Hours Into Iran War Ceasefire, Hegseth Still Threatening Commando Raid to Seize Uranium
UPDATE: During a Wednesday afternoon press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt offered a barrage of conflicting information, both claiming that Iran had agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while simultaneously demanding it be reopened immediately, among other things–she refused to answer multiple direct inquiries from reporters on which nation was currently in control of the strait. As for the enriched uranium that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth claimed his soldiers were ready to go fetch whether Iran liked it or not, Leavitt claimed it was a “red line” of President Donald Trump to leave the uranium in Iran’s possession, or allow further enrichment–something that Iran has repeatedly stressed it plans to continue. She also claimed that the ceasefire was never meant to extend to Israel’s conflict with Lebanon, while Iranian and Pakistani officials claim the opposite. Things, suffice to say, are tense. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu even suggested his country could restart the war all over again, saying it was “not the end” of Israel’s military campaign: “It is a stop on the way to achieving all of our objectives. We have more objectives to achieve, and we will achieve them–either by agreement, or by resuming the fighting.”
We’re mere hours now into the new, supposedly two-week ceasefire in the U.S.-Iran War, which arrived roughly 90 minutes before the Donald Trump-imposed deadline that would keep the U.S. from ensuring, in the words of the President, that “a whole civilization will die tonight,” a phrase that must rank among the worst things any President has ever said. One would think that the administration’s vibes would be of elation, or cautious optimism–at least immediate oil prices and the stock market have reacted that way. To listen to the U.S. Secretary of Defense speak this morning, however, it sure doesn’t sound like he thinks any war has come to an end. Despite praising what he naturally referred to as a U.S. victory of devastating magnitude, Pete Hegseth also went right back to threatening an immediate ground invasion of Iran, specifically in the form of targeted operations to remove nearly 1,000 pounds of highly enriched uranium from around the country, “by any means necessary.” Help me out, because I’m not a military buff: Does one typically employ commando raids against a foe, or publicly threaten to do so, in the middle of a ceasefire, or is that considered gauche?
Hegseth:
“On the uranium, we’re watching it. We know what they have. And they will give it up. And we’ll get it. And we’ll take it… We can do it in any means necessary.”
— Adam Schwarz (@adamjschwarz.bsky.social) Apr 8, 2026 at 8:49 AM
The seeming impasse over enriched uranium, and the entire nuclear program its presence implies, is just one of many obvious sticking points that no one seems to have an answer for in the prospect of long-term peace between Iran and the United States. The last 16 hours or so have been marked by constant confusion in terms of what framework the two countries are working from in working out a deal in the next two weeks, with both countries seemingly reporting very different proposals. Heavily circulated last night were the supposed contents of Iran’s 10-point peace proposal, which Trump initially referred to as a “workable basis on which to negotiate.” This was remarkable, given all the asks and demands involved in Iran’s 10-point plan, which effectively would award the country continuing control over the Strait of Hormuz and the ability to continue charging a $2 million toll for ships passing through it, with funds to be split with Oman. That plan also makes reference to such Iranian boons as the U.S. dropping all sanctions against the country dating back to the Bush administration, which would allow it to sell its oil and natural gas far more widely, U.S. withdrawal from certain Middle East bases, and the unfreezing of Iranian assets. It also notably includes no vow or agreement from Iran to curtail its nuclear program. Suffice to say, if these are the terms that the United States was basing negotiations on, it could only be described as a crushing defeat for every single Trump administration priority in the region, a truly historic embarrassment.
Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that the Trump administration insists that this published Iranian 10-point peace plan is not in fact the one it is using in negotiations. A White House official today told The New York Times that the plan “Iran publicly released on Wednesday differs from the plan that Trump said was a ‘workable basis on which to negotiate,'” but would not elaborate further on what was different, something that Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will apparently be addressing in a press conference this afternoon.
between hegseth saying the US still plans to seize iran’s uranium and israel behaving as if they’re not a party to this cease fire (because they’re not) and bombing the shit out of lebanon, i’ll be surprised if there’s still any cease fire to speak of by end of day
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) Apr 8, 2026 at 11:07 AM
Regardless, the peace seems both quite tenuous, given that Israel is still attacking Lebanon and claiming it is not part of the ceasefire agreement, and prone to both sides needing to portray themselves as having emerged with an upper hand. Speaking to the media today, Hegseth claimed the “peace President” Trump had chosen “mercy,” but would happily have slaughtered any who stood in his way: “It would have taken them decades [to rebuild], and we were locked and loaded. They couldn’t defend against it. President Trump had the power to cripple Iran’s entire economy in minutes, but he chose mercy.” Remember when it seemed bad that we were merely blowing up random “narco-terrorist” boats and then pretending to try to rescue survivors, rather than threatening the extinction of entire civilizations?
Trump, meanwhile, has been claiming online that “many” of the points of the United States’ own 15-point plan “have already been agreed to,” even as Iran insists they have not. Trump has also claimed that there will be “no enrichment of uranium” happening in Iran, while Iran’s published plan protects their ability to do so.
It’s the definition of an impasse; two sides coming at the same situation and each claiming that the other has made assurances or promises that the other refutes. This morning, Pete Hegseth vowed that Iran will “will either give it to us, or we’ll take it out,” referring to the country’s enriched uranium. When asked how exactly this would physically happen, an operation that would likely involve hundreds of U.S. troops operating within Iran’s borders–you know, boots on the ground–Hegseth said only the following: “That’s something the President is going to solve.”
So yeah, you can rest easy, folks. Donald Trump is on the nuclear job. I feel safer already.