The hardline faction governing Tehran, particularly since the demise of the ayatollah under Donald Trump’s administration, is intensifying its rhetoric around developing a nuclear arsenal. The regime asserts it has mobilized a million fighters ready to counter any ground invasion by the United States.

In a bold move, the leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are contemplating a public declaration to develop nuclear weapons, potentially in defiance of any US-Israeli military actions.

Since the passing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the war’s onset, hardliners within the IRGC have seized substantial control in Iran. Trump has boasted about eliminating Iran’s hardline leadership, yet the regime continues to manifest resilience akin to a hydra, with each new leader more resolute and vengeful than the predecessor.

Historically, Iran has maintained a public stance against pursuing nuclear weapons, with Khamenei declaring them un-Islamic. Nonetheless, Western intelligence reports have consistently indicated Iran’s covert efforts to enrich and accumulate uranium for weaponization.

Currently, Tehran’s leadership is weighing the option of withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, potentially abandoning any pretense regarding their nuclear ambitions.

Sources told Reuters the relentless US-Israeli strikes have persuaded the regime it has nothing to gain by holding back from building a bomb.

Trump on Thursday extended his deadline to not strike Iranian energy plants, writing on Truth Social: ‘As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time. Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well.’

Iranian state media, meanwhile, claims more than one million troops have been mobilized in preparation for a US ground invasion to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 

The buildup comes amid growing threats from Trump to seize Kharg Island, a key oil hub that helps control the vital waterway.

Israel is engaging in a wide range of military strikes across the Middle East, including in Gaza and Lebanon, where Iran’s proxies are active against Netanyahu’s forces (pictured: a fireball erupts following an Israeli strike near a tent encampment sheltering people displaced by war in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on March 25)

Leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are now considering publicly pursuing a nuclear weapon in defiance of US-Israeli strikes

The buildup comes amid growing threats from Trump to seize Kharg Island, a key oil hub that helps control the vital waterway

Trump claims to have wiped out Iran’s hardline mullahs, but the Islamic regime is proving to be a hydra, with each new head tougher and more intent on vengeance than the last

Iranian state media, meanwhile, claims more than one million troops have been mobilized in preparation for a US ground invasion to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

Trump has threaten to launch new strikes on Iran if they do not agree to a ceasefire

Iran has begun reinforcing the island by laying traps such as anti-personnel and anti-armor mines along likely landing zones. 

US officials have warned the administration that any ground operation would carry significant risks, including the potential for high numbers of American casualties.

Pentagon chiefs ordered around 2,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East last night to join some 4,500 Marines already en route to the region, as Trump’s peace push shows signs of collapse.

Hardline politician Mohammad Javad Larijani, brother of senior official Ali Larijani who was killed in a strike last Tuesday, was quoted by state media this week urging Iran to suspend its membership of the NPT.

‘The NPT should be suspended. We should form a committee to assess whether the NPT is of any use to us at all. If it proves useful, we will return to it. If not, they can keep ​it,’ he said.

Earlier in the month, state television aired a segment with conservative commentator Nasser Torabi in which he said the Iranian public demanded: ‘We need to act in order to ​build a nuclear weapon. Either we build it or we acquire it.’

The President has said he is prepared to pull the trigger on a full-scale invasion if Tehran continues to rebuff his diplomatic overtures, according to members of his inner circle.

‘Trump has a hand open for a deal, and the other is a fist, waiting to punch you in the f***ing face,’ a Trump aide told Axios.

US officials have warned the administration that any ground operation would carry significant risks, including the potential for high numbers of American casualties

The 15-point plan, modeled on Trump’s Gaza deal, would require Iran to dismantle all nuclear and long-range missile capabilities, open the Strait of Hormuz, and abandon proxy terror groups.

But Iranian state TV on Wednesday said that the regime had rejected the ceasefire proposal. Instead, Tehran is demanding the closure of all US bases in the Gulf, reparations, and an end to Israeli military strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Tehran is also seeking to bring the strait – a chokepoint for roughly a fifth of the world’s oil – under its control, allowing it to charge transit fees on passing vessels, much like Egypt does with the Suez Canal.

A Trump official described Iran’s demands as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘unrealistic’, warning that reaching a deal is now more difficult than before the war began as the President prepares a potential ground invasion force.

Fox News’ “Antisemitism Exposed” newsletter delivers urgent reports on the escalating anti-Jewish sentiment both in the United States and globally.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:
– The Trump administration has initiated a lawsuit against Harvard for allegedly neglecting the safety of Jewish and Israeli students.
– NFL player Puka Nacua from the Rams is accused of biting a woman and making antisemitic comments.
– UC Berkeley agrees to a $1 million settlement and will alter its policies following a lawsuit addressing antisemitism.

At Harvard, faculty and staff display signs during a press event held by supporters of the Harvard Out of Palestine coalition, situated outside the Harvard Yard. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

LEADING STORY: The Trump administration has launched a comprehensive 44-page lawsuit against Harvard, aiming to reclaim billions in federal funds. The Department of Justice accuses the institution of fostering an antisemitic environment and neglecting Jewish students after the attacks on October 7. Officials describe this legal action as addressing “deliberate indifference,” although Harvard criticizes it as a tactic for federal overreach.

VIDEO COVERAGE: Israeli Ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, discusses the recent synagogue attack in Michigan, Israel’s strategic strikes in Lebanon, and more during an appearance on ‘Fox News Live.’ WATCH HERE

RED ZONE: Los Angeles Rams star receiver Puka Nacua is facing a civil lawsuit for assault, battery, and gender violence following a New Year’s Eve incident in Century City. The plaintiff, Madison Atiabi, alleges the Pro Bowler shouted, “f*** all the Jews,” before “forcibly” biting her shoulder and her friend’s thumb during a van ride. Nacua’s attorney has blasted the claims as a “shakedown” and “blackmail,” characterizing the biting as mutual “horseplay” and citing video of the group partying later that night as evidence of a “blatant lie.”

PRICE OF HATE: UC Berkeley has agreed to a $1 million settlement and a sweeping policy overhaul to resolve a landmark antisemitism lawsuit. The university will adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism and ban discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students. The Brandeis Center hailed the deal as a “major milestone” against campus bigotry previously masked as political activism.

Pro-Palestinian protesters set up a tent encampment during a demonstration in front of Sproul Hall on the UC Berkeley campus on April 22, 2024 in Berkeley, Calif. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

AMBULANCES ABLAZE: UK counterterrorism police are hunting three suspects after an antisemitic arson attack gutted four Jewish community ambulances in London. An Iran-linked group, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin, reportedly claimed responsibility for the “sickening” strike. Experts warn the incident marks a dangerous escalation of Tehran-backed terror on British soil, fueled by years of government failure to ban the IRGC.

GUEST EDITORIAL: Zoya Fakhoury is the co-founder and executive director of the Amer Foundation, highlights how the unlawful 2019 detention of her father, Amer Fakhoury, by Hezbollah exposed the terror group’s total subversion of Lebanese sovereignty. She argues that the same Iranian-backed forces that kidnapped an American are now dragging a victimized Lebanese population into a catastrophic war with Israel.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Harvard University has failed to protect its Jewish students from harassment and has allowed discrimination to wreak havoc on its campus.” – White House spokesperson.

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