IRAN AGAIN CALLS TRUMP’S BLUFF ON U.S. CLOWN-CAR FOREIGN POLICY
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY APRIL 8, 2026) — “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
These were the words of Mr. Bluster, a.k.a. President Donald Trump, Tuesday morning. He was speaking of his latest “deadline” regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran. Again, Iran called Trump’s bluff. THE PLANET has lost count of the number of times the president has done this, set a deadline then back off. He’s called “Wolf” so many times that one late report had Lon Chaney Jr. spotted in the White House situation room.
Who can take Trump seriously at this point when it comes to foreign policy? Iran has made a fool out of him and his boy toy, Benjamin Netanyahu. The two gay militant gay blades, caught in the hysteria of their own back-slapping, thought they would go in on Feb. 28, rain terror from the skies, and watch Iran fold faster than Myron Florian’s accordion. The war would be over in a week, and that would be that.
Only it wasn’t that.
Iran’s deterministic resistance showed that the U.S. had no plan whatsoever beyond the arrogant assumption that pure military force would solve the geopolitical situation that’s been extant for 47 years.
So now the world has a two-week pause in this gigantic US-Israeli blunder, a serious circus where Trump is not the ringmaster but the driver of the clown car.
Author Dan Valenti will be signing PMB’s latest publication, SANITY MADE SIMPLE, at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 25 at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Pittsfield. We hope you can make it!
———- ooo ———-
From wire reports:
Trump said he was holding off on his threatened attacks on Iranian bridges and power plants, as the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. He said Iran has proposed a “workable” 10-point peace plan that could help end the war launched by the U.S. and Israel in February.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted the ceasefire and that it would negotiate with the United States in Islamabad beginning Friday. Neither Iran nor the United States said when the ceasefire would begin, and attacks took place in Israel, Iran and across the Gulf region early Wednesday.
Israel has also agreed to the ceasefire, according to a White House official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The ceasefire calls for Israel and Hezbollah to halt fighting in Lebanon, according to the prime minister of Pakistan, which has been mediating talks.
Here’s THE PLANET‘s scorecard to date:
WINNERS
- Iran: They stood up to the bullying actions of America and Israel.
- Tactics: Defense always wins when the home team pitches a shutout.
- Abbas Aragachi: Iran’s prime minister remained a calm, resolute presence.
- Russia: Attention was taken off of its aggression in Ukraine, and it cashed in on oil.
- China: Xi Jinping seen by much of the region and the globe as a major influence on stability.
- Oman: Collecting lucrative shipping fees on ships moving through the Straight of Hormuz
SANITY MADE SIMPLE: Aphorisms, Epigrams, and Other Parsed Phrases, is available now at amazon.com or at any Barnes & Noble Booksellers. Just $14.95 for the paperback, $4.95 for the e-book. Your purchase will help support a Pittsfield-based small business.
LOSERS
- Trump: How shallow can foreign policy become?
- USA: America, for all its trouble, assumes the role of international bully and hostage to the Israeli lobby.
- Netanyahu: The corrupt Israeli prime minister, already in legal trouble in his own country, revealed as a war monger.
- Humanity: Once again, we have shown ourselves to be a species prone to violence, mayhem, and self sabotage. Only animals and nature are wise.
———- ooo ———-
And perhaps the world received intervention from a higher realm.
From wire reports:
Hours before President Donald Trump announced a two-week delay in attacking Iran, Pope Leo issued a rare and pointed condemnation, denouncing Trump’s Tuesday morning threat against the country as “truly unacceptable.”
Speaking to journalists outside his residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics spoke out against the escalating war and called for an immediate end to the conflict.
“Today, as we all know, there has also been this threat against the entire people of Iran, and this is truly unacceptable,” the pope said. “There are certainly issues of international law here, but even more so a moral issue for the good of the whole entire population.”
THE PLANET thanks Pope Leo.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
Was Trump inadvertently speaking of America?
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“I believe that there is a sublet magnetism in Nature which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright” — Henry David Thoreau.
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
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Why is it so black and white?
Iran has an EVIL regime that stands for mass murders, terrorism, and extremism.
Iran’s regime says that they want to destroy Israel forever. Iran’s regime HATES the U.S.A.
The U.S.A. had the tragedy of September 11th, 2001.
Israel had the tragedy of October 07th, 2023. It was the worse mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust.
Where I live in New Hampshire, people who are from Iran and live here support U.S. President Donald Trump’s War against the regime in Iran.
Iran as a country has the right to defend itself like any other country on Earth, but the regime in Iran is morally indefensible.
On another note, Trump’s MAGA and the Catholic Church leader have been in political conflicts for a long time.
Trump’s harsh tactics on illegal immigration, his inequitable policies on poverty compounded by his huge federal tax breaks for billionaires such as himself, his Christian Nationalism views, and now his militancy and Wars are all in opposition to the Catholic Church’s lofty platforms for Social and Economic Justice in the World.
Trump uses Cultural conflicts in politics to push his MAGA Agenda in federal politics. The Catholic Church has their own Cultural views that many Catholics support, while many non-Catholics find difficult to follow.
What are the two subjects that divide us?
Answer: Religion and Politics.
Talk about the weather, sports, friends, music, etc. instead of your views on Church and State. Turn off the news. Do something fun that you can enjoy with others. Life is short. Don’t waste it on conflicts. We are only pawns anyways. You are NOT going to change the World. 100 years from now, nobody is going to know who you were. You are NOT as important as you think you are in the otherwise cruel World.
Dan, for me this is the most profound article you have ever posted.
100% Agree!
This is the kind of writing that actually moves a conversation forward. It gives people something real to stand on instead of something to argue over.
MEAN
Thank you for this.
Credit where it’s due, Sir. Again.
You put the politics aside and focused on the pattern, and that’s not easy to do in a space where most people are more interested in defending a side than telling the truth. That kind of clarity takes discipline.
The point you made about credibility and follow-through isn’t partisan, it’s factual. And more people should be willing to say it out loud, even when it doesn’t benefit their “team.”
You are in dangerous territory here sir. From what I can tell, any criticism of President Trump results in being labeled a Republican In Name Only (RINO) at best and tarred with being treasonous at worst. Our political system has become so fractured that legitimate concerns about policy are completely marginalized. In my jaded view, policy positions are no longer developed for the purpose of the betterment of this country and its people. Rather, it has become an exercise of making sure that “your team” wins. Each extreme of both the left and right operates in an echo chamber in which different opinions are not only not accepted, but ridiculed. Here is a radical thought: Not everything that President Trump does is correct or perfect. He is not somehow infallible like some sort of Pope (which is a concept for another conversation altogether). He is human and prone to mistakes and errors in judgement just like any other person. To further enflame the sentiments of the extreme right, not everything that the left espouses is necessarily wrong or evil (although I have begun to begrudgingly question that position a bit myself). Without the benefit of vigorous, acceptable and healthy debate, this country is on the road to failure. The lack of acceptance of differing political and policy opinions is simply unhealthy. The result of not allowing different opinions to be heard leads to a form of government that is no longer in keeping with the very foundation of this country. Namely, self-government. I fear that if the current discourse in our country is permitted to continue, we are going to wake up one day only to discover that we have lost the ability as a people to control our own destiny. Put on the flack vest my friend. As they warn in combat upon an imminent enemy attack: “Incoming!”.
B17
“Incoming?” I say, “Bring it on!”
This is profound. You speak to some important and essential truths and the risks facing to what it means to be an American.
“He counted on America to be passive. He counted wrong.” is a
famous quote from President Ronald Reagan, delivered in his Address to the Nation on April 14, 1986, following U.S. air strikes against Libya
No one except Israel wants this War. So that that were so deep into it the only objective is to remove the Uranium. Which means ground troops.
UAE and Saudi Arabia have impressed upon Trump that he must not end until the Iranian regime is gone and their nuclear assets seized.
If it were them fighting with us, not Israel, of course you would support the war.
Not for any war wars. War munger buffoon.
Going after straw dogs such as Libya and Venezuela are one thing. Going after a country such as Iran, 4 times the size of Iraq and with a well trained, well armed militia, is another. A blunder only leaves you with the “next best” options, which Trump has chosen.
A blunder in chess is disaster. Can’t call this a disaster as we still have overwhelming force there and all the pieces laid to blow their logistical supplies and seize their coastline. Can’t call where this goes. Maybe we take the metal, police the straits, and let the Iranians reclaim their civilization. Maybe, we just take the metal and go. No way to bet. Maybe the regime faces civil war and goes the way of Assad.
I don’t see Venezuela disconnected from the Iran policy. Two invasive and destructive regimes and finally there’s action that extends beyond containment, which, as seen by the Israeli policy of containment, results in distaster the moment you lift a finger off the lid.
Venezuela was perfect, and Maduro is in an American cell where he belongs.
Dan, it seems you have exited the MAGA highway and have taken the RINO off-ramp and joined the likes of Meanwhile and Vendetta ChatGPT.
Hell, even Jonathan Melle’s posts are more conservative than yours when he posts about the evils of Iran. I actually give JM credit for that.
Not to mention you got your information from “wire reports.” Really?
“Wire reports” from the MSM media and you actually take that for face value and consider it proof. I figured after the democRAT/MSM led J6 Fed-surrection, the COVID plandemic, and Joe is “sharp as a tack” reports, you would come to realize that MSM media is no more reliable than the National Inquirer ever was.
For those who have not read the book, The Art of War, by Sun Tzu, I have included a post/link that spells out what President Trump has done to Iran and the Globalists plan of making Iran a nuclear power.
American Debunk on X: “Trump threatening to “take out the entire country in one night” and bombing Iran’s power plants and bridges was actually one of his greatest plays of all time. I’m not exaggerating. But most people lost their minds over Trump’s recent comments and post. And that’s because they https://t.co/cpoD3gYXPH” / X
I don’t see anyone on here mentioning that President Trump removed China’s geopolitical influence from South America (Venezuela) and now has effectively removed Russia’s geopolitical influence in the Middle East (Iran).
But hey, Lyin’ Lizzie “Pocahontas” Warren thinks “Trump is a threat to democracy” and needs to be impeached……again, for the 3rd time. Pocahontas would never lie about anything.
MARK
Thanks for the pushback. As you know, I call ’em as I see ’em. This means trying to view events–particularly such as this one, with global impact–through objective analysis rather than the echo-chamber of branded politics. My media reviews include official White House and Pentagon information, a wide-range of political slants (Fox, AP, MSN, WSJ), Al Jazeera, Iran’s official sites, Wash. Post, and numerous others. Trump made a mistake going in with Israel during the February talks. He had no choice but to accept the ceasefire after the Iran military didn’t fall for his bluff of total destruction.
DAN, a cease fire is never capitulation. Evidently, Trump was hobest when he stated that he was not eager to wreck the power infra.
So two weeks and our soldiers are safe if the Iranians can preserve the truce – that’s not a bad thing.
You can count on next advancement after this war, oil will not be shipped through Hormuz, but piped around it.
Hope and pray that the murderers get their rebuke when we finally finish.
Iran just droned Kuwait. Nice deal u s
Or, we so decimated their command structure they have no organization.
It was a cease fire last I read – not a deal.
Dan, the last 2 columns sound like they were authored by a man having a major anxiety attack.
Trump’s bluster is a positive – Iran has NOT (yet) been erased from the face of the earth.
The U.S. & Iran are negotiating as each side has multipoint plans. Global stocks & bonds are soaring and oil prices are dropping like a lead balloon. Israel has suspended bombing. Iran has tentatively planned to open the Strait of Hormuz. Tho far from a real deal…..negotiations are in the works, a positive so far.
Since when do you care what Pope Leo thinks?? He supports open borders and he is a globalist tool who heads up the most corrupt financial enterprise in the world.
Calm down & carry on.
FRITZ
Halting bombing after starting a needless barrage results in a classic one step forward, three steps back as far as the US global standing is concerned. Why would we want to “erase” a sovereign nation “from the face of the earth?”
Trump doesn’t want to erase them just as would never nuke them as the liberal media was screaming he would do all day yesterday. That’s just tough talk because that part of the world understands tough talk and they actually respect it.
Iran understands tough talk and when and if the actual American casualty numbers are ever released it will crush your heart.
And then you will blame Biden , Obama and Hillary.
I won’t blame anyone because war is war. Iran understands and respects people who project strength and power. Anyone who doesn’t speak their language of strength and power is toast. President Trump understands that basic fact very well. Yesterday the liberal media was calling Trump a bully and a Hitler who was guilty of war crimes, but today they are calling him a wimp. The media is hurting our country with their rhetoric. We need to project strength when we are a war. Any country that murders thousands of their own people for protesting the government as Iran has done and continues to do is guilty of crimes against humanity. The American media as usual has everything upside down.
Dan’s last 2 columns show that he is able to engage in objective analysis instead of mindlessly cleaving to the rhetoric of the MAGA cohort. Fritz and Chaz, on the other hand, follow Trumpian wisdom without regard for the quality and accuracy of its content.
Iranians were putting crowds of people around targets so they would be spared. Doesn’t get more pathetic than that. Trump just revealed how spineless the European elites are: Iran opposes literally all the “values” (except gun control) that they claim they would protect at any cost yet they side with Iran. Israel and the USA will resupply and finish it off later on their own.
Bluster?
50,000 airstrikes in 30 days is bluster?
Reagan’s response to 200 murdered marines in Beirut was to launch a seaward shell into an empty field. That was bluster.
50,000 air strikes mostly onto schools, hospitals and civilian housing. And the Iranians just said, “what else ya got?”
You do know that Iran killed thousands of their own people very brutally for protesting their government so you should really stop trying to make heroes out of such a brutal regime. It’s obvious that Iran has very little respect for its own people or they wouldn’t be murdering them and using them as human shields around their power plants.
He’s become everything he said he wasn’t.
Call me a RINO all you want. This shit is bananas.
I didn’t vote for this version of Trump. Once my hero and now a clown. We’re an international embarrassment.
Yup. This is the death of Dans blog unfortunately as far as viewers. He has no street cred supporting this a swipe. Someone ought wake sleepy Joe and tell him he has a dope for his replacement.
Or perhaps the overall IQ will improve.
Spot on. I give you a ten thumbs up. Which is a minus three here.