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Donald Trump’s Iran problem is not going away and maybe worsening, and he can thank the only three people who seem to have his ear, according to the panel on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe.”With the Strait of Hormuz still caught up in a stranglehold as a result of the president’s unprovoked war on the Middle Eastern nation, Trump has been fuming at the current state of affairs that is costing him MAGA support and has an increasing number of GOP lawmakers looking for a way to rein him in.According to co-host Joe Scarborough, the president’s refusal to listen to Pentagon experts has cost him dearly.“You know, not to labor a point here, but everybody knew from 1979 that if you went into Iran, the strait was a problem,” the former GOP lawmaker began.He continued, “And then you have the United States stumbling into Iran instead of listening to some of the smartest people, not only around now, but also throughout history on military strategy. He listened only to Pete Hegseth, Benjamin Netanyahu and Lindsey Graham –– I mean, really, that's a triumvirate.”“That's really why we're here,” he elaborated. “As far as the people in his ear saying this is something that needs to be done. And we have reports that there were many close to him, many military leaders saying, ‘Don't listen to these guys. Don't believe these guys. They're making this sound easier than it actually is.’ And yet here we are.""I mean, we're right now, we we are in a bit of a quagmire as it pertains to the strait, because the Iranians know they can play hardball," he added. Co-host Jonathan Lemire offered, “Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, outlined this could happen. But no, no advocacy was made and that's not necessarily his job. But no one else there did either. And, you know, [Vice President JD] Vance said that he had some reservations, but also made clear, 'Hey, boss, it's your decision. We'll just do it.' And this was a rushed war and it was shortsighted. They thought it was going to be over in days, a couple of weeks at most. And now it is no doubt a bit of a quagmire.” - YouTube youtu.be

Ukraine has secured a crucial European Union loan to support the country's wartime efforts

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Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) touted President Donald Trump's naval blockade of Iran because he said it was "literally starving" the people of the country.In an interview with Newsmax host Ed Henry this week, Marshall argued that the U.S. military was "locked and loaded" after Trump suggested to CNBC that he was willing to begin bombing Iran again if negotiations failed."And, well, again, we have our foot on Iran's neck right now," the senator explained. "When the president walks in the room, he's negotiating. There's a camera in front of him. He's negotiating, and again he's negotiating with these irrational religious zealots, that's just next to impossible, so they need to know he's serious and he's dead serious.""If this turns into weeks, I think that's when we're going to start getting antsy," he continued. "But also, we had this embargo working as well, the blockade.""And we're literally starving them both financially, as well as they can't feed themselves either very long."Marshall argued that the lack of negotiations with Iran was "a good thing.""The embargo, the blockade is there as well," he remarked. "I've got confidence in the president. That the president's got this."

Lai Ching-te abandons visit after Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar revoke overflight permission Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, has cancelled his trip to Eswatini, the democratic island’s only diplomatic ally in Africa, after his government said several countries had revoked overflight permits because of “intense pressure” from China.Lai was to leave on Wednesday for the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession. Continue reading...

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) was forced to explain what “sarcasm” was Tuesday following a barrage of attacks from right-wing figures over a remark he’d made about the U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.On Monday, multiple reports revealed that more than two dozen Iranian vessels bypassed the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil trade flows. In response to the reports, Murphy published a single-word post on social media: “awesome.”The reaction from right-wing figures was swift.“You should be removed from the Senate,” wrote right-wing figure and self-proclaimed “proud Islamophobe” Laura Loomer. “You are a national security threat.”“This piece of s--- is rooting for the Muslim terror Mullahs to win,” wrote Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), another right-wing figure who’s also been scrutinized for making what critics have called Islamophobic remarks. “Treason.”The right-wing backlash saw a number of other notable figures condemn Murphy, including political commentator Benny Johnson, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and conservative commentator Batya Ungar-Sargon, among several others.As the backlash stretched into Tuesday morning, Murphy apparently felt compelled to clarify the meaning of his remark.“I can’t believe I need to clarify this but obviously [President Donald] Trump’s bungled mismanagement of this war is not ‘awesome,’” Murphy wrote in a social media post on X. “As I have said a million times here, it’s a disaster and he should end the war immediately. My tweet was something called ‘sarcasm.’”Ok Twitter, I can’t believe I need to clarify this but obviously Trump’s bungled mismanagement of this war is not “awesome”. As I have said a million times here, it’s a disaster and he should end the war immediately. My tweet was something called “sarcasm”. https://t.co/aL9vSEzZC1— Chris Murphy ???? (@ChrisMurphyCT) April 21, 2026

President Donald Trump praised himself for "doing a great job" after 13 service members were killed in the Iran war.During a Tuesday interview on CNBC, Trump noted that many other wars lasted years instead of months."I would have won Vietnam very quickly," he reflected. "I would have, if I were president, I would have won Iraq in the same amount of time that we won [Iran] because essentially we've won here.""The Democrats can say, well, we should have done better," the president continued. "But we can't let traitors, like [Chuck] Schumer, put pressure on you where they say, we want out. Think how bad that is. I'm negotiating with these people."Trump insisted he wasn't going to rush into ending the war in Iran."And, you know, we have, I mean, if you look at this, what we've suffered in terms of losses, we lost 13 men, and that's terrible," he remarked. "But if somebody would have said, we've done this and obliterated that country, obliterated it, and we lost 13 men, people would have said, that's not possible to have done that. It's not possible.""So we've done a great job," he added, "and I don't want to be rushed by people that are really treasonous as far as I'm concerned."

President Donald Trump begged Iran's leadership to release eight women he believes will be executed as his administration attempts to negotiate a peace agreement.The 79-year-old president expressed hopes that a delegation, likely led by Vice President JD Vance, will strike a "great deal" with Iran during talks in Pakistan, but he shared a post from a pro-Israel influencer to set a new condition to open negotiations."To the Iranian leaders, who will soon be in negotiations with my representatives: I would greatly appreciate the release of these women," Trump posted Tuesday morning on Truth Social. "I am sure that they will respect the fact that you did so. Please do them no harm! Would be a great start to our negotiations!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP."Iran has executed at least 600 people so far this year, on pace to exceed the record 1,639 people executed last year, but the nation's government has not confirmed that eight women pictured in an X post by right-wing influencer Eyad Yakoby have been sentenced to death."BREAKING: The Islamic Republic is preparing to hang eight women," Yakoby posted Monday night. "Not a word from the international community or so-called human rights organizations."Yakoby's post shows photos of eight young women with their hair uncovered, which is legally required in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, and the post does not contain any identifying details about them or links to any other supporting evidence.