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Word from Intel sources today inform me that behind-the-scenes negotiations with Iran have hit a sort of brick wall. Iran absolutely demands the Sanctions be lifted in return for opening the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. says no.
Earlier today, around 11:00 AM EDT, Israeli Defense Minister Katz told Israeli news media "“Israel is prepared to resume the war against Iran — We are awaiting a green light from the United States — first and foremost to complete the elimination of the Khamenei family and to push Iran back into a dark age. This time, the strike will be different and far more lethal, delivering devastating blows at the most sensitive points — ones that will shake and undermine its very foundations."
This story is written at 2:26 PM EDT, and about two hours ago, at about 12:15 PM today, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were summoned to the White House.
At about 12:30, word came to me that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was completing a limited "Security Cabinet" conference call in Israel.
At about 1:30 PM EDT- At least six (6) US refueling tankers took off from Tel Aviv and are currently hovering near the Persian Gulf South of Iran. There are likely more which do not have their Transponders on.
At that exact same time Israeli hospitals reportedly received a formal directive to prepare for an immediate return to emergency status.
Minutes ago, reports started coming in that there is an electric outage in the Azadi area of Tehran, and that Iranian air defenses were active over their capital city.
UPDATE 5:00 PM EDT --
I just checked the "Pentagon Pizza Index" which tracks the volume of business at Pizza joints near the Pentagon.
The Index was created because people realized that when the US is going into some military thing, the pizza places near the Pentagon suddenly get very busy as people stay late and eat at the office, or as additional staff is called in.
So they created the "Pentagon Pizz Index" which is tied to the cash registers at each place, and tracks, in realtime, the volume of sales. It then classifies the sales volume as "Quiet" or "Typical" or "Busy" or "Very Busy" or "Much busier than usual" with a percentage showing the amount of business over typical.
Four of those joints are quiet or typical business levels. Two are significantly spiked:
