Speaking on the American channel MS NOW regarding the Iranian issue, US President Donald Trump reiterated what he has been saying for days: “Iran has no idea who its leader is. They are completely confused. We have effectively eliminated three levels of leadership and anyone even remotely close to the leadership. They have a hard time understanding who the hell could speak on behalf of the state. They simply don’t know.” “They came to us and said, ‘We agree to open the Strait,’ and everyone in the world was happy. Everyone was happy except me. I said, ‘Wait a minute. If we open this Strait, that means they’re going to make $500 million a day.’ I don’t want them to make $500 million a day, so I closed the Strait.”
Trump was asked how long he was willing to wait regarding Iran, and he replied, “No pressure.” The president further stated, “We hit 75 percent of our targets. We stopped because Iran wanted to talk.” “If I ended the war now, it would take 20 years to recover and rebuild. I don’t want that to happen; I want the damage to be permanent and indelible.” Trump declared he had no intention of using nuclear weapons against Iran. Finally, the usual threats came: “If they don’t respond to our efforts to reach an agreement, we will resume military action.”
France24 reports that “an enraged Trump—who was yelling at his aides—was LOCKED OUT of the Situation Room during a critical military operation in Iran.”
The U.S. Department of War removed 15 cases of injuries from the official casualty count in the conflict with Iran without providing any explanation. Some sources reported that these people were deceased.
Spanish newspaper El País: “Iran’s invisible mines in the Strait of Hormuz deter the United States, considered the world’s most powerful naval force. Iran, relying on naval mines, has discovered that disposing of and neutralizing these devices is extremely complex and time-consuming, effectively disrupting one of the world’s most important energy routes and even challenging the most powerful naval fleets.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz: “Negotiations must continue, and pressure must be increased because Iran wants to buy time. Sanctions against Iran could be eased if it commits to guaranteeing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran must commit to ending its nuclear program and stopping threatening Israel and its neighbors in the region. We will participate in a mission in the Strait of Hormuz, but only after parliamentary approval and the end of the war. We support Lebanon’s commitment to the peace process with Israel and are ready to contribute.”
The Israeli Defense Minister says Israel is ready to resume the war against Iran and is awaiting permission from the United States. Israeli Radio and Television remarked: “Israel has sent a message to the United States expressing its approval to resume the war against Iran.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on April 24: “I had an excellent telephone conversation with Trump regarding Iran. We are working in full cooperation with Trump to put pressure on Iran. We are on a path to achieving historic peace between Israel and Lebanon, and Hezbollah is trying to obstruct it.”
Netanyahu underwent surgery to remove a tumor: he had prostate cancer. And he is now undergoing radiation therapy, he himself stated.
Channel 12 attempted to undermine the Iranian government’s stability by stating: “Qalibaf resigned following the intervention of the Revolutionary Guards.” Israel responded through the Islamic Resistance’s social media: “In response to low-level Israeli propaganda: Qalibaf is the former commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ Aerospace Forces, who built these infamous underground missile cities across Iran 20 years ago, and is the right-hand man of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. Try that next time.”
Officially from Iran: “Even greater cohesion and more solid as steel,” Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, Head of the Iranian Judiciary, on Trump: “The detestable President of the United States must know that ‘hardline’ and ‘moderate’ are invented and meaningless terms, common in Western political discourse.” “In the Islamic Republic of Iran, all segments and factions are ultimately united and strong under the leadership of the Supreme Leader.” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf reacts to Trump’s statement: “We are all Iranians and revolutionaries.” “One God, one Leader, one nation, and one path: the path of victory for Iran, more precious than our own lives.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi both responded to Trump: “Iran is more united than ever; external threats have only strengthened the cohesion between its leadership and its people.”
Attempts to bring Israeli prison officers to court continue. Dozens of women have been raped and sexually abused in Israeli prisons since 2023, Euro-Med Testimonies. “They threatened to publish the photo of my rape if I didn’t cooperate, they electrocuted me until I lost consciousness.” Body searches under the watchful eye of male soldiers. Neon lines testify to this, as evidenced by footage from the March 2025 UN Report.
An Israeli activist reported: “Israeli guards in the infamous Sde Teiman prison use dogs to rape Palestinians.” “Unfortunately, there is a lot of evidence,” Shaiel Ben-Ephraim says, adding that two guards confessed to him that “it was too horrible to talk about.” Videos of the 2024 gang rapes in Sde Teiman are online.
Regarding the Lebanese issue, the Saudi-run Al-Hadath channel reports that President Trump will attend a meeting between the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon at the White House. According to Israeli media, Hezbollah has strengthened its policy of equations, and “Israel” fears another Lebanese quagmire. “The situation has turned […] from a pretext to eliminate threats to a situation in which Hezbollah not only responds, but also imposes equations.”
Again speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said Iran must stop funding Hezbollah to secure a deal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio added: “Iran cannot allow Revolutionary Guard terrorists into our country and pretend they are journalists and sports coaches.”
On the afternoon of April 24, President Trump announced that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon had been extended by three weeks. He said that the meeting between the two countries’ ambassadors, held the previous day at the White House, went “very well,” according to the Associated Press.
The U.S. Department of Justice is offering a $10 million reward for any information regarding the leader of one of the Iraqi resistance groups, the Sayed Al-Shuhada Brigades, Haj Abu Alaa Al-Waleed.
US military officials are developing new plans to strike Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz if the current ceasefire agreement fails, CNN reports, citing multiple US sources. According to the broadcaster’s sources, the military is focusing on “dynamic targeting” of Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz, the southern Persian Gulf, and the Gulf of Oman. There is talk of potential attacks against speedboats, minelayers, and other vessels that Tehran uses to block key waterways and put pressure on the United States.
Meanwhile, Iran has granted exemptions to several countries, including Russia, regarding customs duties for transit through the Strait of Hormuz. The Islamic Republic’s ambassador to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, told RIA Novosti.
On the night of April 24, according to Iranian state TV, “large crowds continued to participate in nighttime demonstrations across Iran, expressing support for the Islamic Republic and the Iranian armed forces.”
In preparation for his trip to Muscat, Islamabad, and Moscow, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi explained: “Iran’s defensive actions against US military installations in some Gulf countries were undertaken within the framework of its right to self-defense.” US envoys Witkoff and Kushner were reportedly heading to Islamabad to meet him.
Tehran International Airport will resume operations on April 25, with the first flights to Istanbul and Muscat. The execution of Sultan Ali Shirazadi Fakhr has been announced for his participation in the Mujahideen Khalq terrorist organization and his collaboration with the Mossad.
Iran denounces the killing of journalists as a war crime and a colonial ambition, referring to the journalist killed in an Israeli attack in Lebanon a few days ago.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said: “There is evidence that the United States and Israel have used or abused other countries’ space in the region.” “No country can cede its territory to another country for attack.” “But these countries have been unable or unwilling to fulfill their international obligations.” He also said: “The source of Iran’s claim about an ‘imaginary nuclear bomb’ is Israel. The Zionist regime is the only one in the region that possesses nuclear weapons.” “This claim must be abandoned.”
In the late afternoon of April 24, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, while arriving in Muscat, said: “I will begin a series of visits to Islamabad, Muscat, and Moscow with the aim of coordinating with our partners on regional developments.” A high-level Iranian Foreign Ministry source told Iran Now: “There is coordination between Iran and Saudi Arabia to stabilize Lebanon, and this is one of the main topics of discussion between the two countries. Preserving Lebanon’s unity, shielded from enemies’ attempts to sow discord, is in the interest of all countries in the region. The Lebanese government should seize these positive vibes between Tehran and Riyadh and adopt a more constructive attitude toward Iran. The first step in this direction should be the acceptance of accreditation,” Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Reza Shibani.
Negotiations continue between the Pakistani Foreign Minister and the Iranian Foreign Minister and Chief of Staff. A US official told Al Jazeera that there are no changes to the status of the ceasefire with Iran. Al Arabiya Correspondent in Pakistan: “Discussions are underway to extend the truce between Tehran and Washington. Araghchi’s resumption of contact is a positive sign for Islamabad.”
The Chinese Embassy in Iran has again urged its citizens to leave the country as soon as possible due to persistent security risks.
And now a look at the unfolding scenarios in the Middle East and Western Asia. Updated at 4:30 PM April 24. Approximately eight American tanker aircraft are headed to the Middle East. Between April 18 and 21, 62 military transport aircraft landed at US Army bases in the Middle East. Dozens of American aerial refueling aircraft have arrived in Israel in recent days, including the last 24 hours. The US Navy conducted an interception and maritime inspection of the sanctioned tanker Majestic X, which was carrying oil from Iran, in the area of responsibility of the US Indo-Pacific Command, according to a statement from the US War Department. This action is in line with last week’s announcement that the monitoring and interception of ships transiting to and from Iranian ports would be extended to all areas of responsibility of the Indo-Pacific Command. US Central Command: “For the first time in decades, three aircraft carriers are operating simultaneously in the CENTCOM area of responsibility.”
The shooting continues in Gaza. The latest toll: 3 dead and 2 wounded following the IDF’s shelling of a group of citizens near the “Bahloul” intersection in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, north of Gaza City. The IDF targeted a police patrol in the Bahloul area of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood.
The situation in the West Bank, where settlers continue to attack Palestinian settlements, is not improving. Clashes erupted between young Palestinians and Israeli forces in the town of Kafr, north of Ramallah. Settlers attacked civilians in the southern part of the town of Qusra, south of Nablus.
On the night of April 23, Hezbollah said it fired rockets into Israeli territories for the first time since the ceasefire was signed, in response to “countless Israeli violations.” On April 24, the IDF carried out large-scale house demolitions in Khiam, southern Lebanon. Commander Radan: “Some of the shells fired by the IDF had a delay; for example, they exploded 15 minutes after impact, and their aim was to cause casualties among the civilian population and relief forces, such as emergency services and the Red Crescent. This war has brought many hardships, but it has also contributed to our growth.”
The IDF has requested the evacuation of some wounded Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon. Further details will follow. According to Israel Army Radio: Three Israeli soldiers were injured in an operational incident in southern Lebanon. A suspected Israeli Hermes 450 drone was shot down over southern Lebanon. The news was reportedly confirmed by Israel Army Radio: “Hezbollah managed to shoot down an Air Force drone in the skies above Tyre. The drone was shot down with a surface-to-air missile.”
According to a statement from the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), 31 ships have been forced to return to Iranian ports or change course since the start of the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that the George H.W. Bush-class aircraft carrier (CVN-77), along with its strike group, which decided to circumnavigate Africa from the eastern Atlantic to avoid the Red Sea, has arrived in the Indian Ocean and is now operating in the U.S. Fifth Fleet’s area of responsibility.
Kepler denies CENTCOM: “The U.S. naval blockade against Iran is failing. Nine ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz; only the loaded vessels were sanctioned vessels linked to Iran. Iranian-flagged vessels continue to operate despite the U.S. naval blockade. This highlights the limitations of U.S. counteraction.” An Iranian rice vessel, despite the US Navy’s attempt to seize it, was escorted by the Revolutionary Guards Navy and safely crossed the Sea of Oman, reaching Iran.
On the evening of the 23rd, air defenses were reportedly active in West Tehran. The Fars news agency published photos of two vessels seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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