BIG: China quietly blocked off huge chunks of airspace off its east coast for ~40 days (Mar 27–May 6) — much longer than its usual few-day military-style airspace closures — without saying why.

The zones are off China’s coast near the Yellow Sea / East China Sea, not right next to Taiwan.

Source: WSJ

Pope Leo's Easter message:

Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them!

Senator Graham:

To say the window on diplomacy is closing would be an understatement.

An Iranian official said the Strait of Hormuz will reopen only if war damages are paid through a “new legal regime” using transit fees.

Source: Al Jazeera

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf:

Your reckless moves are dragging the United States into a living HELL for every single family, and our whole region is going to burn because you insist on following Netanyahu’s commands.

Make no mistake: You won’t gain anything through war crimes.

The only real solution is respecting the rights of the Iranian people and ending this dangerous game.

Trump said the U.S. initially feared Iran was setting a trap after an F-15 crew member was shot down and sent an unusual radio message.

Trump said Iran downed the jet with a shoulder-fired missile, adding, “They got lucky.”

After the pilot transmitted “Power be to God” (officials say “God is good”), U.S. officials worried the signal might be fake and that Iran was “sending false signals” to lure them in.

He described the search as intense, claiming “thousands of these savages were hunting him down.”

Source: Axios

Trump to Axios:

What he said on the radio sounded like something a Muslim would say.

Trump on Israel:

We are like a big brother and little brother.

Source: Axios

2 × HC-130J rescue aircraft and

4 x MH-6 Little Bird helicopters were destroyed in this strike in Iran.

Source: ABC

Moscow wants Washington to “drop the language of ultimatums,” Lavrov told his Iranian counterpart by phone.

Trump:

The rescue was an Easter Miracle.

Trump on Iran:

It should be wrapped up in days because no sane group of people could stand the punishment that's going to rain down on them if it's not.

Source: ABC News

Trump on Iran:

There could be a deal, and there could also not be a deal.

I don't know. I have no idea with these people, they're getting the shit beat out of them, and that's, that's all I can tell you.

Source: ABC News

Trump on NATO:

They're a paper tiger. Paper Tiger. They have no ships. They have no nothing, and Putin has zero fear of them.

Source: ABC News

Trump on Iran:

If a deal happens, it happens.

And if it doesn't, we're blowing up the whole country.

Source: ABC News

Q: Is there anything off limits in Iran?

Trump: Very little.

Source: ABC News

Trump to WSJ on Iran:

If they don’t come through… they’re going to lose every power plant and every other plant in the whole country.

If they don’t do something by Tuesday evening, they won’t have any power plants and they won’t have any bridges standing.

That country will take 20 years to rebuild, if they’re lucky. If they have a country.

Asked if he is concerned the people of Iran, a country of 93 million people, could suffer if civilian infrastructure is hit, Trump said:

No, they want us to do it.

Source: WSJ