The Week: A Temporary Cease-Fire

• No cease-fire in the podcasting wars as yet.

• By the time you read this, the status of the cease-fire with Iran that is intended to open the Strait of Hormuz may well have changed again. At this writing, Iran has not ceased firing at Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. Israel insists that the deal does not include any reprieve for Hezbollah in Lebanon, while the Iranians insist that it does. Meanwhile, the strait remains mostly closed. President Trump has always been prone to posting furious outbursts on Truth Social, and he seems to be getting more erratic as the war continues. On Tuesday morning, the president was warning that “a whole civilization will die.” About twelve hours later, Iran’s release of wildly unrealistic demands was supposedly good enough to persuade the president to back down. But a little before midnight on Wednesday, Trump declared that U.S. military forces would remain in the region “until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with.” In the “highly unlikely” event it is not, “then the ‘Shootin’ Starts,’ bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before.” It is a blessing that Iran’s military has been degraded and we continue to hope for a good outcome, but steadier leadership in war would be helpful.

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• No cease-fire in the podcasting wars as yet.

• By the time you read this, the status of the cease-fire with Iran that is intended to open the Strait of Hormuz may well have changed again. At this writing, Iran has not ceased firing at Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. Israel insists that the deal does not include any reprieve for Hezbollah in Lebanon, while the Iranians insist that it does. Meanwhile, the strait remains mostly closed. President Trump has always been prone to posting furious outbursts on Truth Social, and he seems to be getting more erratic as the war continues. On Tuesday morning, the president was warning that “a whole civilization will die.” About twelve hours later, Iran’s release of wildly unrealistic demands was supposedly good enough to persuade the president to back down. But a little before midnight on Wednesday, Trump declared that U.S. military forces would remain in the region “until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with.” In the “highly unlikely” event it is not, “then the ‘Shootin’ Starts,’ bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before.” It is a blessing that Iran’s military has been degraded and we continue to hope for a good outcome, but steadier leadership in war would be helpful.