Crises in the Wings
4/18/202610 min
April 17, 2026
Strait of Hormuz opens after 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon takes effect, Trump hits media circle announcing that the war with Iran is over, Trump claims Iran has agreed to all the US terms, but Iran’s top negotiator rejects these claims, Article in the Atlantic claims FBI's Kash Patel is barely functioning, House Democrats create task force to focus on corruption in the administration, Several organizations have filed briefs challenging Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, Members of the House and the Senate introduce act to ban presidents and vice presidents from stealing taxpayer money.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsHeather Cox Richardson· Host0:00
[outro jingle] April 17th, 2026. This morning, after a ten-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect Thursday, Iran announced the Strait of Hormuz was open to commercial ships. Israel has been bombing southern Lebanon, where Iran-backed Hezbollah militants operate, and Iran's leadership has said it would not recognize a ceasefire with the United States until Israel's bombing of Lebanon stopped. With Iran's announcement the strait was open, Trump hit the media circle, announcing through interviews and social media posts that the war with Iran was over and peace talks were all but done, although Trump says the U.S. Navy will continue to blockade Iran's ports. Ron Filipkowski of MeidasTouch noted that Trump posted thirteen times in an hour, claiming total victory. He claimed that Iranian leaders had agreed to everything, including the removal of its enriched uranium, and that Iran has agreed never to close the Strait of Hormuz again. He promised that Iran had agreed to end its nuclear program forever and that talks should go very quickly. He said that the United States would work with Iran at a leisurely pace to retrieve and capture Iran's highly enriched uranium, and that Iran would receive no money for its cooperation, despite a report from