Trump Tells Aides to Prepare for Extended Blockade of Iran
Source: WSJ
President Trump has instructed aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran, U.S. officials said, targeting the regimes coffers in a high-risk bid to compel a nuclear capitulation Tehran has long refused, the Wall Street Journal reports.
In recent meetings, including a Monday discussion in the Situation Room, Trump opted to continue squeezing Irans economy and oil exports by preventing shipping to and from its ports. He assessed that his other optionsresume bombing or walk away from the conflictcarried more risk than maintaining the blockade, officials said.
Yet continuing the blockade also prolongs a conflict that has driven up gas prices, hurt Trumps poll numbers and further darkened Republicans prospects in the midterm elections.
Read more: https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/trump-tells-aides-to-prepare-for-extended-blockade-of-iran-da3be7a4
Whip-poor-will
(413 posts)What an example of arrested childhood development.
Toddler's brain in an overstuffed body.
He is the best we got ????
muriel_volestrangler
(106,461 posts)
Trump shared an image of himself, wearing sunglasses and carrying a gun, set against the backdrop of presumably Middle Eastern towns and villages being bombed, with the caption No more Mr Nice Guy.
He wrote:
Iran cant get their act together. They dont know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon! President DJT
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/apr/29/king-charles-new-york-donald-trump-zohran-mamdani-iran-us-politics-live?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-69f1d9998f08dcbe34a4bcae#block-69f1d9998f08dcbe34a4bcae
Botany
(77,682 posts)Last edited Wed Apr 29, 2026, 09:47 AM - Edit history (1)
And he posted that A.I. picture of Iran being bombed as he poses with sunglasses and an
assault rifle too. Gee, I wonder why Iran doesnt want to negotiate with him?
Christ on a cracker his Epstein War is a nightmare.
Submariner
(13,403 posts)this new deal is an "un-woke" deal made by a racist white lying adjudicated rapist pedophile thieving Russian asset guy high on his own supply.
In Trumpworld it's just Apples and Oranges crayons. It all makes sense to the maga-verse.
Botany
(77,682 posts)M.I.T.s Department of Physics, and had 30 years of experience working on nuclear nonproliferation
issues. There are 2 types of weapons grade materials U 235 @ 95% purity and plutonium. You can
make bomb grade U 235 with centrifuges (really technical) or plutonium with a breeder reactor which
Iran did not have. Iran agreed to get rid of their centrifuges and allowed for 24/7 inspections across
their entire nation by the I.A.E.A. (international atomic energy agency) which was great because that
kept America out of doing the inspections. The bad deal on its first page said something like Iran
will never have a nuclear weapon or have the capability to make them.
Trump tore up that deal because of his jealousy of that black guy and his current Iranian war has the
potential to crash the worlds economy. This is madness by a mad man who is taking orders from
Bibi Netanyahu and Saudi Arabia.
NEOH
(340 posts)Fixed it for ya!
Trump tore up that deal because of his jealousy of that black guy and his current Iranian war has the
potential to crash the worlds economy. This is madness by a mad man who is taking orders from
Bibi Netanyahu, Saudi Arabia and Vladimir Putin.
Trump, Vlad, Epstein, and Musk were and in some cases still are part of the largest international criminal
organization in history. Sex trafficking, blackmail, murder, election rigging, misinformation, murder, media
manipulation, kidnapping, wars, cruelty, banking fraud, safe houses, safe countries, wars, money laundering, fossil fuel industries, A.I. crap, crypto, and stopping USAID which has killed over a million people so far in Africa because both Thiel and Musk are Afrikaners from South Africa.
Dan
(5,257 posts)He will always be the dumbest person in the room.
ananda
(35,384 posts)are the worst we got.
Blues Heron
(8,962 posts)Volaris
(11,771 posts)Bengus81
(10,294 posts)Bluetus
(3,004 posts)The prices in my area have been volatile since the beginning of this Trump/Netanyau war. They sat above $4 for a few weeks, then spent nearly a month around $3.50. But suddenly this week, they all shot up to nearly $5 for regular. I believe that is the > $100/bbl field prices working their way through the system. And it is also the oil companies deciding the market would likely be > $100 for months.
As I write this, Brent is hitting $115. And note, none of those comes from the Persian Gulf in normal times. But the prices are fungible globally. And that is not just a theoretical thing. You can bet that Europe and the Pac Rim are looking to buy oil from wherever they can, even it it involves a lot of shipping.
It is worth examining the fact that Trump first hit Venezuela, right before closing down the Strait of Hormuz. You can bet those two events are connected. Where is the Venezuelan oil going, and what cut is Trump taking off the top?
Lovie777
(23,411 posts)plus shithole thinks the taxpayer's money all belong to him and I guess his cult also agrees.
Meanwhile, healthcare, jobs, cost of living is not even in their radar because they don't care.
How stupid shithole and his comrades are. Firing scientists, competent and quailfiled military, even firing military preachers.
How stupid shithole and his comrades are, depleting our weapons, and the list keeps getting longer, but hey, at least shithole's revenge tour is front and center.
Alas, Epstein will not go away.
travelingthrulife
(5,457 posts)highplainsdem
(62,782 posts)barbtries
(31,328 posts)he's not capable of making decisions that are rational.
we are so fucked.
ETA at this point i blame the failed legacy media for continuing to sane wash this insanity. the man is clearly unwell, depraved and demented.
sprinkleeninow
(22,412 posts)Fil1957
(788 posts)OnlinePoker
(6,142 posts)No country would ever say anything to their enemy about the state of their government/military and society. He's governing solely based on whichever neuron is firing in his head at the moment.
reACTIONary
(7,261 posts)Justice matters.
(9,976 posts)It claimed, it lied.
What else is new?
Pesky1
(79 posts)It would be a real shame if it disappeared.
paleotn
(22,516 posts)High gas prices here to stay. Jet fuel shortages. And all the knock on effects putting the global economy into recession. And before you start with the idea of some grand Repuke plan for the midterms, remember these people are idiots being led by an orange moron. If they have some kind of rational plan, which I highly doubt, they'll fuck it up.
Mysterian
(6,590 posts)I cussed all idiot republicans who voted for an obvious con man.
Bayard
(30,066 posts)pat_k
(13,637 posts)When allies pushed back on Greenland threats, he "walked away."
There is no walking away on Iran.
He is incapable of negotiating.
His demands will never be met.
The Iranian regime cares not for the suffering of it's people. No amount of bombing will "win" this war as long as IRGC and Basij with jet skis and cheap drones can inflict damage on neighbors, oil tankers, and container ships.
The only "out" is surrender and reparations -- and epic humiliation, which he will NEVER allow.
The magnitude of the damage to this nation and the world done by his criminal Iran insanity will escalate every week as the year progresses.
Republicans are in denial. They have their fingers in their ears, singing "la la la." The creatures are hanging on to the fantasy that the felon's criminal war on Iran will magically came to an end and things will "snap back" to some sort of tolerable trumpian business as usual.
But that will NEVER happen with the felon in the White House. There is no out with Trump in power.
He IS the crisis.
The ONLY way to end the crisis is if he leaves.
If enough of them wake up and see this reality we'll see an effort to push him out. A push to resign for "health reasons" or some face saving bullshit.
Resignation is not outside the realm of possibility.
If that does come to pass, they'll find they left it to long. It's too late. Many, many Republican careers are over. The party can't "live down" this level of chaos and destruction. And they only have themselves to blame.
Whip-poor-will
(413 posts)What's the difference between us invading two countries and a third teed up and "detention centers" and concentration camps and Germany 1933 ?
pat_k
(13,637 posts)He is failing to crush the opposition to the level Hitler did. Resistance to Hitler, especially after 1933, meant immediate imprisonment, torture, or execution, with many fleeing.
State Attorneys General, ACLU, Indivisible, Defiance, SPLC, Common Cause, immigrants' rights organizations and countless others are growing, not backing down, and the opposition is winning in the courts enough to derail at least some of his authoritarian aspirations.
Yes, they've successfully co-opted the Executive branch, Congress and SCOTUS -- for now -- but lower courts are holding, our state-run, highly-distributed elections are more difficult to corrupt, and the blinders are off State Democratic Party Chairs -- they are putting in place more robust election protection mechanisms than ever. They need -- and are getting -- our financial and volunteer support. We have a lot more to do, especially in red states, but every dollar given now helps build critical infrastructure that all Democratic Candidates can leverage.
maxsolomon
(39,000 posts)and a nation absolutely enraged over the cost of fuel. I paid $6.60 this morning in Seattle. Think how pissed off Bubba J. Magat is going to be when he pays that much in Bumblefuck, Ohio.
NEOBuckeye
(2,923 posts)Spiked up to $4.79 ~ $4.99 in much of Ohio.
So much winning!
maxsolomon
(39,000 posts)And that's IN Seattle. Nearly $2 higher per gallon, or at least $25 additional per fill up.
ChicagoTeamster
(1,148 posts)Last edited Wed Apr 29, 2026, 02:25 PM - Edit history (1)
Everything his negotiators now want was already provided for in the prior treaty, successfully monitored by US and European agencies, and he tore it up. Then after Iran was pretty much going to meet the US negotiators demands which included giving up their stockpile of enriched Uranium, the US and Israel attacked. Because they didn't want a deal, Netanyahu wanted a war.
Putin, Trump, and Netanyahu have now proven to the world that countries possessing nuclear weapons won't get attacked. No country has attacked Russia, or China, or North Korea.
And, Trump already reneged on an existing agreements signed by the US and then after that attacked with no warning even though the Iranians were agreeing to most of the terms of the last round of negotiations. He proved that himself and his administration cannot be trusted. Why would Iran agree to anything now?
Trump and Netanyahu are probably going to have to give in to some demands. And, future shipping to the US or Israel may have to be rerouted at great expense. Trump is basically trying to hold the global economy hostage. Iran has repeatedly stated that the strait is open to all shipping not for Israel or the US. The US has already let Chinese and Russian ships through. Trump is mainly trying to pressure NATO countries to do the dangerous job of patrolling the strait and launching a ground invasion for his and Netanyahu's war, that was launched without any consultation of the EU or Gulf states, after he insulted their service on our behalf for twenty years in the Global War on Terror after 9/11. And, NATO countries spending money and losing troops and resources in the Gulf would leave them less prepared to confront Russian aggression in Europe. i.e. Trump keeps BiBi and Pooty from releasing more dirt.
And he says this after King Charles speech before Congress urging a return to the rule of international law and mutual security and an end to authoritarian rule having no accountability to the people. Another slap in the face to or allies who have been with us for over 100 years.
Trump must be expecting to make a lot of money off of IRAN.
Who's going to release more Epstein files first? Putin? Bibi? or Ghislaine?
Justice matters.
(9,976 posts)Although these are not enemies of Israel (yet).
ChicagoTeamster
(1,148 posts)I remember when India and Pakistan were the two countries the world worried about getting nuclear weapons because they were constant belligerents and Most of Pakistan is high dry desert so a nuclear war would kick up a lot of fallout and radioactive dust high into the atmosphere. They both successfully tested their nuclear weapons about a week apart in May 98.
I think Israel has demonstrated that they are more of a threat with nuclear weapons than India or Pakistan.
Midnight Writer
(25,617 posts)You know the oil companies are making a fortune off of this chaos.
I wonder what they told him to do?
I'm sure whatever they told him reflected the America First! principles Trump holds so dear.
I'm sure Trump wisely reviewed their counsel and will act in the best interests of the American people.
Justice matters.
(9,976 posts)Mafia style.
Queso Delicioso
(203 posts)Seriously, if you're still driving a gas car, what are you even doing?
Lasher
(29,633 posts)A rare moment of honesty about the Iraq war by Donald Rumsfeld.
Jack Valentino
(5,191 posts)'bridges and electricity', which would create a humanitarian survival crises
almost equal to the effects of a nuclear war
for the very people whom he claimed to be trying to help
at the beginning of this illegal war!
(and purported by many to be actual WAR CRIMES!)
((maybe one or two people in the admin must be trying to talk him away
from the threats he has made! ))