By Lt Gen Prakash Katoch

The first round of US-Iran ceasefire negotiations was not expected to succeed in the first place. US VP JD Vance simply carried the agenda of the POTUS Donald Trump with little authority to budge from it. If Trump didn’t want hostilities, he would have accepted Iran’s offer to hand over the Uranium during the last talks in Geneva, giving a chance to diplomacy, But Trump chose war. Both the US and Israel don’t want the war on Iran to end. 

Pakistan was chosen as the venue for the negotiations despite a recent US Congressional Research Service (CRS) report cites Pakistan continuing to harbour 15 major terrorist groups. Pakistan was selected because it has “purchased” access and sway within segments of the Trump-era political landscape in Washington. Moreover, because PM Nawaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir have been actively supporting the award of Nobel Peace Prize to Trump, Pakistan is exporting Rare Earth Minerals (REEs) to the US, and a US-Pakistan cryptocurrency deal is financially benefiting Trump’s family. Overall, Trump and his family are reportedly already richer by USD 4 billion since Trump assumed his second presidency. The fact that Trump appointed LeT-trained Ismail Royer to the White House Religious Liberty Commission Advisory Board, also indicates how much Trump loves Pakistan and terrorism.

But now there is speculation that Pakistan was also chosen as the venue because the US-Israel obsession of a comprehensive regime changes in Iran, which so far has been ineffective. The Iranian delegation, which included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, received direct threats to their lives traveling to Islamabad and back, due to which they had to make changes on their return trip (https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-iran-war-news-iranian-delegations-return-from-pakistan-amid-security-threat-switched-planes-took-bus-train-11358680). It wouldn’t be surprising there was a plan to have them all killed. The same threat can be expected in the next round of talks to be held in Pakistan, with Asim Munir in Tehran to facilitate the next meeting.

The above should be no surprise, given the deceit of American administrations against its own people. Trump expressed happiness over the recent death of Robert S Mueller, FBI Director during 9/11, who had disclosed the JFK Assassination (1963). RFK Assassination (1968), World Trade Centre bombing (1993), Oklahoma City Bombing (1995) and 9/11 in 2001 were all planned and executed by the highest US government levels, all of which indicates the heinous mentality of the US.  

Two happenings are noteworthy during the failed round of talks in Islamabad. One was a telephone call from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Vance, the contents of which need little imagination. The second was an attempt by two US destroyer ships and their fleets in the Persian Gulf to enter the Straits of Hormuz, posing as commercial vessels belonging to Oman. But after Iranian cruise missiles locked onto them, attack drones were deployed and they were given 30 minutes to turn back, the vessels immediately retreated. This was the second fiasco of Secretary of War Pete Hegsethh after the failed attempt to capture Iran’s Uranium, losing two C-130 aircraft and six (?) servicemen in the process. There are repeated calls on X to sack Hegseth.

Netanyahu supports the US blockade of the Straits of Hormuz, as he continues to pound Lebanon and indicates that the war against Iran is not complete. On April 7, 2026, China and Russia vetoed a Bahrain-sponsored UNSC draft resolution regarding ship escorting in the Strait of Hormuz, stating it “failed to capture the root causes and the full picture of the conflict.” According to US CENTCOM: some 10,000 US service members, a dozen plus naval ships, and 100 plus military aircraft comprise the blockade; no ships were able to pass the blockade of Iranian ports during the first 24 hours  while six merchant vessels complied with directions to turn around; the blockade is enforced against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports; US  supports freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.

Speaking to media on sidelines of IMF–World Bank meetings, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Chinese tankers will not be allowed passage through the strait during the blockade; “So they’re not going to be able to get their oil.” But China’s Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun said China is monitoring the situation, China has trade and energy agreements with Iran, adding “We will respect and honour them and expect others to not meddle with our affairs, As far as China is concerned Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz and it is open for us.” The latest is the US Navy allowed a Chinese ship carrying Iranian goods to pass; deflating foolish warnings of Scott Bessent. America wouldn’t dare to directly attack a Chinese vessel, which is why it always wants NATO/allies in the forefront, and never went beyond Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) patrols against China’s militarization of the East and South China Seas. Also, ships transiting Hormuz can use nearby ports to receive or deliver Iranian goods via third parties. This was followed by a comical tweet by Trump (inset).

Amid hundreds of lies of  Trump since assuming the second presidency, China has officially trashed Trump’s claim that China agreed with the US not to supply weapons to Iran (https://x.com/en_chinanews/status/2044512589082988705?s=48&t=1-FH0Oe0CU1E1UI-xTTAYQ).Iran’s ability to sustain missile attacks despite more than 16,000 US-Israeli strikes against it suggests that its decentralized defence-cum-response has worked in imposing deterrent costs on the aggressor states. Penetration rates of Iranian missile strikes rose as the war progressed, suggesting Iran’s later assets are more sophisticated, beating Israeli and US-supplied air defence systems. The war proved that no air defence system, including America’s, is impenetrable in an extended conflict against a resilient and strategically adaptive adversary. 

The US blockade of the Straits of Hormuz, however effective or ineffective, was very much anticipated by Iran and China, as succinctly explained by Iranian-American political analyst Professor Mohammad Marandi in his conversation with Lt Col Daniel Davis and Chas Freeman (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk5c–35bdk): measures taken for sale of oil and Iran’s border trade with its dozen-plus neighbouring countries. Marandi is confident that Iran will outlast the US in this blockade. He also explains why India will be much more affected, than China and Pakistan, by way of energy supplies. Indian politicians can’t stop talking about India’s rapid economic rise, but according to the IMF, India is now the world’s sixth-largest economy, down from fourth position because of nearly 10% depreciation of the INR in India’s dollar-denominated GDP estimates. But in the upcoming BRICS Summit, chaired by India in September 2026, will India go with BRICS members for de-dollarization and alternate payment systems, disregarding Trump’s anti-BRICS stance?

It is no secret that Trump is dancing to the tune of Netanyahu who holds the spectre of Epstein over the White House, while Netanyahu continues the genocide in Gaza and Lebanon – killing civilians, children, doctors, reporters and UN peacekeepers. Both Trump and his wife Melania deny affairs with Epstein but there is more than enough evidence to the contrary and pictures don’t lie. Prince Andrew’s biographer claims that Epstein and Melania were lovers. Some posts on social media brand Trump and Melania the most immoral occupants ever of the White House.

Continuation of the blockade adversely affects supply chains and global economies.  NATO, Europe and US allies are not with Trump in his blockade of the Straits of Hormuz. European and Gulf leaders are heading to China to enhance bilateral economic and trade ties, much to the glee of Beijing. Many European countries have called for stoppage of Israeli genocide in Lebanon and Italy has cancelled defence deals with Tel Aviv.    

From wanting Iran’s unconditional surrender to eradicating the Persian civilization, TACO Trump is down to an ineffective blockade. Iran has indicated that if the US continues to blockade Iranian ports, it will target US ships. What Trump will do next is difficult to guess but his warmongering will continue, given his megalodiscs temperament, greed and deteriorating mental condition. A few weeks back, his picture appeared dressed up as the Pope, the most recent was portraying him Jesus-like, which he quickly deleted realising he will lose Catholic votes. But Vance still had the gumption of warning the Pope not to interfere in the affairs of Trump – who is being called the Chosen One of Satan.

Finally, to expect good sense to prevail upon Trump would be unrealistic with Netanyahu riding his back. But certainly, America’s global standing will continue to decline if the war in West Asia continues. That is why Asim Munir has been sent to Tehran to find and exit from the quagmire Trump finds himself now. US troops from Syria are already pulling out and pullout from other bases in the Gulf may not be too far.

The author is an Indian Army veteran. Views expressed are personal.