Arlene Kushner | March 29, 2026
By MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC – This image or video was catalogued by Goddard Space Flight Center of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Photo ID: 2020-12-04., Public Domain, Wikpedia
Regretfully, with regard to the war on Iran it is simply not possible at this point. Read 10 analysts, and you are likely to get at least five different perspectives.
A quick catch-up:
Trump had confronted the Iranian regime’s blockage of ships going through the Strait of Hormuz by saying it had five days to open the Strait, or he would order a strike on Iran’s major energy sites.
His deadline was this past Friday.
But the president has now given Iran 10 more days because “the negotiations are going well.” I am exceedingly dubious about this being the case, if at all negotiations are taking place.
https://www.jns.org/trump-extends-deadline-for-strikes-on-iranian-energy-facilities-by-10-days
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It is my opinion, and hardly mine alone, that a resolution to the negotiations would only be possible if Trump made concessions that should not be made. The regime in Tehran will not compromise, or, if they do compromise, they will cheat at every point that suits them: Giving up, giving in, runs counter to the mullahs’ apocalyptic ideology.
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See this by Lela Gilbert, an author and fellow at the Hudson Institute. Written more than six years ago, it remains highly relevant today:
“On August 6, the indispensable MEMRI news site – which translates and broadcasts speeches, sermons or other pronouncements by sheikhs, imams and mullahs – reported the words of senior Iranian Ayatollah Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri: ‘In Order for the Hidden Imam to Reappear We Must Engage in Widespread Fighting with the West’…
“The Hidden – or Twelfth – Imam plays a dominant role in one specific form of Shi’ite Islamic theology, called ‘Twelverism,’ which happens to be the primary belief system of Iran’s leadership. There is a messianic belief that at the end of days, the Hidden Imam will appear in the midst of a violent apocalyptic scenario played out on a battleground stained with infidels’ blood.” (Emphasis added)
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/irans-aggression-and-the-shiite-apocalypse-598904
Lela Gilbert. Screengrab via Youtube
This past Thursday, in a podcast with the Jewish Policy Center, Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs, reiterated this take, referring to the regime as a “messianic jihadist death cult [that] seeks to promote world chaos to bring the 12th Iman.” Diker stated that the DNA of the regime is fueled by an end-of-days scenario requiring world disorder and even Armageddon. And he says that the destruction of this regime is essential to the future of Western civilization.
https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/2026/03/26/moving-toward-an-end-game-in-iran/
Dan Diker. Screengrab via Youtube
This perspective is not broadly understood in the West and so I urge readers to share this exceedingly important information.
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When Trump began to speak of negotiations, there was a sense of panic – a fear that he might call for a “ceasefire.” Netanyahu – whom I continue to praise for being incredibly strong in the face of this complexity and solidly resolute – ordered large scale attacks on Iranian sites for the production of “aerial and naval combat equipment.” These were sites that also produced arms for Tehran’s regional proxies.
https://www.jns.org/news/israel-news/extensive-israeli-airstrikes-target-iranian-military-industries
The concern about a possible “ceasefire” was fueled in part by what Trump referred to as a “secret gift” from the regime: “Iran authorized the passage of 10 oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz as a goodwill gesture to demonstrate its seriousness…”
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/syk711l7jze
Yea, right. An easy gesture to make. Trump’s key negotiator, Steve Witkoff, then declared that there were “strong signs” that an agreement can be reached. He said that he and his co-negotiator Jared are trying to convince the Iranians that there are “better alternatives to death and destruction.”
This is not just an act? He is serious? Has he not been briefed on the Iranian regime’s ideology that welcomes death and destruction? Perhaps he might best return to making deals on real estate.
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At any rate, there has been no ceasefire; both Israel and the US are continuing to hit Iran.
It has been pointed out by several commentators that Trump would not actually be considering a “ceasefire” – whatever the rumors or speculation – as he is bringing troops to the area in considerable numbers. This is too complex and expensive an operation to be done just for show or to put pressure on Iran – as it has been described, “to increase Trump’s options.” If they are being brought, it is likely they will be put into action. Precisely how (there are various alternatives) remains to be seen.
Ruthie Blum shared Saul Sadka’s humorous version of “Trump’s negotiating team” on her JNS show “Israel Undiplomatic.” Go to minute 3:59 for a very brief but pertinent video clip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLbjPAKNiuw&t=255s
Roughly 3,500 US troops, in addition to those already deployed in the area, have arrived in the Gulf Area. Some considerable number of them are from the 82nd Airborne Division (an elite airborne infantry division, specializing in joint forcible entry operations); they are joined by a combat brigade.
82nd Airborne Division Paratroopers. By U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jacob Moir – This image was released by the United States Army with the ID 230604-A-JM069-008. See Commons, Public Domain, Wikipedia
According to a report by The Washington Post on Saturday, plans for a number of different scenarios are being laid out by the Pentagon for weeks of military ground operations in Iran. The president has not yet made a decision from amongst the options.
https://www.jns.org/news/u-s-news/pentagon-drafts-plans-for-ground-operations-in-iran
Meanwhile, on Friday, Secretary of State Rubio said the Iranian war was going very well and would end in weeks, not months. He declared that ground troops would not be necessary.
Sec. of State Marco Rubio at Munich Security Conference. Screengrab via Youtube
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One of the questions that is being raised with frequency is with regard to who is actually in charge in Iran now: I touched upon this in my last posting.
According to recent reports, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf (pictured) were removed from Israel’s hit list at the request of the US, after mediators from Pakistan (and according to one report from the NY Post, also Turkey and Egypt) warned Trump that there would be no chance for negotiations otherwise. According to a Pakistani official, “The Israelis had their… coordinates and wanted to take them out, we told the US if they are also eliminated then there is no one else to talk to, hence the US asked the Israelis to back off.”
Tehran Mayor, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf at Tasnim News Agency headquarters. By Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0, Wikipedia
Pity.
So now Mohammad Ghalibaf is the primary contact for Iran. Whether he is in an official position as head of the government or not, he is the strongman.
Trump has made some foolish statements regarding the fact that this is a new regime he is dealing with because there are new faces. But Araghchi assumed his role as foreign minister in 2024, and Ghalibaf has been speaker of the parliament since 2020.
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While Araghchi was often in the public eye, many know next to nothing about Ghalibaf. Thus do I consider the following information from Mehdi Parpanchi (pictured below) to be of particular importance (emphasis added).
Ghalibaf is not well known. Thus there is an opportunity now to rebrand him, painting him as a moderate.
“But Ghalibaf is not a moderate. He is not a hidden reformer. He is not a practical man trapped inside an ideological state. He is a hardliner, corrupt to the bone, who has spent years trying to look like something else.
“Ghalibaf has always been ambitious. He once cast himself as the Islamic Republic’s version of a modernising strongman, even using the language of an “Islamic Reza Khan.” He wanted the presidency and, for years, carried himself like Iran’s next president…Around him, that ambition produced a political project: to present Ghalibaf not as just another insider, but as the man who could impose order after Khamenei.
“That image was built not only for domestic politics. It was built for foreign eyes too…
“Inside the system, Ghalibaf is a hardliner and a loyal product of the regime. Outside that circle, especially in private meetings and foreign-facing conversations, he has long tried to present himself as more modern, more practical, more disciplined, and less ideological than the Islamic Republic’s usual faces. He has tried to market himself as the man who could keep the system in place while making it easier for the outside world to deal with…
“Ghalibaf is not a reformer held back by the system. He is one of its purest products. He rose through the Revolutionary Guards, the police, the municipality, and the institutions that sustain power in the Islamic Republic. His name is tied not only to hardline politics but also to repression, corruption, and elite hypocrisy.
“For many Iranians, his role in repression has made him one of the most hated faces of the Islamic Republic. He is linked not only to the student crackdowns but also to the coercive institutions that kept the system alive through fear and force…
“In moments of crisis, some in the West begin looking again for a hard man they can call practical. Faced with chaos in Tehran, they search for someone tough enough to control the machine but polished enough to sound like a statesman. Ghalibaf has spent years preparing for that role. He has tried to look like the man who could preserve the system while making it more manageable for outsiders.
“But he is not a post-Khamenei solution. He is a distilled product of the Khamenei system.
“Before anyone in the West starts calling him a pragmatist, it is worth remembering what he really is.
“He is one of the clearest expressions of the Islamic Republic, and one of its most hated figures in the eyes of the Iranian public. That public is not a bystander here. Less than three months ago, Iranians gave more than 30,000 lives in resistance to the same oppressive system that Ghalibaf stands at the heart of. Anyone thinking of dealing with him should remember that.
“And that is the point to make now, before the rebranding begins.”
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202603249117
Mehdi Parpanchi. Screengrab via Youtube
Please, my friends, share this material very broadly. Start with personal contacts. But also send this to your elected officials in the federal government, to the White House and your elected representatives in Congress and select members of the government. Write letters to the editor, do talkbacks and op-eds.
Here is an opportunity to assist in making the truth known.
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There is a great deal more to look at with regard to this situation. I am hoping – not promising – that I can write one more post before seder night on Wednesday.
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I ask, as I always do, that you please pray.
©Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
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