1 April—Before going off this morning to bully the Supreme Court into dumping birthright citizenship, Donald Trump crowed that Iran had asked the United States for a ceasefire: “Iran’s New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE! We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!”

Is that President of Peace Trump’s idea of an April fool? Or is he merely being his normal mendacious and/or delusional self, and/or is he once again betraying his intransigent ignorance? First, there’s no such animal as a new Iranian regime. It’s just the same old regime with a new dictator.

The nasty old dictator, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, may have been assassinated by the Israelis, but his son, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Kamenei, has been appointed to carry on the old man’s autocratic regime. Of course, Mojtaba, known to have been seriously wounded in the raid that killed his father, mother, sister, wife, son, and brother-in-law, hasn’t been seen since his appointment—even on video. So is he indeed alive?

In all events, new Supreme Leader Mojtaba, regarded as “his father on steroids,” is known to be even more radical, more hard-line than the old man. And, like Trump, he’s vindictive, even vengeful. If he’s not dead, in fact, we can see him becoming Trump’s new BFF or even replacing Korea’s Kim Jong Un as Trump’s lover.

But Mojtaba Khamenei isn’t “Iran’s New Regime President.” As supreme leader he actually outranks the president, who as head of the executive branch merely manages day-to-day administration. Thus the supreme leader retains ultimate authority on military matters, security, and foreign policy—including, one would think, ceasefires. That’s what being a supreme leader is all about.

The closest thing to Iran’s New Regime President, on the other hand, is Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon before lowering himself to politics, who was elected to office in July 2024. Being a moderate reformist, he really is less radical than his predecessor and likely is more intelligent—not that Trump would realize any of it—and his platform included reducing tensions with the West. But he’s still only second-in-command of the Old Regime.

So is Pezeshkian the man who asked Trump for a ceasefire—while his boss is incapacitated or even dead? Or, as is just as—or even more—likely, does Trump not know what he’s talking about and/or is he just making it up?