LOS ANGELES (OC).–President Donald Trump called off more peace talks in Islamabad until Iran was serious about meeting key U.S. demands like opening up the Hormuz Strait without restrictions or concitions. Iran wants Trump to stop his blockade of Iranian ports, preventing Iran of delivering crude oil and natural gas to primarily Chinese and Indian customers. Iran’s mullah government demanded for peace to take place the U.S. has to pay Iran war reparations for the damages from the seven-week old war that decimated Iran’s nuclear sites, ballistic missile manufacturing and Shahed drone factories. Trump wants Iran to turn over its 1,000 stockpile of nearly weapons grade uranium, something made since Trump cancelled former President Barack Obama’s Joint Comprehensive Placn of Action [JCPOA] May 8, 2018. Trump saw Obama’s nuke deal and unverifiable and unenforceable.
Trump saw no purpose now of sending back Vice President J.D. Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner. “*I’ve told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave and I said, ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18 Hour flight to go there. We have all the cards,” Trump told Fox News. Trump, who wrote the “Art of the Deal” in 1987, learned that if two sides aren’t negotiating in good faith, you walk away until the other side can come to their senses. “They can call us anytime if they want, but you’re not going to be making any more 16-hour to sit around talking about nothing,” Trump said, suggesting the Iranians were going through the motions, knowing they weren’t making a good faith effort to end the war. Trump wants Iran to take the Hormuz Strait off the table, opening up the global waterway without any conditions.
Trump sees chaos in the upper levels of the mullah government, with many of its top leaders killed in Israel strikes over the last seven weeks. Iran’s 56-year-old newly minted Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei recovering of a leg amputation and facial wounds, having little to do with how the Republican Guards Corps are running the country. Trump has little faith that Iran wants a deal, baiting him to start bombing Iran’s oil infracture and bridges as promised. Iran keeps pushing Trump to starting hitting Iran with a wrecking ball, thinking they can rally the country against him. But whether admitted or not, the vast majority of Iran’s 92 million people want mullah rule to end. Shah of Iran’s son Reza Pahlavi is ready to lead a coalition government aimed at spreading democracy in Iran. Iran’s mullah government shows no sign of compromising with Trump.
Iran has no diplomatic relations with the U.S. since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when Iran hijacked the U.S. embassy, tanking 54 hostages, holding them 444 days. For the past 47 years, Iran has called for “death to America,” “death to Israel,” sponsoring proxy war against Israel and the U.S. anywhere possible. White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt said Trump was always ready “to give peace a chance,” urging the Iranians to go back to the peace table. But Trump won’t call his peace envoys to Islamabad unless Iran makes concrete steps to meet U.S. demands. Trump wants the Strait of Hormuz taken out of Iranian hands and placed into U.N. peacekeepers to prevent the Strait of being used as an economic weapons. Since Iran seized the Strait, global oil prices have spiraled out-of-control with shortages of gasoline and jet fuel showing up in Europe.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Army Chief Asim Munir left Islamabad today essentially putting peace talks on ice. Trump sees Iran’s arrogance in walking away from talks as a sign Iran isn’t interested in making a deal only making terrorist demands. Iran has been so used to making terrorist demands it doesn’t realize its dealing with the United States. With much of its military destroyed in six weeks of war, Iran still thinks it can use terrorist tactics to save face when its military has been severely degraded. Trump wants to continue the blockade of Iranian ships, forcing the mullah regime back to the peace table. Iran still has some ballistic missile and drone capability, the same drones that killed 16 U.S. soldier on an U.S. base in Kuwait. Apart from its one effective strike in Kuwait, Iran doesn’t have much to crow about in six weeks of war.
Trump lets Iran walk away for now realizing he has the upper hand in any peace negotiations. Blockading Iranian commercial ships at its ports, Trump put a squeeze on Iran’s econonly, reeling from currency devaluation, creating misery in the public. Overwhelming numbers of Iranians want to end mullah rule. Arab Gulf states can never trust Iran again watching Iran strike targets inside Arab Guilf states. Iran thought striking Arab Gulf states would pressure the U.S. to end its war. Iran under mujllah rule is a shell of its former self, once considered, with Israel, te most powerful country in the Middle East./ Iran’s late Supreme leader once thought that he could destroy Israel by sponsor Sunni jihad, arming Palestinian terror groups to attack Israel. Prosperous Arab Gulf State no longer back Iran’s jihad against Israel, looking to the future of cooperation and prosperity.
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.
