LOS ANGELES (OC).–President Donald Trump is rapidly losing patience for more talks with Iran in Islamabad. Trump reluctantly agreed to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s request for a two week delay in combat to give diplomacy a chance to resolve the conflict. But after Vice President J.D. Vance and his negotiation team of White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner spent 21-hours negotiating with Iran, Trump no longer has the same confidence that Iran will agree to his terms for a lasting peace deal. “We don’t have that much time,” Trump told CNBC, saying the U.S. had a strong negotiating position with Iran but it still wasn’t seeing any progress. “I expect to be bombing because I thin that’s the better attitude to go in with. But we’re read to go. I mean, the military is raring to go,” Trump said, serving notice to Iran that the bombing campaign could start soon.
Wall Street was hoping that Trump could settle the conflict with more diplomacy. Once the Street realizes that there’s no end in sight for a political settlement, Wall Street will sell off realizing that Trump has no diplomatic solution to the Iran War. U.S. forces, enforcing a blockade on Iranian ships, seized an Iranian freighter April 19, showing that Trump meant business when it comes to Iran’s piracy in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said it wants sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, something Chinese President Xi Jinping rejects. While seeking peace and diplomacy, Xi maide clear where he stands, expecting Iran to open up the Hormuz Strait. Walking away from more talks in Islamabad signals that Trump could resume bombing Iranian targets sometime soon. Wall Street has been dreading Trump resuming the bottom knowing how it roils markets.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman yesterday, demanding that Iran open up the Strait of Hormuz. Much of Saudi’s oil and natural gas flows through the Hormuz Strait with other Guld States delivering oil and natural gas to customers around the world. Europe has been hard hit by Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Persian Gulf, complaining that if things don’t turn around quicly airlines would be forced to cutback on air travel. Yet not one EU country offered to help Trump open up the Srait of Hormuz, now leaving it all up to the U.S. navy. EU countries receive about 25% of their energy from the Persian Gulf, something the U.S doesn’t do. U.S. has maintained energy independence from the Perisan Gulf, realizing that depending on the Persian Gulf for oil and natujal gas is a dangerous gamble.
U.K. President Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron both want the Strait of Hormuz open but aren’t willing to engage in military intervention. Hosting a peace conference all agreed to open up the Strait of Hormuz with diplomacy. Well, diplomacy hasn’t worked with Trump and isn’t likely to result in anything other that Iran using the Strait as a turnpike, charging $2 million as ship for safe passage. What kind of diplomacy is that when the Hormuz Strait is a recognized international waterway, not subject to ownership by any other country. Making demands for war reparations, Iran also guarantees that the bombing will resume something soon. Trump isn’t about to be blackmailed by Iran to pay anything, knowing the toll Iran has taken from its blockade on world financial markets. Iran has driven skyrocketing oil prices harming the world economy.
Trump knows that keeping the war going harms U.S. and global financial market, keeping oil and natural gas prices disproportionately high. As the pump prices have gone up, Trump’s approval ratings have gone down. More fallout from the Iran War hurts Republicans going into the Midterm elections, possibly hand the House and Senate to Democrats. EU leaders and China have done nothing but talk about opening up the Hormuz Strait. Trump knows that idle talk does nothing to open up the global waterway, no used as a chokehold for Iranian interests. Trump is at least trying to do something to open up the Hormuz Strait with the EU and China only making empty promises. Only Trump is willing to do the heavy lifting to neutralize Iran from continuing to hold the world hostage in the Strait of Hormuz. Time is rapidly running out on Iran to make a deal.
Iran doesn’t seem like it wants to do anything other than martyr itself by pushing Trump to start bombing Iran’s infrastructure. Iran keeps threatening Trump with some vague retaliation for Trump seizing an Iranian freighter. Iran thinks it’s OK for it to attack commercial shipping in the Hormuz Strait but not OK for Trump to seize Iranian assets. Iran thinks it’s calling the shots because Trump allowed Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Zarif a to talk him into a two week pause in fighting. Trump sees know reason at this point for Vice President J.D. Vance and the peace delegation to return to Islamabad, when Iran isn’t about to cut any deal. World economic powers know that Iran’s choke-hold on the Hormuz Strait has created havoc in world markets, causing a global economic upheaval. Trump tried diplomacy and found out that he’s not dealing with a rational actor in Iran.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlinColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
