Ceasefire – although the violence continues

Johan Mathias Sommarström

This is a comment text. Analysis and positions are those of the writer.

Published 2026-04-08 22.56

          

 

         A woman in Tehran passes a pro-regime mural. Photo: Francisco Seco /AP/TT

Two weeks of ceasefire but the bombs continue to rumble.

Both Iran and the US proclaim themselves victors and Trump speaks of a new golden age for the Middle East.

Too bad nothing has been resolved and that great damage has already been done.

The Strait of Hormuz opens, the stock market is dancing salsa. The price of oil is falling. Not to the previous levels, shipping companies and insurance companies will be cautious until a long-term peace can be reached, but it is at least better than during the war. Or? Then the strait closes, accusations of violations of the ceasefire rain down. Shaky, unstable and trembling.

In Tehran, there were celebrations in the streets while 

Donald Trump

 tried to portray the US as the victor. But what has really happened?

A colleague bluntly stated that it is like when you get the receipt after a long evening at the bar. "There is something to pay". The harsh reality after a few hours of shouting and arguing.

There is a lot left to pay after the war.

All the lives that have been extinguished, people who have been injured and whose lives will never be the same again. All the material destruction and credibility that has been destroyed.

         

 

        A woman in Tehran is taken care of after an airstrike. The picture is from April 7. Photo: Francisco            Seco /AP/TT

New attacks, new accusations.

 And in Lebanon, the morgues are filled with the dead in furious Israeli attacks. Overcrowded hospitals are pleading for blood. Lebanese I speak to testify to feelings of unreality, as if doomsday were here. Despair.

A shut-down of the internet and a lack of international journalists in Iran have made it difficult to get reliable information about how the war has unfolded. But civilians have been affected, as always. In the days before the ceasefire, a synagogue, a church, a train, scores of civilian homes and a university were attacked.

The liberation of the Iranian people that both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had spoken about did not come to fruition. Instead, it is hard not to see a growing disgust for those who bombed civilian homes and terrorized ordinary people's daily lives. This does not mean that Iranian regime critics are suddenly siding with the regime. Never, but a greater seed of distrust has been sown against those who promised freedom but came with bombs.

The Iranian people are also not said to be particularly impressed

 by Trump's threat to wipe out an entire civilization and bomb Iran back to the Stone Age.

We do not know if it was his incomparably high tone with threats never before seen by a leader in a democracy that paved the way for the ceasefire, if it can be called that. But we can assume that the outcome will hardly be erased from the history books.

What is the credibility of a world leader who expresses himself like that and how can anyone trust that there are honest intentions on the part of the US as a peace broker when the leader says he is willing to wipe out an entire civilization.

Will the US even be seen by anyone as a stabilizing power after such a statement or rather a spreader of chaos.

Now negotiations are expected to start in Islamabad on Friday. The last time an agreement was reached between the parties it took 1.5 years. Now an escalation is to be prevented in two weeks.      

         

 

         Trump speaks to the press outside the White House. Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson /AP/TT / AP          

In connection with the ceasefire, Donald Trump proclaimed a newen ny golden age

 for the Middle East. Just as he has declared eternal peace many times before. When the ceasefire agreement in Gaza was announced, Trump declared that it was a historic dawn for the Middle East. That the era of terror and death was over while a new era of trust and hope had begun. At a press conference, he declared that people were dancing in the streets.

I was in the region at the time, I didn't see anyone dancing.

During his first term as president, Trump spoke of the "deal of the century." Peace would be created between Israelis and Palestinians, a lasting one. We all know how that went.

There will be difficult negotiations before the Middle East can enjoy a new golden age. If you look at the ten points to be negotiated, it feels almost hopeless. The parties are far apart. And Lebanon, should they or should they not be included in the ceasefire?

Pakistan, China, Turkey, Egypt and all others who contributed to the at least temporary cooling will have to justify their diplomatic skills.

And to reach a real golden age, a sustainable peace, the permanent core of the Middle East must al