The phony peace looks more than a tad fragile . . .

The FT: Armageddon is off . . . for now. While both the US and Iran can claim victory of a sort, many questions remain unresolved.

The latest update from Naked Capitalism.

• The US pokes Iran in the eye, accusing it of bad-faith dealing. [Something Trump would never do, of course.]
• The Hormuz Strait is again closed.
• The US insists talks will take place in Pakistan.
• But Iran demands Israel cease attacking Lebanon.

Extracts:-

The Trump Administration, true to form, doubled down on lying – with JD Vance and others maintaining that having Israel cease operations in Lebanon was never part of the deal. The. Pakistani prime minister, when he announced the ceasefire, made it clear that Lebanon was part of the deal. The White House approved his statement. But Trump told Netanyahu it wasn’t. It’s not as if Bibi went out on his own and presented Trump with a fait accompli. Trump was totally on board.

White House spokescreature Karoline Leavitt made clear that Trump, in fact, has no interest in considering Iranian requirements. Israel wants no negotiations.

And Trump is again making threats.

JD Vance will lead a delegation to Islamabad, which will include Witkoff and Kushner. [‘Another joke team’]

Despite rhetorical exchanges between the warring sides, there were signs the ceasefire agreement was largely holding, with a notable decline in attacks across Arab states in the Persian Gulf.

Iran demands crypto fees for ships passing Hormuz during the ceasefire. The country’s oil exporters’ union says the toll is to be paid in cryptocurrency and vessels will be monitored for weapons.

No surprise that: Someone someone shorted $950m in oil hours before the ceasefire announcement.

Finally . . . A stunning new report claims that, back in January – after the US.-born Pope had given his state-of-the-world address – the Pentagon summoned the Pope’s top US diplomat and threatened the Cardinal, telling him that the USA had the military power to do whatever it wanted to do in the world and that the Catholic Church had better take its side.