Josh Rogin

“Trump was bluffing. They called his bluff. And he backed down. And you can say that he was doing this to soothe the markets. Another way to say that is that he’s doing this to manipulate the markets. And what have we seen? We’ve seen the president completely change his explanation of what he wants. Just days ago, he was calling for unconditional surrender. Now he’s saying, okay, we want to make a deal with such and such terms. And this is complete strategic incoherence. And despite the fact that we have a military that can hit any target that trump tells it to hit, if we have no strategic direction, then there’s no clear way to get to the end of this war.” “Now, it’s a good thing, I think, that Trump has realized that he’s going to have to deal with the Iranians. But to do so in a way that has no coherence and no actual plan for extricating the U.S. out of this war is is diplomatic malpractice.”

News: The president has informed Pam Bondi that her time as AG is nearing an end, multiple sources tell me. Formal announcement hasn’t yet come aka all the normal caveats that he could change his mind apply; he’s been speaking with advisors on a possible replacement in recent days (as others have reported this week) and Bondi is aware of that as well.

A person familiar with the situation tells me that Pam Bondi will be out as AG imminently, confirming scoops from @CNN and @nytimes. When Trump met EPA boss Lee Zeldin on Tuesday to discuss last year’s California wildfires, Trump also discussed the potential of tapping him for the AG role, a person close to the WH tells me. @CNN and @nytimes also both named Zeldin as the most likely successor. Read more in @playbookdc: politico.com/playbook

Another investigation that shows Musk’s Starlink being used by the Russians. This time in their shadow fleet 😡 kyivindependent.com/exclusive-russ…

To our best knowledge, not a single LNG tanker departed via the Strait of Hormuz during March 2026, and about 20% of the world's supply comes out of the strait. #ONGT #Tankers #LNG #NatGas

SCOOP: Trump has been asking cabinet officials in recent weeks whether he should replace Tulsi Gabbard as DNI, venting frustration about her leadership and that she shielded Joe Kent, a former deputy who undercut his rationale for war with Iran @guardian theguardian.com/us-news/2026/a…

@hdagres And it’s a war crime.

Bombing civilian infrastructure is only going to punish the Iranian people and turn them against the United States...

Yvette Cooper confirms at the start of the Hormuz coalition meeting: focus today is on “diplomatic and international planning” and “economic tools and pressures” on Iran, with possibility of using “collective defensive militarily capabilities” eg demining once fighting stops

Since Liberation Day, a year ago today: * US foreign direct investment is lower * US factories employ 89,000 fewer people * US goods trade deficit is UP 2% npr.org/2026/04/02/nx-…

I had a phone call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi today to discuss the situation in Iran and its impact on the global economy and energy security. We also discussed EU-China relations. Iranian attacks on civilian ships, and the threat of more, have brought traffic in the Strait of Hormuz to a near halt. This is why restoring safe, toll-free freedom of navigation in the Strait, consistent with the Law of the Sea, is an urgent priority. The EU supports all diplomatic efforts to achieve this and calls for de-escalation and restraint. Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure must cease.

Reports of a sudden, widespread shutdown of Baidu robotaxis in China drives home the security vulnerabilities of connected cars and why the US restricts Chinese connected vehicles. This outage likely an accident, but imagine what China could do with cars in the US in a conflict.

🚨EXCLUSIVE🚨 Iran is using a covert network of front companies in China and Hong Kong to secretly bypass international sanctions and import parts to build its fleet of kamikaze drones. Full story: telegraph.co.uk/gift/429e299cf…

No news in Trump’s speech at all.

So far, Trump hasn’t said one new thing we haven’t heard several times before. Not sure why this warrants bumping prime time TV. He says two or three more weeks of bombing and then the mission will be accomplished. “We are going to bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong… We’ve never said regime change, but regime change has occurred.” Etc etc

“While we were engaged in negotiations, they struck us,” #Iran’s Kamal Kharazi told CNN on Mar. 9. Today his home was struck, wife killed, he sustained serious injuries. NYT reports Kharazi was discussing w Pakistan possible US-Iran negotiations w VP Vance

Trump thanks America’s Middle East allies and partners for supporting his war in Iran. “We will not let them get hurt or fail in any way,” Fact check - false.

This is simple: no Chinese autos on American roads. Period. And to our western allies letting this cancer infect their economies, turn back now before it’s too late. reuters.com/business/autos…

NEW: Military officials are planning for two potential high-risk ground assaults in Iran Assets are in place for a raid on Kharg Island and an operation to retrieve Iran’s uranium All they need now is President Trump’s go-ahead - if it comes theatlantic.com/national-secur…

Significant move. The UAE hosts an estimated 500,000 Iranian expatriates and Dubai is an important transit hub.

🇸🇦🇺🇸PSAB BDA: The Day After High-res imagery from the morning of Mar 28 gives us a clear look at Prince Sultan Air Base (PSAB) following the early morning Mar 27 strike. The damage is significant, but the response is baffling. ✈️E-3 Sentry: Wreckage remains in pieces near the runway, with cleanup crews massing to clear the carnage. ✈️KC-135: Wreckage removed (~24-30 hours later), though massive fuel/burn marks remain scarred into the apron. 🛫Eastern Apron: Appears to be another distinct hit here, marked by an outsized fuel/burn radius. 🏢Infrastructure: Substantial damage to the building south of the main apron (contents unknown). Maybe most concerning to me is that even the day after the strike, there are 3x E-3 Sentry & 3x E-2D Hawkeyes (among other airframes) just sitting around😡 Fool me once, shame on you. But leaving these HVAs parked in the open as sitting ducks the very next day? I guess lightning never strikes twice, right? 🤷‍♂️ Source: Delivered by @SkyfiApp Date: 28 March 2026