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Tuesday’s Final Word – HotAir

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April 7, 2026
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Tuesday’s Final Word – HotAir

Heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend who heard it from another you’ve been tabbing around …





Ed: I put the FW post together before Donald Trump’s deadline, As of 2 pm ET, it was still in force, but I have adjusted accordingly now that the cease-fire has been announced. I have noticed that the US and Israel have avoided making targets of leadership in the civilian government and the regular army (Artesh). One reason is that they didn’t hold enough power before the war to waste the effort. However, it also allows these two groups to take control of Iran if and when the IRGC collapses and the mullahs get killed or flee.  

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Donald Trump on Truth Social: Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks. This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE! The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East. We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate. Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated. On behalf of the United States of America, as President, and also representing the Countries of the Middle East, it is an Honor to have this Longterm problem close to resolution. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP

Ed: There is already a big debate about whether this is a TACO moment or the IRGC’s attempt to save itself. Could be both, could be neither. The people tossing around the TACO claims are the same ones who shrieked about Trump being on the verge of ordering nuclear strikes on Tehran. I think the Israelis probably have this right; we probably should have run out the string on the bombing targets first. The big question will be whether the IRGC can deliver on a cease-fire, since missiles still are getting launched at Israel. 





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The country is yours. Take it. You might not ever have another chance like this with the regime this unstable.

Ed: They need small arms, at least, before they can take on what’s left of the Basij. But yes, this may be their best moment. 

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Associated Press: Some Israeli officials had begun speculating as Trump neared his self-imposed deadline that he was edging towards finding an off-ramp even as he offered increasingly menacing rhetoric toward, according to person privy to internal deliberations.

The U.S. administration had signaled to Israelis that the strikes on military assets on Kharg Island earlier Tuesday and the targeting of Iran’s two main petrochemical hubs, Mahshahr and Assaluyeh, were sending a clear message to Tehran of what would come if Trump chose to further intensify the bombardment, according to the person who requested anonymity to discuss the matter.

Israeli officials were skeptical and believed the apparent breakthrough could unravel and lead to further escalation if the Iranians don’t make good on quickly opening the Strait of Hormuz, the person added.

Ed: I see that as a low-risk strategy. If they keep attacking shipping in the Strait, we can order the strikes on the energy and transportation infrastructure. We get a couple of weeks to resupply, rethink target selection, and watch as the IRGC’s leaders come back into public view. Iran can’t restore its terror deterrents, and the regime faces existential threats from their own people. 

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Ed: Suffice it to say that Trump isn’t taking legal advice from Carlson on this point either. I wrote about the new and deeply stupid “war crimes” narrative earlier today; some of the discussion continues below. 

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Ed: Not to mention that the IRGC is committing a war crime by putting civilians near legitimate military targets as human shields. The IRGC has been targeting similar facilities in neighboring states for the last four-plus weeks. Reciprocity matters, but symmetry does not. The way to deter war is to demonstrate that we will bring massive and asymmetrical consequences for committing acts of war either directly or through proxies. Using civilians as shields against those consequences is both terrorism and war crimes. 

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Ringside at the Reckoning: [Colin] Powell was an estimable man but the extent to which his virtues included foreign policy wisdom is debatable. In any case, the Pottery Barn Rule makes no sense. …

In the case of our war with Iran, again, we have no ownership of “the hopes, aspirations, and problems” of the Iranian people. There is an alignment between these hopes and aspirations and U.S. interests because complete overthrow of the regime would serve Iranian hopes/aspirations and our national interests.

However, the cost to the U.S. of toppling the regime via invasion may be too high. If the administration so concludes, we violate no obligation to the Iranian people by leaving with the regime (or what’s left of it) intact.

Furthermore, no obligation to Iran will arise if, pursuant to President Trump’s latest threats, we obliterate Iran’s infrastructure, including its power plants and oil facilities.* I hope these threats produce an agreement favorable to the U.S. But if they don’t and Trump follows through on his threats, I won’t be too disappointed to see us break more pots.





Ed: In this case, I think the “Pottery Barn” issue is the traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, not the infrastructure of Iran. The war created the Strait issue, and we will probably have to own that, along with our allies in the Gulf. Otherwise, I’m in full agreement with Paul Mirengoff. 

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Ed: “War crimes” is the new “genocide” in terms of stupid progressive mantras. 

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Nadim Koteich at the Jerusalem Post: Let us be precise about what is happening here. A war is being fought in the Middle East. Another war is being fought in the pages of newspapers, on the panels of cable networks, and in the faculty lounges of institutions that have confused sophistication with a reflex. The second war has a declared winner: Iran. It just has nothing to do with what is actually happening in the first one.

The claim, repeated with the solemnity of established fact, is made by smart and credentialed people, who know and want you to know they know. However, they are wrong. Not subtly wrong. Not wrong in ways that require careful qualification. They are wrong in the way that requires ignoring ninety percent of Iran’s missile capacity destroyed in week one, a navy that no longer exists, a Supreme Leader killed in the opening hours of the campaign, and a proxy network that is fracturing from Lebanon to Yemen.

Wrong in the way that requires looking at the Gulf states, which are doubling down on the relation with the US and Israel, and concluding somehow that Iran has outmaneuvered everyone.

This is not an analysis. So what is it?

Ed: The answer is simple: propaganda. It’s an anti-Western impulse among progressive elites in media, government, and Academia. They cannot allow for the fact that America (and especially Israel) can project power in any legitimate fashion, let alone successfully. As a result, all of these nattering nabobs of negativism can do is babble about “war crimes” and insist that Iran is somehow winning a war while losing their air force, navy, proxies, and soon their entire military-industrial complex. 





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How is it possible that these people have no clue how a negotiation actually works, no sense of the strategic advantage in keeping your opponent off balance, forcing them to move military and other assets in a panic, exposing what they have and where they hide it, or grasping any of the subtle layers of strategic thinking? No, they genuinely seem to believe that Trump would just nuke some country on a whim.

Ed: Because they are indoctrinated into assuming all American exercises of power are inherently illegitimate, and that all choices are not just likely but already made. Add in an unhealthy dose of TDS, and voila. 

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Ed: You’d think that this would be blindingly obvious. You’d also think that the same media hyperventilating about Trump would have applied these same standards to Iran’s threats of “Death to America” in relation to their efforts to build their own nuclear weapons. Yet here we are, at the junction of Stupid and Indoctrinated. 

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Ed: In that sense, the bedwetting and hyperventilation may actually help Trump when it comes to getting the Iranians to capitulate. I doubt it will help, but at least it’s revealing. 





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Sarah Adams on X/Twitter: Let’s get something straight, because this keeps getting butchered, the civilization he is talking about ending is the Islamist regime, the assholes that took over 47 years ago and literally ruined the original Persian civilization in Iran that no one in the west seems to ever show empathy for. That distinction shouldn’t be this hard. And no, they shouldn’t be forced to be subservient to terrorists for another 50 years because you with 50,000 followers on some social media echo chamber said so.

While some rush to defend a failed terrorist state, that same regime has been hanging teenagers this whole past week. I’ve seen zero concern over that, they’ve also been sending 12 year olds to be cannon fodder. Spare me the outrage.

And to those immediately spiraling into “this means nuclear war,” please chill and relax a little. All this literally is ending a future nuclear threat. Not every hard-line equals global catastrophe. That’s not how this works. You’ve grown so used to watching terrorist pandering that you don’t even recognize what resolve looks like. The regime are paper tigers let them fold or make a choice that will lead to their ultimate demise.

Ed: Adams is apparently formerly with the CIA. This is good analysis regardless of her CV; in fact, it’s pretty much just common sense. 

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Ed: I just wish they’d do a minimal amount of research before making those assertions as though they were established facts. 

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Ed: Consider this a palate cleanser for today. 


Editor’s note: If we thought our job in pushing back against the Academia/media/Democrat censorship complex was over with the election, think again. This is going to be a long fight. If you’re digging these Final Word posts and want to join the conversation in the comments — and support independent platforms — why not join our VIP Membership program? Choose VIP to support Hot Air and access our premium content, VIP Gold to extend your access to all Townhall Media platforms and participate in this show, or VIP Platinum to get access to even more content and discounts on merchandise. Use the promo code FIGHT to join or to upgrade your existing membership level today, and get 60% off!





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