with Iran, defies belief.”
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3. IRAN’S INTERNET BLACKOUT ENTERED ITS 40TH DAY. 936 HOURS OF TOTAL DISCONNECTION.
NetBlocks confirmed that Iran’s internet blackout has now lasted 40 consecutive days, 936 hours of near-total disconnection from the outside world.
Their statement: “The wartime censorship measure continues even as the U.S. and Iran regimes each declare victory, with the Iranian people once again left in the dark.”
93 million people. No internet. No outside information. For 40 days.
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4. TRUMP SAYS CHINA HELPED BRING IRAN TO THE TABLE.
Trump told AFP he believes China played a role in pushing Iran to agree to the two-week ceasefire. “I hear yes,” he said when asked whether Beijing was involved.
This is the first public acknowledgment that China which has been buying discounted Iranian oil throughout this war and has been the primary target of the U.S. supply chain disruption strategy may have quietly pushed Tehran toward a deal.
If true, it changes the entire geopolitical picture of what was agreed and why.
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5. VANCE IS LIKELY TO LEAD THE U.S. DELEGATION IN ISLAMABAD ON FRIDAY.
Peace talks begin Friday April 10th in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Multiple sources confirmed to Axios that Vice President JD Vance is likely to lead the American delegation.
This is an extraordinary signal sending the Vice President to negotiate directly with Iran is the highest-level U.S. diplomatic engagement with Tehran in decades.
Vance said Wednesday: “Fundamentally, we’re in a good spot.
They’re reopening the straits. We have a ceasefire. And frankly, if they break their end of the bargain, then they’re going to see some serious consequences.”
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6. IRAN’S 10-POINT PEACE PLAN — WHAT TEHRAN IS ACTUALLY DEMANDING.
Iran confirmed its peace proposal includes lifting all U.S. and UN sanctions, release of all Iranian assets held overseas, U.S. military withdrawal from the Middle East, financial reparations for war damages, an end to all attacks on Iran’s allies including Hezbollah, and recognition of Iran’s right to enrich uranium in exchange for a pledge not to build nuclear weapons.
Trump called this “a workable basis.”
He has not confirmed which of these demands he accepts.
The nuclear enrichment question, the stated reason this war started
remains entirely unresolved.
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7. THE POPE SPOKE ON THE WAR. AND CONDEMNED THE THREATS ON CIVILIAN INFRASTRUCTURE.
Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope called on “all people of goodwill to search always for peace and not violence, to reject war.”
He stated that attacks on civilian infrastructure are against international law and “a sign of the hatred, the division, the destruction the human being is capable of.”
His remarks came directly in reference to Trump’s threats to destroy Iran’s power plants and bridges before the ceasefire was reached.
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8. TRUMP IS “CLEARLY DISAPPOINTED” WITH NATO ALLIES. NATO CHIEF CONFIRMS IT.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met Trump on Wednesday and told CNN afterwards that Trump is “clearly disappointed” with NATO allies for not supporting the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran to the extent he wanted.
Rutte said many European nations helped in other ways – logistics, overflights, basing, but acknowledged the rift.
This is a significant fracture.
The Iran war has exposed a deeper divide between the U.S. and its European partners than any conflict since Iraq in 2003.
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9. THE CEASEFIRE ORDER MAY TAKE TIME TO REACH IRGC LOWER RANKS.
A U.S. Defense official confirmed to reporters that while the ceasefire order has been issued, “it might take time for the ceasefire order to filter down to the lower ranks of the Revolutionary Guards.”
This is the sentence buried in every update that matters most.
The IRGC operated independently throughout this war — individual commanders making their own decisions.
The political leadership signed a ceasefire.
Whether every IRGC unit received and will follow that order is a different question entirely.
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10. OIL FELL 13%. GAS WILL STILL PEAK AT $4.30. MIDDLE EAST PRODUCTION WON’T RECOVER UNTIL LATE 2026.
Markets celebrated the ceasefire with oil falling 13% and S&P 500 futures rising more than 2%.
But the U.S. Energy Information Administration immediately tempered the optimism, gas prices are still expected to peak at $4.30 a gallon this month.
Gulf oil production shut-ins of 9.1 million barrels per day will not return close to pre-war levels until late 2026.
Qatar’s LNG facility damage alone could delay supplies for years.
The economic damage of 40 days does not undo itself because two leaders signed a piece of paper.
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Today is Day 40.
A ceasefire exists — fragile, disputed, partially violated, and differently interpreted by every party that signed it.
Talks begin Friday in Islamabad.
Lebanon is still being bombed. The IRGC is still armed.
Iran’s nuclear uranium sits untouched. And the most important geopolitical negotiations of this decade begin in 48 hours.
Watch Islamabad closely.
(Robert Kiyosaki: Rich Dad Poor Dad)