News and Analysis 4/20/26

“U.S. forces have been preparing for the possibility of seizures for days”:

• Trump Says U.S. Seized Iranian Ship Trying to Bypass Blockade of Strait of Hormuz (Washington Post)

U.S. and Iran can’t even agree on whether peace talks are taking place:

• Vance Heads to New Talks With Iran. At Stake: Peace and His Own Standing (NY Times)
• Iran Rejects New Peace Talks as Trump Sends Negotiators to Pakistan (Time)
• ‘Resumption of Hostilities’: Seized Ship, Vessel Attacks Push U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Toward Brink (CNBC)

The “US president’s unreliable style sows diplomatic confusion but leaves Tehran clear on strategic value of strait of Hormuz”:

• Intemperate Trump Brings Chaos and Confusion to Iran Talks (The Guardian)

The dispute is over whether only “to an end U.S. public spending to support Israel’s military, … [or to] also halt the commercial sale of weapons from U.S. companies to Israel’s government”:

• Democrats Are Split over What It Means to Block Israel Weapons Deals (The Intercept)

“Shamim Mafi, 44, was nabbed on charges she brokered the sale of ‘drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition’ between Iran and the Sudanese Armed Forces”:

• Woodland Hills Woman Nabbed at LAX on Iranian Arms Trafficking Charge (LA Times)

“Targets reportedly include a Saudi pipeline to the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and a UAE export terminal at Fujairah, outside the Gulf”:

• Iran War Escalates as Houthis Threaten to Sever Saudi Oil Exports (SCMP)

A victory like this may be worse than defeat:

• In Iran, the Regime Has Indeed Changed: It’s Less Restrained, More Hard-line (Christian Science Monitor)

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