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Was Charlie Kirk a ‘Modern-Day Moses?’: Pastor Unveils Powerful Tribute

Was Charlie Kirk a ‘Modern-Day Moses?’: Pastor Unveils Powerful Tribute

Over the past two weeks, Pastor Rob McCoy has found himself in the headlines after the co-chair of Turning Point Faith delivered powerful remarks at commentator Charlie Kirk’s memorial.

After sharing an emphatic call to salvation with millions, McCoy, Kirk’s pastor, told CBN News a “total peace” came over him.

“This is honest before the Lord — [it was] unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before,” McCoy said. “Sixty-one years on this earth, a total peace came on me.”

Ultimately, he said the opportunity to honor Kirk at the memorial was “probably one of the most amazing days” of his life.

Like many others, McCoy believes something is happening in the wake of Kirk’s killing.

“This is a revival, an awakening and a revival,” he said, noting he’s hoping pastors and Christians don’t miss the opportunity to reach people for Christ. “I think Charlie’s the most misunderstood missionary in Christendom.”

McCoy said Kirk was a “modern-day Moses,” recounting how the children of Israel were enslaved in Egypt and forgot who — and whose — they were.

“Moses re-educates an entire generation of people who forgot who they were,” he said. “He says, ‘Look, your God is the God of the universe. He created the heavens and the Earth, He created you, He created marriage’ … and He starts to re-educate them.”

From there, the 10 Commandments came into play along with marital, civil, and common law. Moses was able to guide these people for 40 years, helping point them back to eternal truth. In some ways, McCoy sees parallels to Kirk’s mission in America.

“This is Charlie re-educating America, telling these young people who had been enslaved in indoctrination camps of universities across America — they awaken to the realization that … this is the freest form of government ever designed on the face of the Earth — that only a moral and religious people can govern it,” McCoy said. “He awakens them to this thing that protects the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, and they love him for it, and then they kill him.”

McCoy said many of these young people today were guided toward truth via Kirk’s efforts.

“Charlie got these kids out of slavery,” he said. “He brought them out.”

It’s a fascinating juxtaposition. While many saw Kirk as primarily political, McCoy painted a different picture. He said Charlie believed it was helpful to get “folks rowing in the streams of liberty” so that they could then “come to its source, which is Jesus Christ.”

“Charlie never hid his Christian faith,” McCoy continued. “What appealed to so many young people is: Charlie was willing to go where the church wasn’t, into the public square to contend for their future, which the church had abdicated their responsibility for a long time ago. They just said, ‘Oh, we don’t do politics.’”

McCoy said Kirk believed politics is an “on-ramp to a relationship with God” and he believes churches are waking up to this reality in the wake of Kirk’s death.

As for the preacher, he has mourned his friend while also offering messages of hope to the masses. Like many, he has seen how clips of Kirk have been going viral in the wake of his death, arguing that more clips of the activist have been seen after death “than ever before in his entire lifetime.”

These videos, he believes, helped shape — and even reshape — views of Kirk.

“All of the sudden, they start to realize this guy was really sweet, and there’s something special about him,” McCoy said. “And then you start to realize he was unbelievably civil.”

McCoy said this is changing perceptions and helping fuel interest in the Gospel. As for Kirk’s legacy, the preacher said he has “such hope for the future.”

As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.

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#Charlie #Kirk #ModernDay #Moses #Pastor #Unveils #Powerful #Tribute


Cuba and the United States say officials recently held talks on the island as tensions remain high over the US energy blockade on the Caribbean nation. A US State Department official said the meeting took place on April 10th, while Cuba identified lifting the blockade as a key priority. Morgan Ayre reports.#held #secret #talks #Cuba">US held secret talks with CubaCuba and the United States say officials recently held talks on the island as tensions remain high over the US energy blockade on the Caribbean nation. A US State Department official said the meeting took place on April 10th, while Cuba identified lifting the blockade as a key priority. Morgan Ayre reports.#held #secret #talks #Cuba
 

Greek firm warns ships of “fraudulent messages” offering safe Strait of Hormuz passage for cryptocurrency

The Greek maritime risk management firm MARISKS has warned mariners in the Middle East of fraudulent messages being issued to shipping companies offering vessels safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for cryptocurrency, according to the Reuters news agency.

After a brief reopening of the vital waterway, Iran reimposed restrictions on vessels transiting the strait in response to the U.S. naval blockade of its own ships and ports over the weekend. As of now, Iran demands that any commercial vessel seeking passage do so in direct coordination with its military authorities, and that it use a designated route that passes close to its Larak Island in the far north of the narrow strait.

MARISKS issued an alert to shipowners on Monday warning that unknown actors claiming to represent Iranian authorities were sending some shipping companies messages demanding fees payable in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin for permission to transit the strait.

“These specific messages are a scam,” and not actually sent by Iranian authorities, the firm warned.

Reuters said there was no comment from Tehran about the messages, noting that hundreds of ships, with about 20,000 seafarers on board, remained stranded in the Gulf as of Tuesday. 

CBS News has seen the gridlock first-hand. Journalists are not meant to be on the waters of the strait, so correspondent Imtiaz Tyab and producer Sohel Uddin posed as tourists to get a short journey into the choked waterway on a pleasure boat. 

They saw dozens of cargo ships and tankers, all of which have sat idle for weeks, waiting and hoping for passage through the strait.

 

Iranian state TV says nobody sent to Pakistan yet, participation in talks requires change in U.S. “behavior”

Iranian state TV on Tuesday rejected reports suggesting a lower-level preliminary delegation had arrived in Pakistan’s capital ahead of possible peace talks with Trump administration officials.

“Since Saturday, numerous reports have circulated about the ‘departure’ or ‘arrival’ of an Iranian delegation to Pakistan, and even announcements of the meeting time as ‘Monday afternoon’ or ‘Tuesday morning’ by international and regional media — all of which are inaccurate,” the state TV broadcast said.

The report then reiterated a remark by the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, who said Monday: “We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats.”

“Continuing participation in the talks depends on a change in the behavior and positions of the Americans,” the state TV report said. 

PAKISTAN-WAR-IRAN-US-ISRAEL-DIPLOMACY
Security personnel stand guard at a checkpoint near the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 21, 2026, amid heightened security measures ahead of anticipated U.S.-Iran peace talks. Aamir QURESHI/AFP/Getty
 

Trump says recovering Iran’s uranium will be “long and difficult process”

President Trump said late Monday that obtaining uranium from Iran would be “long” and “difficult” in the aftermath of last year’s U.S. strikes on Tehran’s nuclear sites.

“Operation Midnight Hammer was a complete and total obliteration of the Nuclear Dust sites in Iran,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding: “Therefore, digging it out will be a long and difficult process.”

Mr. Trump regularly uses the term “nuclear dust” to refer to Iran’s stock of enriched uranium, which the United States accuses Iran of hoarding in order to use in a nuclear bomb. But he has also sometimes used it to refer to material left over from U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June last year.

Mr. Trump has said Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium will ultimately be transferred to U.S. territory, despite Iran’s foreign ministry disputing any such plans.

Israeli officials say Tehran had stepped up efforts to acquire a nuclear weapon since the end of the 12-day war last June, which was launched by Israel and included U.S. bombings of three nuclear facilities, including an enrichment plant.  

 

Trump warns Iran will “see problems like they’ve never seen before” if they don’t negotiate

Speaking on the John Fredericks radio show, President Trump predicted Monday that Iran will negotiate with the U.S., but “if they don’t, they’re going to see problems like they’ve never seen before.”

He also reiterated that he believes the Iran war is “very close to being over.”

Mr. Trump has said his Vice President JD Vance, senior envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Pakistan for another possible round of U.S.-Iran peace talks, as a two-week ceasefire between the two countries is set to expire this week. It’s not clear whether Iran plans to send a delegation to Islamabad.

 

Iran’s parliament speaker casts more doubt on further negotiations with U.S.

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, cast further doubt on future negotiations with the U.S. on Monday, saying: “We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats.”

“Trump, by imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire, seeks to turn this negotiating table — in his own imagination — into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering,” Ghalibaf said on X.

“In the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”

Ghalibaf was among the Iranian officials who met with Vice President JD Vance, President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and special envoy Steve Witkoff earlier this month for direct talks in Pakistan that did not result in a breakthrough.

 

How Trump’s messaging on Iran has shifted since saying they “agreed to everything”

In less than 48 hours this weekend, President Trump went from saying Iran has “agreed to everything,” including working with the U.S. to remove its enriched uranium, to warning that if Iran doesn’t sign a U.S.-backed deal, the “whole country is getting blown up.” 

The president’s rapid shifts in messaging, expressed in phone calls with individual reporters and on Truth Social, come as the two-week ceasefire in the war with Iran enters its final days, and as the state of negotiations with Iran is uncertain. 

Read more here.

 

Trump says “time is not my adversary” in reaching a deal with Iran

Only a day after threatening that Iran would be “getting blown up” unless the regime signed a U.S.-backed deal, the president on Monday said he’s in no rush to reach an agreement with Tehran. 

“The Democrats are doing everything possible to hurt the very strong position we are in with respect to Iran,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, noting that Democrats “like to say that I promised 6 weeks to defeat Iran.”

The president insisted that from a military standpoint, it was “far faster” than six weeks to defeat Iran. Still, he said, “I’m not going to let them rush the United States into making a deal that is not as good as it could have been.” 

“I read the Fake News saying that I am under ‘pressure’ to make a Deal,” he wrote. “THIS IS NOT TRUE! I am under no pressure whatsoever, although, it will all happen, relatively quickly! Time is not my adversary, the only thing that matters is that we finally, after 47 years, straighten out the MESS that other Presidents let happen because they didn’t have the Courage or Foresight to do what had to be done with respect to Iran.”

#Live #Updates #Unclear #U.S.Iran #peace #talks #happen #day #Trumps #latest #ultimatum #expiresWar, Pakistan, Iran, Israel, Nuclear Weapons, Ceasefire, Donald Trump, Middle East, Strait of Hormuz">Live Updates: Unclear if U.S.-Iran peace talks will happen one day before Trump’s latest ultimatum expires
             

            
              23m ago
            

                          Greek firm warns ships of “fraudulent messages” offering safe Strait of Hormuz passage for cryptocurrency
            
                          
                The Greek maritime risk management firm MARISKS has warned mariners in the Middle East of fraudulent messages being issued to shipping companies offering vessels safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for cryptocurrency, according to the Reuters news agency.After a brief reopening of the vital waterway, Iran reimposed restrictions on vessels transiting the strait in response to the U.S. naval blockade of its own ships and ports over the weekend. As of now, Iran demands that any commercial vessel seeking passage do so in direct coordination with its military authorities, and that it use a designated route that passes close to its Larak Island in the far north of the narrow strait.MARISKS issued an alert to shipowners on Monday warning that unknown actors claiming to represent Iranian authorities were sending some shipping companies messages demanding fees payable in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin for permission to transit the strait.“These specific messages are a scam,” and not actually sent by Iranian authorities, the firm warned.Reuters said there was no comment from Tehran about the messages, noting that hundreds of ships, with about 20,000 seafarers on board, remained stranded in the Gulf as of Tuesday. CBS News has seen the gridlock first-hand. Journalists are not meant to be on the waters of the strait, so correspondent Imtiaz Tyab and producer Sohel Uddin posed as tourists to get a short journey into the choked waterway on a pleasure boat. They saw dozens of cargo ships and tankers, all of which have sat idle for weeks, waiting and hoping for passage through the strait.
              
            
            
            
          
             

            
              43m ago
            

                          Iranian state TV says nobody sent to Pakistan yet, participation in talks requires change in U.S. “behavior”
            
                          
                Iranian state TV on Tuesday rejected reports suggesting a lower-level preliminary delegation had arrived in Pakistan’s capital ahead of possible peace talks with Trump administration officials.“Since Saturday, numerous reports have circulated about the ‘departure’ or ‘arrival’ of an Iranian delegation to Pakistan, and even announcements of the meeting time as ‘Monday afternoon’ or ‘Tuesday morning’ by international and regional media — all of which are inaccurate,” the state TV broadcast said.The report then reiterated a remark by the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, who said Monday: “We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats.”“Continuing participation in the talks depends on a change in the behavior and positions of the Americans,” the state TV report said. 
    
                                    
      

      
          
        
        
                  Security personnel stand guard at a checkpoint near the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 21, 2026, amid heightened security measures ahead of anticipated U.S.-Iran peace talks.
        
                  
            
                Aamir QURESHI/AFP/Getty

                          
              
      
  
              
            
            
            
          
             

            
              43m ago
            

                          Trump says recovering Iran’s uranium will be “long and difficult process”
            
                          
                President Trump said late Monday that obtaining uranium from Iran would be “long” and “difficult” in the aftermath of last year’s U.S. strikes on Tehran’s nuclear sites.“Operation Midnight Hammer was a complete and total obliteration of the Nuclear Dust sites in Iran,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding: “Therefore, digging it out will be a long and difficult process.”Mr. Trump regularly uses the term “nuclear dust” to refer to Iran’s stock of enriched uranium, which the United States accuses Iran of hoarding in order to use in a nuclear bomb. But he has also sometimes used it to refer to material left over from U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June last year.Mr. Trump has said Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium will ultimately be transferred to U.S. territory, despite Iran’s foreign ministry disputing any such plans.Israeli officials say Tehran had stepped up efforts to acquire a nuclear weapon since the end of the 12-day war last June, which was launched by Israel and included U.S. bombings of three nuclear facilities, including an enrichment plant.  
              
            
            
            
          
             

            
              43m ago
            

                          Trump warns Iran will “see problems like they’ve never seen before” if they don’t negotiate
            
                          
                Speaking on the John Fredericks radio show, President Trump predicted Monday that Iran will negotiate with the U.S., but “if they don’t, they’re going to see problems like they’ve never seen before.”He also reiterated that he believes the Iran war is “very close to being over.”Mr. Trump has said his Vice President JD Vance, senior envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Pakistan for another possible round of U.S.-Iran peace talks, as a two-week ceasefire between the two countries is set to expire this week. It’s not clear whether Iran plans to send a delegation to Islamabad.
              
            
            
            
          
             

            
              43m ago
            

                          Iran’s parliament speaker casts more doubt on further negotiations with U.S.
            
                          
                Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, cast further doubt on future negotiations with the U.S. on Monday, saying: “We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats.”“Trump, by imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire, seeks to turn this negotiating table — in his own imagination — into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering,” Ghalibaf said on X.“In the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”Ghalibaf was among the Iranian officials who met with Vice President JD Vance, President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and special envoy Steve Witkoff earlier this month for direct talks in Pakistan that did not result in a breakthrough.
              
            
            
            
          
             

            
              43m ago
            

                          How Trump’s messaging on Iran has shifted since saying they “agreed to everything”
            
                          
                In less than 48 hours this weekend, President Trump went from saying Iran has “agreed to everything,” including working with the U.S. to remove its enriched uranium, to warning that if Iran doesn’t sign a U.S.-backed deal, the “whole country is getting blown up.” The president’s rapid shifts in messaging, expressed in phone calls with individual reporters and on Truth Social, come as the two-week ceasefire in the war with Iran enters its final days, and as the state of negotiations with Iran is uncertain. Read more here.
              
            
            
            
          
             

            
              43m ago
            

                          Trump says “time is not my adversary” in reaching a deal with Iran
            
                          
                Only a day after threatening that Iran would be “getting blown up” unless the regime signed a U.S.-backed deal, the president on Monday said he’s in no rush to reach an agreement with Tehran. “The Democrats are doing everything possible to hurt the very strong position we are in with respect to Iran,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, noting that Democrats “like to say that I promised 6 weeks to defeat Iran.”The president insisted that from a military standpoint, it was “far faster” than six weeks to defeat Iran. Still, he said, “I’m not going to let them rush the United States into making a deal that is not as good as it could have been.” “I read the Fake News saying that I am under ‘pressure’ to make a Deal,” he wrote. “THIS IS NOT TRUE! I am under no pressure whatsoever, although, it will all happen, relatively quickly! Time is not my adversary, the only thing that matters is that we finally, after 47 years, straighten out the MESS that other Presidents let happen because they didn’t have the Courage or Foresight to do what had to be done with respect to Iran.”
              
            
            
            
          #Live #Updates #Unclear #U.S.Iran #peace #talks #happen #day #Trumps #latest #ultimatum #expiresWar, Pakistan, Iran, Israel, Nuclear Weapons, Ceasefire, Donald Trump, Middle East, Strait of Hormuz

 

Greek firm warns ships of “fraudulent messages” offering safe Strait of Hormuz passage for cryptocurrency

The Greek maritime risk management firm MARISKS has warned mariners in the Middle East of fraudulent messages being issued to shipping companies offering vessels safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for cryptocurrency, according to the Reuters news agency.

After a brief reopening of the vital waterway, Iran reimposed restrictions on vessels transiting the strait in response to the U.S. naval blockade of its own ships and ports over the weekend. As of now, Iran demands that any commercial vessel seeking passage do so in direct coordination with its military authorities, and that it use a designated route that passes close to its Larak Island in the far north of the narrow strait.

MARISKS issued an alert to shipowners on Monday warning that unknown actors claiming to represent Iranian authorities were sending some shipping companies messages demanding fees payable in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin for permission to transit the strait.

“These specific messages are a scam,” and not actually sent by Iranian authorities, the firm warned.

Reuters said there was no comment from Tehran about the messages, noting that hundreds of ships, with about 20,000 seafarers on board, remained stranded in the Gulf as of Tuesday. 

CBS News has seen the gridlock first-hand. Journalists are not meant to be on the waters of the strait, so correspondent Imtiaz Tyab and producer Sohel Uddin posed as tourists to get a short journey into the choked waterway on a pleasure boat. 

They saw dozens of cargo ships and tankers, all of which have sat idle for weeks, waiting and hoping for passage through the strait.

 

Iranian state TV says nobody sent to Pakistan yet, participation in talks requires change in U.S. “behavior”

Iranian state TV on Tuesday rejected reports suggesting a lower-level preliminary delegation had arrived in Pakistan’s capital ahead of possible peace talks with Trump administration officials.

“Since Saturday, numerous reports have circulated about the ‘departure’ or ‘arrival’ of an Iranian delegation to Pakistan, and even announcements of the meeting time as ‘Monday afternoon’ or ‘Tuesday morning’ by international and regional media — all of which are inaccurate,” the state TV broadcast said.

The report then reiterated a remark by the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, who said Monday: “We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats.”

“Continuing participation in the talks depends on a change in the behavior and positions of the Americans,” the state TV report said. 

PAKISTAN-WAR-IRAN-US-ISRAEL-DIPLOMACY
Security personnel stand guard at a checkpoint near the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 21, 2026, amid heightened security measures ahead of anticipated U.S.-Iran peace talks. Aamir QURESHI/AFP/Getty
 

Trump says recovering Iran’s uranium will be “long and difficult process”

President Trump said late Monday that obtaining uranium from Iran would be “long” and “difficult” in the aftermath of last year’s U.S. strikes on Tehran’s nuclear sites.

“Operation Midnight Hammer was a complete and total obliteration of the Nuclear Dust sites in Iran,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding: “Therefore, digging it out will be a long and difficult process.”

Mr. Trump regularly uses the term “nuclear dust” to refer to Iran’s stock of enriched uranium, which the United States accuses Iran of hoarding in order to use in a nuclear bomb. But he has also sometimes used it to refer to material left over from U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June last year.

Mr. Trump has said Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium will ultimately be transferred to U.S. territory, despite Iran’s foreign ministry disputing any such plans.

Israeli officials say Tehran had stepped up efforts to acquire a nuclear weapon since the end of the 12-day war last June, which was launched by Israel and included U.S. bombings of three nuclear facilities, including an enrichment plant.  

 

Trump warns Iran will “see problems like they’ve never seen before” if they don’t negotiate

Speaking on the John Fredericks radio show, President Trump predicted Monday that Iran will negotiate with the U.S., but “if they don’t, they’re going to see problems like they’ve never seen before.”

He also reiterated that he believes the Iran war is “very close to being over.”

Mr. Trump has said his Vice President JD Vance, senior envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Pakistan for another possible round of U.S.-Iran peace talks, as a two-week ceasefire between the two countries is set to expire this week. It’s not clear whether Iran plans to send a delegation to Islamabad.

 

Iran’s parliament speaker casts more doubt on further negotiations with U.S.

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, cast further doubt on future negotiations with the U.S. on Monday, saying: “We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats.”

“Trump, by imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire, seeks to turn this negotiating table — in his own imagination — into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering,” Ghalibaf said on X.

“In the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”

Ghalibaf was among the Iranian officials who met with Vice President JD Vance, President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and special envoy Steve Witkoff earlier this month for direct talks in Pakistan that did not result in a breakthrough.

 

How Trump’s messaging on Iran has shifted since saying they “agreed to everything”

In less than 48 hours this weekend, President Trump went from saying Iran has “agreed to everything,” including working with the U.S. to remove its enriched uranium, to warning that if Iran doesn’t sign a U.S.-backed deal, the “whole country is getting blown up.” 

The president’s rapid shifts in messaging, expressed in phone calls with individual reporters and on Truth Social, come as the two-week ceasefire in the war with Iran enters its final days, and as the state of negotiations with Iran is uncertain. 

Read more here.

 

Trump says “time is not my adversary” in reaching a deal with Iran

Only a day after threatening that Iran would be “getting blown up” unless the regime signed a U.S.-backed deal, the president on Monday said he’s in no rush to reach an agreement with Tehran. 

“The Democrats are doing everything possible to hurt the very strong position we are in with respect to Iran,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, noting that Democrats “like to say that I promised 6 weeks to defeat Iran.”

The president insisted that from a military standpoint, it was “far faster” than six weeks to defeat Iran. Still, he said, “I’m not going to let them rush the United States into making a deal that is not as good as it could have been.” 

“I read the Fake News saying that I am under ‘pressure’ to make a Deal,” he wrote. “THIS IS NOT TRUE! I am under no pressure whatsoever, although, it will all happen, relatively quickly! Time is not my adversary, the only thing that matters is that we finally, after 47 years, straighten out the MESS that other Presidents let happen because they didn’t have the Courage or Foresight to do what had to be done with respect to Iran.”

#Live #Updates #Unclear #U.S.Iran #peace #talks #happen #day #Trumps #latest #ultimatum #expiresWar, Pakistan, Iran, Israel, Nuclear Weapons, Ceasefire, Donald Trump, Middle East, Strait of Hormuz">Live Updates: Unclear if U.S.-Iran peace talks will happen one day before Trump’s latest ultimatum expires
 

Greek firm warns ships of “fraudulent messages” offering safe Strait of Hormuz passage for cryptocurrency

The Greek maritime risk management firm MARISKS has warned mariners in the Middle East of fraudulent messages being issued to shipping companies offering vessels safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for cryptocurrency, according to the Reuters news agency.

After a brief reopening of the vital waterway, Iran reimposed restrictions on vessels transiting the strait in response to the U.S. naval blockade of its own ships and ports over the weekend. As of now, Iran demands that any commercial vessel seeking passage do so in direct coordination with its military authorities, and that it use a designated route that passes close to its Larak Island in the far north of the narrow strait.

MARISKS issued an alert to shipowners on Monday warning that unknown actors claiming to represent Iranian authorities were sending some shipping companies messages demanding fees payable in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin for permission to transit the strait.

“These specific messages are a scam,” and not actually sent by Iranian authorities, the firm warned.

Reuters said there was no comment from Tehran about the messages, noting that hundreds of ships, with about 20,000 seafarers on board, remained stranded in the Gulf as of Tuesday. 

CBS News has seen the gridlock first-hand. Journalists are not meant to be on the waters of the strait, so correspondent Imtiaz Tyab and producer Sohel Uddin posed as tourists to get a short journey into the choked waterway on a pleasure boat. 

They saw dozens of cargo ships and tankers, all of which have sat idle for weeks, waiting and hoping for passage through the strait.

 

Iranian state TV says nobody sent to Pakistan yet, participation in talks requires change in U.S. “behavior”

Iranian state TV on Tuesday rejected reports suggesting a lower-level preliminary delegation had arrived in Pakistan’s capital ahead of possible peace talks with Trump administration officials.

“Since Saturday, numerous reports have circulated about the ‘departure’ or ‘arrival’ of an Iranian delegation to Pakistan, and even announcements of the meeting time as ‘Monday afternoon’ or ‘Tuesday morning’ by international and regional media — all of which are inaccurate,” the state TV broadcast said.

The report then reiterated a remark by the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, who said Monday: “We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats.”

“Continuing participation in the talks depends on a change in the behavior and positions of the Americans,” the state TV report said. 

PAKISTAN-WAR-IRAN-US-ISRAEL-DIPLOMACY
Security personnel stand guard at a checkpoint near the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 21, 2026, amid heightened security measures ahead of anticipated U.S.-Iran peace talks. Aamir QURESHI/AFP/Getty
 

Trump says recovering Iran’s uranium will be “long and difficult process”

President Trump said late Monday that obtaining uranium from Iran would be “long” and “difficult” in the aftermath of last year’s U.S. strikes on Tehran’s nuclear sites.

“Operation Midnight Hammer was a complete and total obliteration of the Nuclear Dust sites in Iran,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding: “Therefore, digging it out will be a long and difficult process.”

Mr. Trump regularly uses the term “nuclear dust” to refer to Iran’s stock of enriched uranium, which the United States accuses Iran of hoarding in order to use in a nuclear bomb. But he has also sometimes used it to refer to material left over from U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June last year.

Mr. Trump has said Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium will ultimately be transferred to U.S. territory, despite Iran’s foreign ministry disputing any such plans.

Israeli officials say Tehran had stepped up efforts to acquire a nuclear weapon since the end of the 12-day war last June, which was launched by Israel and included U.S. bombings of three nuclear facilities, including an enrichment plant.  

 

Trump warns Iran will “see problems like they’ve never seen before” if they don’t negotiate

Speaking on the John Fredericks radio show, President Trump predicted Monday that Iran will negotiate with the U.S., but “if they don’t, they’re going to see problems like they’ve never seen before.”

He also reiterated that he believes the Iran war is “very close to being over.”

Mr. Trump has said his Vice President JD Vance, senior envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Pakistan for another possible round of U.S.-Iran peace talks, as a two-week ceasefire between the two countries is set to expire this week. It’s not clear whether Iran plans to send a delegation to Islamabad.

 

Iran’s parliament speaker casts more doubt on further negotiations with U.S.

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, cast further doubt on future negotiations with the U.S. on Monday, saying: “We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats.”

“Trump, by imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire, seeks to turn this negotiating table — in his own imagination — into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering,” Ghalibaf said on X.

“In the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”

Ghalibaf was among the Iranian officials who met with Vice President JD Vance, President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and special envoy Steve Witkoff earlier this month for direct talks in Pakistan that did not result in a breakthrough.

 

How Trump’s messaging on Iran has shifted since saying they “agreed to everything”

In less than 48 hours this weekend, President Trump went from saying Iran has “agreed to everything,” including working with the U.S. to remove its enriched uranium, to warning that if Iran doesn’t sign a U.S.-backed deal, the “whole country is getting blown up.” 

The president’s rapid shifts in messaging, expressed in phone calls with individual reporters and on Truth Social, come as the two-week ceasefire in the war with Iran enters its final days, and as the state of negotiations with Iran is uncertain. 

Read more here.

 

Trump says “time is not my adversary” in reaching a deal with Iran

Only a day after threatening that Iran would be “getting blown up” unless the regime signed a U.S.-backed deal, the president on Monday said he’s in no rush to reach an agreement with Tehran. 

“The Democrats are doing everything possible to hurt the very strong position we are in with respect to Iran,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, noting that Democrats “like to say that I promised 6 weeks to defeat Iran.”

The president insisted that from a military standpoint, it was “far faster” than six weeks to defeat Iran. Still, he said, “I’m not going to let them rush the United States into making a deal that is not as good as it could have been.” 

“I read the Fake News saying that I am under ‘pressure’ to make a Deal,” he wrote. “THIS IS NOT TRUE! I am under no pressure whatsoever, although, it will all happen, relatively quickly! Time is not my adversary, the only thing that matters is that we finally, after 47 years, straighten out the MESS that other Presidents let happen because they didn’t have the Courage or Foresight to do what had to be done with respect to Iran.”

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