Another official warns that while the U.S. may be able to capture the island, holding onto it for an extended period of time will require many more soldiers and an extended period of fighting - far beyond the four-to-six week window that Washington has told the public the Iran War would last.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida has announced the indictment of two people in connection with an explosive device discovered last week at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. The indictment of Alen Zheng alleges that he placed an improvised explosive device at the visitor center. He had fled to China before he could be arrested on charges of attempted damage to government property by fire or explosion, unlawful manufacture of a destructive device, and possession of a destructive device. The indictment of Ann Mary Zheng, Alen's sister, alleges that she tampered with a black 2010 Mercedes-Benz in order to hinder the investigation. She has been charged with evidence tampering and accessory after the fact. Mary has been arrested and is the custody of the FBI.

According to U.S. President Donald J. Trump in a post earlier on TruthSocial, the 5-day pause on strikes against Iranian energy and power infrastructure, at the request of Iran, has been extended to 10 days, now ending April 6, 2026 at 8 P.M. EST.

Senior Iranian official tells Drop Site News that U.S. President Trump was “not being truthful” in his post earlier on TruthSocial, announcing an additional 5-day pause on his threat to bomb Iranian energy infrastructure at the request of Iran, with the official stating: “[Trump] is not being truthful. We have not submitted any request regarding potential U.S. attacks.”

U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s Treasury Department is planning to add his signature to all denominations of the United States Dollar moving forward, which will mark the first time in history that the sitting president’s signature will appear on American Currency, with Trump’s signature expected to replace that of the U.S. Treasurer, Brandon Beach, sitting alongside his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s, several sources including Beach himself have confirmed to Vanity Fair.

“As the 250th anniversary of our great nation approaches, American currency will continue to stand as a symbol of prosperity, strength, and the unshakable spirit of the American people under President Trump’s leadership,” U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach said in a statement to Vanity Fair. “The president’s mark on history as the architect of America’s golden age economic revival is undeniable. Printing his signature on the American currency is not only appropriate, but also well deserved.”

The Pentagon is developing military options for a “knockout blow” in the ongoing war against Iran, including potential ground and bombing operations, with options on the table including the seizure of ships near the Strait of Hormuz or the full-scale invasion of Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub, as well as other islands in the Persian Gulf, multiple officials and sources familiar tell Axios’ Barak Ravid.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump announces that he will be signing an Executive Order directing the Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin to immediately pay TSA Agents in order to “address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports.” President Trump does not state where this money will come from or how the order is able to legally supersede the current impasse on funding for Homeland Security in Congress.

During a live phone interview earlier with Fox News, President Trump was asked if he had been told by the CIA that Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader and the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was gay, to which Trump responded:

“Well, they did say that, but I don't know if it was only them. I think a lot of people are saying that, which puts him off to a bad start in that particular country.”

While evidence of a potential invasion of Iran’s Kharg Island in the Northern Persian Gulf continues to grow, as landing assets from the U.S. Army and Marine Corps begin to arrive in the Middle East, traders on Polymarket remain split on the chances of such an operation, with the chance that Kharg Island is no longer under the control of Iran the end of May currently sitting at 50%.

Despite today’s announcement by President Trump, Iran has not requested a 10-day pause on strikes against its energy plants from the United States and is yet to deliver a final response to the Trump Administration’s 15-point plan to end the war, peace talk mediators tell the Wall Street Journal.

The Pentagon has suggested seizing the Iran-controlled Island of Abu Musa, located in the eastern Persian Gulf near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, roughly 40 miles from both Iran and the United Arab Emirates, sources tell Axios.

Iran’s state-run Fars News Agency has released a target list of energy infrastructure within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that they plan to strike if the U.S. conducts a ground operation against the strategically and economically important Kharg Island or any other Iranian territory. These include desalination plants, nuclear power plants, and other power hubs across the UAE.

According to the Wall Street Journal, citing Department of Defense officials with knowledge on the matter, the Pentagon is considering the deployment of an additional 10,000 ground troops, including armored vehicles, to the Middle East, in preparation for potential ground operation in Iran.

These 10,000 U.S. Servicemembers, most likely to come from combat units with the Army, will join well over 50,000 Servicemembers already deployed to air and army bases, as well as on naval ships, across the Middle East in the lead up and since the start of Operation Epic Fury.

On February 26, 2026, the U.S. Army tested the Altius-700 (A-700) Rocket Medium-Range Launched Effect (MR-LE), a loitering munition produced by Anduril. The A-700 was launched from the pylon of an AH-64E “Apache” Attack Helicopter as a part of ongoing tests that have been in motion since its first live-fire test back in 2024.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump is weighing several options for dramatically escalating the Iran War should his latest push for diplomacy fail, with Pentagon officials preparing for the next phase of war by drawing up scenarios for deploying troops to seize various targets within Iran, more than half a dozen people familiar with the discussions told CNN.

Officials have developed options for capturing Kharg Island, which handles roughly 90% of Iran’s crude exports, or authorizing a bombing raid aimed at effectively wiping out all oil infrastructure on the island in the Persian Gulf. And the administration has examined the potential for taking over other strategically placed islands near Iran that might weaken the regime’s ability to threaten tankers trying to traverse the Strait of Hormuz.

White House officials believe that taking Kharg Island in particular would “totally bankrupt” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), one official told CNN, potentially paving the way for a definitive end to the Iran War.