LOS ANGELES.–Iran’s so-called reformists hope to persuade 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to compromise on his nuke program to rejoin the global community, especially now that the country finds itself in a war with Israel that isn’t going well. Sending a letter to Khamenei, former President Mohammad Khatani and former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hope to move Iran back to a peaceful future. Zarif, in particular, worked closely with former Secretary of State John Kerry to get the first nuke deal in 2015, only to watch their efforts vaporized by 79-year-old President Donald Trump May 8, 2018. Trump cancelled the so called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA] because the Ayatollah had gone to war with Saudi Arabia with his Yemen-based Houthi terror group. Khamenei thought proxy war with his enemies defended the Islamic Republic.
Reformists like Khatami and Zarif want to negotiate with the United States, something that got Zarif in trouble after Iran signed the JCPOA. Khamenei thought Iran gave too many concessions when it got $15 billion in frozen Iranian assets plus another $25 billion in sanctions relief, hardly a bad deal for Iran. But Zarif lost his job as Foreign Minister, leaving him isolated for the last 10 years. Khamenei’s Council of Experts have little regard for reformists, thinking they’re trying to water down the Islamic government. When Kurdish 21-year-old Mahsa Amini was beaten to death Sept. 16, 2022, the Iranian people rebelled, only to watch the biggest crackdown since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Thousands of protesters around Iran were incarcerated and vaporized by the mullah government. Iranian citizens realized that they had no civil or human rights at all.
Khatami and Zarif aren’t likely to have much influence on the mullah government, afraid that Iran’s repressed population could rise up and demand a new government, just like they did in 1979. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Iranian officials five times in the last three months to nail down a new nuke deal. He got nowhere, ignoring Trump’s 60-day deadline to approve an new deal. One day after the deadline, Israeli Prime Minister launched his military operation June 13 to neutralize Iran’s uranium enrichment program. Ayatollah may not actively pursue a nuclear weapon but he has the designs necessary to pack weapons grade uranium into a crude A-bomb. Iran’s back on the clock with Trump ready to pull the trigger at any time calling in B-2 Stealth Bomber strikes on Iran’s underground Fordow enrichment site. Trump has moved B-2 Stealth Bomber to Guam.
Trump doesn’t take well to threats by the Ayatollah to hit U.S. targets if he orders B-2 bombing strikes. If there’s any chance of mission creep or escalation would happen it U.S. assets are hit by Iran. Trump warned Ayatollah that any attack on U.S. assets would be met with a crushing blow by the U.S. military. Trump said he knew the whereabouts of Ayatollah’s bunker in Tehran. New York Times reported today that the Ayatollah ordered a succession plan because he knows his days are numbered. Ayatollah refuses to negotiate a new nuke deal with Trump because it would show weakness to the world. Well, if anyone watches the war with Israel Iran has been exposed to its military weakness, relying on ballistic missiles to defend its 90 million population. What kind of legitimate military only depends on missiles and predator drones? Certainly not a competent one.
Trump has given the Aytatollah every opportunity to stop martyring himself and the Iranian people. No one wants to die for Iran’s Shiite mullah government. Yet thousands of Iranians have lost their lives protesting for the last 45 years basic human rights. Iranian heard recently from the Shah of Iran’s son who asked Iranians to rise up and demand a new progressive government. When it father was in power, Iranian’s were not required to adhere to strict Sharia law, with women forced to wear a chador or hijab. When Mahsa Amini wore it incorrectly, she was beaten to death Sept. 16, 2022 by the Basij militia. Iranians saw firsthand the unspeakable brutality of mullah rule. Trump must decide in the next week-or-so whether to order a B-2 Stealth Bomber strike on Iran’s underground Fordow site. Trump knows it’s doubtful that the Ayatollah will go back to the table for a new nuke deal.
Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had a plan to place Iran’s nuke program into the hands of the U.N.’s Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency. If the IAEA has control over Iran’s nuke program, sets strict limits on enrichment and supervises the sale of nuclear stockpiles, there would be no threat to Israel or anyone else. Araghchi knows that the Ayatollah won’t agree to anything that takes control of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program considered a sovereign right. Araghchi admitted that nuclear enrichment is a red line for the Ayatollah. Ayatollah refuses to admit that his country is the on the ropes with Israel’s unrelenting bombardment. If Israel keeps up its military operation, there won’t be much left of Iran’s military. Trump can sit by and when he’s ready order the B-2 Stealth Bombers to hit Fordow.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
