Tuesday's last minute, apocalypse-averting ceasefire deal was Taco Tuesday at President Trump's very best. The embattled, emotional U.S. president engineered an off-ramp to the Middle East conflict that the U.S. was losing, and losing badly.
By threatening Iran with complete annihilation via war criminality - destroying bridges, power plants and other civilian infrastructure - and then getting Pakistan to broker a two-week ceasefire, Trump, late Tuesday, prior to his 8L00 pm ET deadline, was able to claim victory, avoid public disgrace, and, unless he completely screws up the "deal", avoid the possibility of spending the estimated of his miserable existence somewhere like Spandau Prison.
There's little doubt that being branded a war criminal weighed heavily on the president's mind as negotiations dragged on until the dramatic end. Only an imbecile would not be troubled and frightened by the possibility, to say nothing about the weight of responsibility for countless lives that would have been lost and his own legacy.
The U.S. and Iran now can each claim a win while Israel and the Gulf countries receive participation trophies.
Framed in hockey terms, in the NHL system, teams earn two points for a win in regulation, overtime, or shootout or one point for a loss in overtime or a shootout. In that regard, Iran and the U.S. should each claim a point, though both sides will probably lobby for two. The final result definitely came in a shootout. Trump will claim he made the greatest stick save, and a beauty, of all time.
Jocularity aside, Iran comes away the overall victor. They didn't start the conflict, but they sustained their defenses by bringing the U.S., the cooperating Gulf States and Israel to their collective knees with relentless, target missile and drone warfare. Iran proved itself to be a very capable adversary, crippling U.S. bases and naval prowess over the past 39-day war. Iran managed ot close the Strait of Hormuz after just one day of fighting and kept it closed to "unfriendly" nations. Their associates in Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen provided additional strength, keeping shipping lanes closed, Israel on the back foot, and the U.S. more or less surrounded, facing the impossible task of either a long quagmire or a full-scale ground invasion, both options containing multiple points of failure and limited chance of success.
While Iran has been struck severely by Israeli and U.S. missile strikes and bombings, Iran easily kept pace, slamming Israel non-stop and demolishing most of the U.S. bases in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, and Qatar.
After the failed attempt over Easter weekend to capture Iran's enriched uranium - disguised by the propaganda of a "glorious" pilot rescue - the situation turned from dire to desperate for the U.S., Trump's future political livlihood, and the stature of America on the world stage.
Pakistan, which has emerged as a peacemaker and somewhat reliable broker for negotiations, has invited the warring parties to Islamabad on Friday, ostensibly to bring the U.S. and Iran to an ultimate agreement that would resolve the conflict along the lines of the U.S. 15-point plan and Iran's 10-point proposal, which are still far apart on a host of issues. The U.S. delegation will reportedly be led by Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, replacing the disingenuous and discredited duo of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
With a shaky two-week agreement in place, the United States should be able to pry itself away from the region where it has meddled for far too long. The charade of the U.S. winning had grown thin; mainstream media censorship of the reality on the ground was rapidly being supplanted by truth-tellers on social media. The lies were simply growing too big to be hidden by propaganda and simpish, lame, wistful proclamations by Trump on Truth Social, Caroline Leavitt at the white House press room podium, and various cheerleaders like Lindsay Graham. The U.S. was losing, a by a lot. The ceasefire offers the U.S. a means by which to exit gracefully.
The immediate reaction by the investment community was overwhelmingly on the side of peace over war. When the announcement that Trump had agreed to the ceasefire was made, stock futures exploded higher and the price of oil moved quickly in the opposite direction. Besides people with money in the stock market, peace is the likely choice of probably 90 to 95 percent of the world's population. It appears the only parties who prefer war are politicians in Israel and the United States and those associated with their deep state intelligence operations and military industrial complexes (MIC).
For now, saner parties have carried the day though the situation remains fluid. Many outcomes are possible. After the relationship between Iran and the U.S. are questions concerning Israel, Lebanon, and the entire region, not the least of which will concern the Gulf states which house now-uninhabitable U.S. military bases. The Gulf countries learned first hand that U.S. security guarantees are ineffective and will have to find new paths to securing their futures because U.S. influence in the region, if not altogether obsolete, will likely be severely diminished. If otherwise, there will be further conflict, more destruction, and even graver consequences.
It's still early, so there is no clarity if the Gulf states and Israel will be represented at the negotiations later this week, but their futures will certainly be shaped by the outcome.
With the opening bell in U.S. markets soon to ring, stock futures have maintained an overwhelmingly positive status. Dow futures ar up more than 1,200 points. NASDAQ futures are higher by 845 and S&P futures are ringing 175 points to the good. WTI crude oil is witnessing a relentless decline from an overnight price of $112/barrel to a hopeful $92. Even gold and silver are seeing gains with gold at $4,800 and silver above $77.
Peace appears to be vastly preferred over war. What took so long? God is good. Praise Allah.
At the Close, Tuesday, April 7, 2026:
Dow: 46,584.46, -85.42 (-0.18%)
NASDAQ: 22,017.85, +21.51 (+0.10%)
S&P 500: 6,616.85, +5.02 (+0.08%)
NYSE Composite: 22,249.63, -5.09 (-0.02%)
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