Important that 🇪🇺 takes the global lead in working for a two-state solution for 🇮🇱 🇵🇸 peace. Essentially there is no other realistic way forward.The National (@TheNationalNews)Palestinian sovereignty is route to security, says Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa thenationalnews.com/news/202…— https://x.com/TheNationalNews/status/2046232273716973821
— Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) Apr 20, 2026
Day: April 20, 2026
https://t.co/GYtRU7I0eQ
𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝗸𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 | 𝟮𝟬 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
BLUF (TL;DR) | Trump rejected Pakistan’s request to lift the naval blockade as a precondition for talks, keeping the IRGC’s primary tool for blocking Iran’s diplomatic faction intact. On the same morning, Trump publicly called for regime change in Iran. The IRGC responded by calling the Islamabad process “the American theater.” The U.S. delegation’s departure is unconfirmed. The ceasefire expires midnight April 22.
—————————————-
General Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff and architect of the Islamabad mediation process, called Trump directly and told him the U.S. naval blockade was an obstacle to negotiations.
Trump rejected the request to lift it as a precondition for talks.
The blockade is the instrument the IRGC-aligned hardline faction inside Iran is using to justify blocking the diplomatic faction from attending round two.
Trump was told this directly by the one mediator with the deepest knowledge of the internal Iranian dynamic. He kept the blockade in place anyway.
Trump’s cited Iran losing $500 million per day under the naval quarantine of Iranian shipping as leverage that will force Tehran’s hand.
Trump has stated that Vice President J.D. Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and presidential advisor Jared Kushner are en route to Islamabad.
Reuters citing a source familiar with the matter reported Monday that Vance has not yet departed.
No independent flight tracking or on-ground confirmation has emerged. The delegation’s status remains unconfirmed.
Whether this was deliberate maximum pressure strategy or a failure to understand the internal Iranian dynamic is an open question.
The ceasefire expires at midnight on April 22.
— OSINT Intuit™ (@UKikaski) Apr 20, 2026
Stay Connected
Forbes Breaking News on X: https://x.com/ForbesTVNews
Forbes Breaking News on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@forbestvnews
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
A massive outage has been detected in ChatGPT and Gemini, according to Downdetector
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) Apr 20, 2026
news today – 4.20.26 – 11 AM
#Timmythewhale #whale #stranded
Read more about this story in our article: https://f24.my/BsBy.y
🔔 Subscribe to France 24 now: https://f24.my/YTen
🔴 LIVE – Watch FRANCE 24 English 24/7 here: https://f24.my/YTliveEN
🌍 Read the latest International News and Top Stories: https://www.france24.com/en/
Like us on Facebook: https://f24.my/FBen
Follow us on X: https://f24.my/Xen
Bluesky: https://f24.my/BSen and Threads: https://f24.my/THen
Browse the news in pictures on Instagram: https://f24.my/IGen
Discover our TikTok videos: https://f24.my/TKen
Get the latest top stories on Telegram: https://f24.my/TGen
READ MORE
https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2026/04/20/netanyahu-condemns-israeli-soldier-for-beating-jesus-statue/
Stay Connected
Forbes Breaking News on X: https://x.com/ForbesTVNews
Forbes Breaking News on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@forbestvnews
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
President Trump’s tough on crime policies have led to a DRASTIC decrease in crime in our nation’s capital. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/yyE44aD4OQ
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 20, 2026
