President Donald Trump appears to be moving towards a strategy of escalation regarding Teheran: Since Iran’s conventional bombing was ineffectual - or achieved very little purposes - why is a nuclear bomb not used, whether tactical or strategic? After all, the United States remains the sole possessor of this weapon, not Iran. This radical shift sparked a major rift between Trump and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

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The ‘fourth stage’ of Robert Pape’s ‘Escalation Trap’ [1] is unfolding amidst global chaos and geostrategic fracking, in unison with the almost paroxysmal burning of other multidimensional fronts [2].

The epicenter of the US-Israeli war against Iran - henceforth embodied in the vital Strait of Hormuz and the focal inalienable Iranian-Omani sovereignty over the strait - triggered a ‘butterfly effect’ that changed the rules of the game on a very wide scale with its successive metastases in geo-economy - massive disruptions in oil/gas/fertilizer/food supplies - and in geo-financial matters, accelerating the rise in oil/gas binomial, stock market crashes and the collision between the petrodollar and the petro-yuan.

The headline of Russia’s TASS news agency wonderfully describes the shift: “US ready to bomb Iran anew, to truce or not to truce”, [3] while China, the other tripolar superpower, is expressing grave concern and closely monitoring Japan’s war preparations in the South China Sea [4].

The US ceasefire with Iran, which was set to expire early on Wednesday, April 22, Washington time, was extended at the request of Pakistan, acting as the mediator [5], while awaiting “a unified proposal from Teheran”.

The United States maintains its blockade of Iranian ports, forcing Vice President JD Vance to postpone his scheduled trip to Pakistan. It should be noted that Vance is a major ally of Palantir, an artificial intelligence (AI) company created by the CIA that seeks to monitor the Pentagon.

Iran refused to participate in a second round of peace talks with the US in Islamabad, citing Trump’s “excessive demands”, the ongoing U.S. naval blockade in the Gulf and the capture of a Persian-flagged cargo-ship, the Touska by Navy pirates.

Late Saturday night April 18, 2026, President Trump gathered his generals and admirals for an emergency meeting. Reports described a stormy session marked by a heated confrontation between the president and military leaders. An official report was released on Sunday.

Two days later, former CIA analyst Larry Johnson, who has close ties to the US military, detailed what occurred in the White House Situation Room. He reiterated in his historic interview with Judge Napolitano [6]: “Donald Trump demanded access to nuclear launch codes, and General Dan Caine stood up and refused.”

It should be remembered that Trump 1.0 had already clashed with General Mark Milley [7] and, recently, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had already clashed with Daniel Driscoll [8], very close to Vice President Vance. The disagreement between anti-Catholic Trump and millennial Catholic JD Vance is becoming increasingly notorious, due to their fundamentally different approaches to the war against Iran.

According to Larry Johnson, General Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, invoked the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) [9] to stop the request. Larry Johnson says he witnessed quite a “blow-up” when “images of General Dan Caine looking leaving the meeting with his head down” were published. He concludes that “There’s some bizarre things going on in DC”, while “thick black clouds are shrouding Teheran” due to bad weather.

The specific privilege invoked by General Dan Caine concerns the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) which can revoke the presidential order in the event that the rift between the Pentagon and the White House reaches a climax. Larry Johnson’s alarming revelation raises serious concerns [10].

By a strange coincidence, the “Palantir’s 22 points manifesto” - Palantir is a highly controversial AI company founded by the CIA that runs the Pentagon’s Intelligence /Surveillance /Reconnaissance (ISR), which was involved in promoting JD Vance to the Vice Presidency - was released on the same day as the Washington general’s refusal to hand over the nuclear code to Trump.

Palantir aspires to impose a “new technological world order” against Russia and China which would render atomic weapons obsolete through the monopolistic use of AI bombs [11].

Notes

[1] “The « Escalation trap » and its « Four Stages» in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran”, by Alfredo Jalife-Rahme, Translation Ouahiba Souilah-Guedioura, La Jornada (Mexico) , Voltaire Network, 23 April 2026.

[2] «“Trampa de la Escalada” y Camuflaje Militar de EU/Israel», Alfredo Jalife, YouTube, 21 de abril de 2026.

[3] «US ready to bomb Iran anew, to truce or not to truce: situation around Iran», Tass, April 21, 2026.

[4] «Japan’s arms export shift, Yasukuni offering ignite sharp condemnation from China», Liu Xin, Zhang Changyue & Xing Xiaojing, Global Times, April 21, 2026.

[5] «Trump says US will continue its blockade of Iranian ports», Aamer Madhani, Associated Press, April 21, 2026.

[6] «Larry Johnson : Who Controls Hormuz?», Judge Napolitano, YouTube, April 20, 2026.

[7] «Gen. Mark Milley retires after 4 years as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff», Mary Louise Kelly, NPR, October 2, 2023.

[8] “J.D. Vance is vying for the presidential nomination in Pakistan and Hungary”, by Alfredo Jalife-Rahme, La Jornada (Mexico) , Voltaire Network, 21 April 2026.

[9] «The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)», Jim Absher, Military.com, March 25, 2022.

[10] «Fact Check: Did Trump try to use nuclear codes on Iran but was stopped by Dan Caine?», Saurav Sureh, Meaww News, April 21, 2026.

[11] «@PalantirTech», X, April 18, 2026.

Courtesy Alfredo Jalife-Rahme; Translation Ouahiba Souilah-Guedioura

Source: La Jornada (Mexico)

https://www.voltairenet.org/article224331.html