CSPAN - i24 News Coverage of Iran Ceasefire Aired: 2026-04-08 Duration: 18:59 === Ceasefire Confusion in Lebanon (08:23) === [00:00:01] I believe that the person that is elected as our president is basically manipulating the stock market weekly with his stunts. [00:00:13] The Iranians had already put the same ceasefire plan in place. [00:00:20] It wasn't until the billionaires started balking about what was going on and the American public balked at what was said in those true social posts that anything was done with this ceasefire. [00:00:35] It's time for Americans to wake up. [00:00:37] We're being manipulated by a billionaire class. [00:00:43] And if we don't rise up to vote in this next elections, if we have them, if they're available to us, we will lose this country. [00:00:56] That's Tori in Connecticut. [00:00:58] I want to take you now to I-24. [00:01:01] It's Israel's 24-hour news network. [00:01:04] It's based out of Tel Aviv. [00:01:05] They have an English language hour each day. [00:01:09] Usually it's in Hebrew, but we want to show you how they are portraying the latest on this ceasefire. [00:01:14] This is I-24 right now. [00:01:17] And while Pakistan's prime minister claims the ceasefire includes Hezbollah and Lebanon as well, Israel's prime minister says that is not the case. [00:01:26] And in fact, the Israeli Air Force launched the largest wave of strikes against Hezbollah since the renewed fighting began. [00:01:33] Clearly, we are standing on shaky ground. [00:01:36] The question tonight is simple. [00:01:37] Is this a real breakthrough or just a temporary pause before the next escalation? [00:01:42] Well, we're going to be discussing all of the angles of this ceasefire, but let's begin with an update on what it actually entails. [00:01:49] Right-24 News correspondent Balik Sladim has the latest from Northern Israel. [00:01:53] Balik, a ceasefire is in effect, but already conflicting words on whether Hezbollah and Lebanon is included in this ceasefire. [00:02:01] Prime Minister Netanyahu says it is not. [00:02:03] So what do we know about what is included in this two-week truce? [00:02:11] Yeah, well, everybody says a different thing because the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the mediator in this agreement, said that Lebanon is included in the temporary ceasefire. [00:02:21] After that, we have seen the Prime Minister's office putting out a statement saying that it does not include Hezbollah, it does not include the Lebanon front. [00:02:29] Also, the IDF, the IDF Chief of Staff, said the same thing, that they will continue with their operation against Hezbollah, including a ground operation as well. [00:02:38] So in the past hour, we are hearing also from President Trump himself talking to PBS about the fact that Hezbollah is not included, or actually that Hezbollah is the problem, why Lebanon is not included in the temporary ceasefire. [00:02:52] And also, Caroline Levett, the spokesperson for the White House, speaking to Israeli media just a short while ago, saying the same thing, that Lebanon is not included in this ceasefire or the temporary ceasefire. [00:03:06] So this is actually what's happening also on the ground. [00:03:09] Today, as you've mentioned, 100 targets were targeted by the Israeli Air Force and all that within minutes. [00:03:17] Actually, it targeted military sites and combat control centers for Hezbollah. [00:03:22] And according to our own reporting from the Hebrew Channel, this is not something that Israel just came up with after the ceasefire with Iran. [00:03:31] Rather, this is an actual effort that has been worked on for the past few days, including intelligence, because Hezbollah did not or was not attacked in this way since the beginning of the war. [00:03:48] And that attack has to happen or had to happen in order to jeopardize Hezbollah's command centers and the ability to operate in the field. [00:04:00] So, this is actually an air campaign that was planned to, and it just happened to be a few hours after the ceasefire started with Iran. [00:04:09] Either way, we're talking here about hundreds of people killed, according to the Red Cross. [00:04:14] Just a few minutes ago, the Lebanese Health Ministry also said that 87 people were killed. [00:04:21] It's not clear why there is a difference here, but we're talking about hundreds of people wounded as well, with again 100 targets within 10 minutes or less, according to the IDF. [00:04:33] League Sladin, with those updates from the field, thank you for that coverage. [00:04:38] A short while ago, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth held a press conference on the war achievements both the U.S. and Israel were able to accomplish over the past month and a half. [00:04:48] Here's what he said: We untied just a fraction of our strength, and Iran suffered a devastating military defeat. [00:04:58] Together with our Israeli partners, America's military achieved every single objective on plan, on schedule, exactly as laid out from day one. [00:05:10] Iran's Navy is at the bottom of the sea, whether it's the Salame class, their frigate class, their prized drone aircraft carriers, submarines, mine layers sunk. [00:05:23] Iran's Air Force has been wiped out. [00:05:26] Iran no longer has an air defense, any sort of a comprehensive air defense system. [00:05:31] We own their skies. [00:05:34] Their missile program is functionally destroyed. [00:05:37] Launchers, production facilities, and existing stockpiles depleted and decimated. [00:05:45] With me in studio to discuss all of these latest developments is Daniel Pomeran, CEO of Reality Check, as well as a legal expert and political analyst, as well as our I-24 News Senior Middle East correspondent Ariel Osran. [00:05:56] Gentlemen, thank you for being with me in the I-24 News studio today. [00:05:59] Ariel, I want to begin with you because this two-week ceasefire is being painted as a starting point that all starts with opening the Strait of Hormuz. [00:06:07] Yet already conflicting reports on what's actually happening in this critical waterway. [00:06:12] As far as the latest, what can you share? [00:06:14] Well, the latest, according to Iran, the Iranian media itself, saying that after two ships were permitted to transit through the Strait of Hormuz today, the strait has now been closed once again as a result of Israel's ongoing strikes against Lebanon. [00:06:32] So we're seeing that this kind of these two camps that have been formed, Israel and the U.S. on the one hand, saying that Lebanon is not included in the ceasefire, and Iran and the mediator Pakistan saying that it is. [00:06:44] We're seeing that this is already causing a lot of tensions even before the talks in Islamabad have begun, expected on Friday. [00:06:53] But that's just, you know, one example of a ceasefire violation. [00:06:59] We're also, you talked about the strikes on the Gulf. [00:07:02] Pretty much all five out of the six Gulf countries, excluding Oman, have been targeted today with Iranian drones, ballistic missiles, targeting energy infrastructure, especially in Saudi Arabia, targeting the East-West oil pipeline, which is crucial for Saudi Arabia to maintain their export of crude oil. [00:07:29] After the Strait of Hormuz was threatened, they decided to channel their oil to the other side of the Arabian Peninsula so they can get it out through the Bab and Mandab Strait. [00:07:39] Now that is being targeted too as kind of a signal of what could come if this conflict continues. [00:07:46] You know, you ask what these ceasefire, you ask Believe what the ceasefire entails. [00:07:51] First, let's stabilize this ceasefire. [00:07:54] And we have not yet reached that point. [00:07:57] And it is unclear if that will happen before Friday when the talks begin or even after that. [00:08:04] A lot of questions still up in the air. [00:08:06] Daniel, I want to talk to you about what we're seeing in the Strait of Hormuz right now, because even reporting that Iran states that if the Strait of Hormuz is to be open, it wants itself and Oman to start charging transit tolls for any ships that want to pass through. [00:08:20] Now, Oman's transport minister said Oman will not impose any transit fees. === Iran's Security and Civilians (10:03) === [00:08:24] But if Iran was to do this, how legal is this? [00:08:28] Would these shipping companies actually have to comply with Iran? [00:08:31] Well, you know, there's always a difference between law and reality. [00:08:34] Something I always tell my students and used to tell my clients. [00:08:38] Under the law, there are a whole series of different laws, international treaties and conventions that prohibit charging tolls, prohibit limiting passage. [00:08:49] This is an international strait, and ships have to go through. [00:08:51] Iran's argument is that there's one of those treaties that they didn't sign, but there are other treaties that Iran did sign that have the same requirements. [00:08:58] So, if you're going to make the argument about international law, no, Iran is violating international law. [00:09:02] On the other hand, ships don't want to take that risk. [00:09:06] Insurance companies don't want to take that risk. [00:09:08] And the biggest problem we have right now in Iran is that it's not clear that anyone has the ability to control a ceasefire. [00:09:14] One person could agree to something, and some Republican Guard forces could end up firing anyway. [00:09:19] If you're an insurance company, you're not going to want to take that risk. [00:09:22] There's certainly a lot of risks involved, but you do bring up something that, Ariel, I want to touch on you. [00:09:26] In Iran, who has agreed to this ceasefire? [00:09:28] Because there was an interesting report from Axios that said it was actually Moshtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader, that at the end of the day, gave the green light, which conflicts some of the reporting over if he does have the actual say at the end of the day. [00:09:42] What do we know about what this ceasefire came down to inside Iran? [00:09:46] Well, after the ceasefire was announced, you had statements coming out by various different groups in Iran, some media outlets on their own behalf. [00:09:57] But I think the most credible of those statements is Iran's Supreme National Security Council. [00:10:03] This is the top security body in Iran. [00:10:07] The head of that body was Ali Lari Jani, and he was the top security official in Iran until he was eliminated at the start of the war. [00:10:16] And so they confirmed that it was Mojtaba Khamenei who greenlit the ceasefire, who greenlit the talks in Pakistan, and who limited the duration of those talks to a period of up to two weeks. [00:10:31] Now, if the Supreme National Security Council is saying that, does that make it true? [00:10:36] Not necessarily, but we can attribute the validity of Iran accepting this to its top security body, which once again shows who is calling the shots in Iran. [00:10:51] That we are no longer talking about the Islamic Republic of Iran. [00:10:56] It is not managed by the Islamic Revolution. [00:10:59] It is managed by the IRGC. [00:11:00] It is the IRGC Republic of Iran. [00:11:04] It is the security apparatus that is calling the shots. [00:11:07] It is the top security body that is the one that is informing the Iranian people and, in fact, the world, that it has accepted the ceasefire and that it was done so by the green light of the Supreme Leader. [00:11:21] So, not the Supreme Leader himself, even though he has his own Twitter account, also in Farsi, also in English and in other languages. [00:11:29] Not state media, but the Supreme National Security Council, which once again highlights who is calling the shots today in Iran. [00:11:38] Iran's certainly painting a message of victory, just as the United States, just as Israel as well. [00:11:43] But Daniel, from a deterrence standpoint, what message does this ceasefire send to the new leaders in Iran? [00:11:50] Well, it's really not clear. [00:11:52] It's not even clear whether this is truly a ceasefire that is meant to lead to a resolution or whether it's something else. [00:12:00] You know, there's a whole large armada of U.S. assets heading into the region right now. [00:12:07] Two aircraft carriers, Marine expeditionary units, Army airborne units. [00:12:13] And all of them are traveling oversea and have, well, most of them are traveling overseas, some by air, but the ones oversea have arrival dates expected almost exactly when this two-week deadline ends. [00:12:23] This is exactly what we were seeing before Operation Epic Fury began. [00:12:27] There was all this talk, all this negotiation. [00:12:29] And just as the USS Gerald R. Ford was getting into the Mediterranean, suddenly we saw this kinetic action begin. [00:12:36] So it's unclear whether the United States is looking to actually resolve this or just buying itself time to position its forces. [00:12:43] And we saw it do that just a month ago. [00:12:45] Certainly we have seen this in the past. [00:12:48] Now, as we do analyze exactly what this means for the United States and Israel, a big question is still what it means for Iran. [00:12:55] Because even as a ceasefire takes hold between the United States and Iran, for Iranian civilians, the real threat might not be the United States. [00:13:02] But what happens at home when the war goes quiet? [00:13:06] Officials in Tehran are already signaling a tougher crackdown on dissent. [00:13:09] And as we saw after the 12-day war in June, a ceasefire can often shift the violence inward, which means ordinary Iranians could once again become the regime's primary focus of brutal crackdowns. [00:13:21] Joining us to discuss more is Ram Yang Hassani, an Iranian affairs analyst and commentator, as well as an Iranian human rights worker. [00:13:29] Ram Young, what is likely to happen inside Iran now that there is a ceasefire? [00:13:34] How does the regime, the besieged forces, work to crack down on those who had been critical against the regime, possibly in support of the United States and the West over this past month and a half? [00:13:47] Hi. [00:13:48] Yes. [00:13:49] So it's quite the early phase of the ceasefire, and it's not clear if it will hold, right? [00:13:57] And there is also this idea that, yeah, of course, the Iranian civilians might want to regroup, but also we should not forget that regrouping is also from the Iranian regime side. [00:14:14] So they will have the time to regroup to suppress any protests. [00:14:23] And the issue is that although there is a ceasefire with a few points on that ceasefire that could not be violated, let's say, protecting the civilians in Iran or attacking them or any minority groups is not a part of that ceasefire. [00:14:41] So if Iran will carry out a greater arrest and hanging more civilians, it's not actually a violation of the ceasefire. [00:14:56] So what are you hearing, if anything, about how this ceasefire is being viewed inside Iran? [00:15:01] Is it bringing relief or some larger fears than the bombing itself? [00:15:08] So what you hear from Iran on the social media, for example, is not mainly what the Iranian people might have to say or the normal ordinary civilians or those who protested against the Iranian regime a month before the war started, [00:15:29] because the internet has been on a lockdown for Blackout for the entire duration of the war, except for a very small percentage, like one percent, of those who are close to the regime, be it journalists or the so-called analysts, [00:15:56] and they are the ones who say something and you hear them, not the general Iranians. [00:16:05] With this internet blackout, as we have seen it in place, not only for the course of the war, but even since early this year when these mass protests first started, now that there is a ceasefire, should we expect the internet to return inside Iran so we can hear more of what's happening on the ground? [00:16:23] Well, I'm sure that the Iranian people are very eager to have the internet back and to be connected once again to the world and also for their own businesses, because there are many small businesses in Iran that cannot operate without internet. [00:16:39] But the thing is that for the IRGC commanders, the officials and the Iranian regime in general, they're not in a hurry to reconnect the internet. [00:16:52] For them, it's not the main priority. [00:16:54] And in fact, if they want to carry out another wave of arrests, as they have been also doing during the war, and persecution of the civilians, it's better that there is no internet, right? [00:17:08] What is the likelihood then that mass protests could start again? [00:17:12] How long do protesters need to regroup? [00:17:16] When could we expect to possibly see them taken to the streets again against the regime? [00:17:23] Well, honestly, this war has not only damaged the Iranian regime and its infrastructures, it also has damaged and cost civilian lives. [00:17:36] So the Iranian people will have to first get out of the shock of the war. [00:17:43] For more than a month, they were going to sleep, not knowing that they will wake up or they will be alive. [00:17:52] So they will need time to also pull themselves together. [00:17:57] And it's not easy to say that when it will start again, the protests, but this has been happening in Iran. [00:18:07] And if you look at the 12 Days War of last year, it took a few months and then things calmed down. [00:18:15] And then again, because of the economic and social grievances of the Iranians and also political, then they took to the streets. === Time to Heal After War (00:31) === [00:18:27] But we don't know actually when it will be again. [00:18:31] And in fact, I'm not quite also sure that if the Iranian civilians will believe in what the U.S. government and Donald Trump's administration will say in the future, as we heard, that they said, okay, go to the streets, continue and help is on its way. [00:18:56] Help didn't show up. [00:18:57] And then the war started.