By Miguel Sorans, a leader of the Socialist Left and the IWU-FI
8 April 2026. Trump had threatened to “annihilate” Iran, that “an entire civilization is going to die tonight,” that “they’re going to go back to the Stone Age” if they didn’t “open the f***ing strait.” The world waited expectantly to see what would happen, whether some kind of planetary cataclysm was coming. Finally, on Tuesday, 7 April with just one hour left before Trump’s “ultimatum” expired, he announced a two-week ceasefire to open negotiations. And that he was doing so in response to a request from the Pakistani government.
There was neither a prior agreement with Iran, which stood firm under an “ultimatum”, nor had it announced that it would open the Strait of Hormuz. Consequently, Trump made another reversal of his previous stance. That is why Iran and its people are celebrating victory. Trump himself said he considers the 10 points Iranian proposal a good starting point.
Donald Trump has recently presented a new instance of contradictory statements or actions. He claims the opening of the Strait of Hormuz as a triumph. But the Strait of Hormuz was always open until Trump and Israel launched their military aggression on February 28. It is not a victory at all.
Iran declared it would accept the truce and open the strait for two weeks, under its control, provided it does not suffer any further bombing. There is no guarantee that this fragile ceasefire “agreement” will hold, much less that the war of aggression against Iran will end. For starters, no one can guarantee that Israel will join and comply with the truce while the criminal invasion of Lebanon continues. There is a pervasive sense of ambiguity surrounding all aspects of the situation, making it impossible to ascertain with certainty. That is why the people of the world must continue to take action to support the people of Iran and Lebanon.
