Iran: Heading for Another Ceasefire?

Peloni: Entering into a deal with Iran goes against US interests as it perpetuates the national theme in Iran which created the threat which brought the US to war today.  Existential threats can not be negotiated out of existence.  They warrant and demand being ripped out of power, root, stem and leaf.

by Amir Taheri  •  Gatestone Institute  •  April 19, 2026

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Screengrab via YoutubeA reshuffling of cards that leaves Iran’s regime in place in an altered form would not change the genetics of an ideology built around the radical rejection of accepted international law.  Picutured: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Screengrab via Youtube

  • Under the system created by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei, even the chiefs of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are not allowed to hold staff meetings without prior approval of the Office of the Supreme Guide (“Beit-e Rahbari“) and the presence of his military advisers.

  • Two things seem clear at this juncture. The Khomeini-Khamenei system cannot be rebuilt even if the new “Supreme Guide” Mojtaba Khamenei is really alive and kicking.
  • The second thing is that a reshuffling of cards that leaves the regime in place in an altered form would not change the genetics of an ideology built around the radical rejection of accepted international law.

The ceasefire declared in the US-Israel war against Iran is set to end in the next couple of days amid conflicting views on what might happen next.

By the time of writing this piece, many observers thought that both sides might agree to an extension of the brittle truce for a further 45 days. In a world of a 24-hour news cycle, punctuated by tweets and video clips, that may sound like a long time.

In last June’s war against Iran, US President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire after 35 hours of bombing.

He had also declared “mission accomplished” in Venezuela after a 5-hour raid to arrest President Nicolás Maduro. When the second round of war against Iran seemed to stall, the president threatened to turn Iran back to the Stone Age in just 4 hours.

In the Islamabad peace talks last week, Vice President JD Vance decided that enough was enough after a 16-hour back-and-forth with Tehran’s emissaries, half of it spent on translation of what each side said.

Continue Reading Article

April 19, 2026 | 2 Comments »

Leave a Reply

2 Comments / 2 Comments

  1. Trump might be waging psychological warfare against the regime. They are fighting each other openly. Nobody is in charge, according Mahyar Tousi of Tousi TV. I am suspending judgement until it is clear the fat lady has sung.

    • 17. According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one’s plans.

      18. All warfare is based on deception.

      19. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

      20. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.

      21. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him.

      22. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.

      23. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.

      24. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

      25. These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand…

      …1. Sun Tzu said: In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.

      2. Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.

      3. Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy’s plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy’s forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy’s army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.

      4. The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly be avoided. The preparation of mantlets, movable shelters, and various implements of war, will take up three whole months; and the piling up of mounds over against the walls will take three months more.

      5. The general, unable to control his irritation, will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants, with the result that one-third of his men are slain, while the town still remains untaken. Such are the disastrous effects of a siege.

      6. Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy’s troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field.

      7. With his forces intact he will dispute the mastery of the Empire, and thus, without losing a man, his triumph will be complete. This is the method of attacking by stratagem.

      https://classics.mit.edu/Tzu/artwar.html