LOS ANGELES.–Sending mixed signals whether they would resume nuke talks, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gave no hint when the Persian nation would resume talking with the U.S. Araghchi said he was offended by President Donald Trump statements about Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei didn’t like hearing Trump say he knew his whereabouts during the 12-day with Israel and could have ordered his assassination at anytime. Trump said he didn’t expect a thank you from the Ayatollah but acknowledge that Iran took a beating from Israeli over the 12-day war. Araghchi doesn’t want talk anytime soon because he doesn’t want to submit to U.S. demands of U.N.’s IAEA inspections, something he doesn’t want the world to see the extent of damage to Iran’s nuclear plants from the 12-day war, leaving Iran’s nuclear program out of commission.
Iran lost a lot of credibility in the 12-day war exposing for the world to see Israel have its way with Iran, flying precision bombing missions hitting Iran’s strategic military facilities, ballistic missiles silos and manufacturing and military infrastructure, killing some 30 military commanders and numerous nuclear scientists. Iran’s Foreign Ministry is a full-on damage control, making more excuses than a carnival-barking huckster, declaring victory, claiming they had slapped America in the face. Trump responded saying the Ayatollah should be more truthful with the Iranian people of what really happened over 12 days of war. Trump said he wasn’t in any hurry to resume nuke talks with Iran, largely because they’re not necessary because Iran was exposed as no longer a threat to Israel or the United States. Araghchi wants to hide the world from seeing damage to its uranium enrichment sites.
Trump finds himself more embroiled this week in a battle in Congress to get his big beautiful bill passed, something Democrats think would be his undoing heading into next year’s Midterm elections. Araghchi, who insulted Israel, said Netanyahu went to “Daddy” for help because he thought Israel would be flattened by Iranian missiles. Over 90% of Iran’s 550 missiles fired at Israel were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. With the new Iron Dome close to implementation, Israel will become even more impenetrable to any possible enemies. But, let there be no mistake, Netanyahu no longer considers Iran a formidable adversary, now that it’s neutralized its proxy forces over the last two years. No one knew for generations what to think of Iran’s military, largely because they fought Saddam Hussein in the 80s to a stalemate in a 10-year-war.
When former President Barack Obama signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA], handing Iran $15 billion in cash and $25 billion in sanctions relief to Iran, U.S. intel agencies feared Iran was dangerously close to a nuclear bomb. When Trump came to office in 2017, he thought the JCPOA was not in the U.S. national security interests, largely because Iran was at war through its Houthi proxy forces with Saudi Arabia. Trump cancelled the JCPOA May 8, 2018, largely because it was unenforceable because Iran would not permit access to its nuclear enrichment sites. Obama and all his intel agencies were dead wrong about Iran, thinking they were close to a bomb, but, more importantly, that they the most powerful military in the Middle East. Netanyahu’s 12-day war proved that the Ayatollah was all smoke, adept at making threats but had no military to back it up.
So, when it comes to where talks go in the future, Trump could let his envoy Steve Witkoff resume talks at some point in the future. But Iran no longer poses the nuclear or military threat it once did. Ten years after Obama’s JCPOA, Iran has no bomb, only a defunct uranium enrichment industry, no longer capable to spinning uranium into weapons grade material. Trump said recently that if Iran tries to resume enriching uranium at some point, he might decide to resume bombing the facilities. “No agreement has been made for resuming the negotiations,” Araghchi said. “no time has been set, no promise has been made, and we haven’t even talked about restarting talks,” Araghchi said, show Iran is in no rush. Iran doesn’t want to start talks because it doesn’t want to show the extent of damage to its uranium enrichment industry, hit by U.S. Stealth Bombers.
Iran wants to continue blowing smoke about its nuke program but knowing that the world watched its response to Israeli and U.S. air strikes. No country watching the 12-day conflict can think anything other than Iran is a paper tiger, no different, maybe weaker, that Iraq’s dictator Saddam Hussein when he was toppled by U.S. forces in 2003. Ayatollah promoted Iran as the most powerful military in the Middle East, buffaloing U.S. intel agencies, fearing that any attack on Iran would promote a wider war. Well, now the world knows that Iran is not capable of a wider war, yet the fake news repeats the same refrain about creating a wider Middle East war. Trump isn’t concerned about jumping back into talks with Iran because he knows they’re a hobbled military, without the resources to do anything but fire off missiles and drones. Maybe the fake news will finally catch up.
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.
