LOS ANGELES (OC).–President Donald Trump has become fed up with Iran’s stalling tactics to avoid a reasonable peace plan, using to end the eight-week-old Iran War. Trump thought he was deferential to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who’s worked tirelessly to cobble together a peace plan. But what’s become clear over the two-week ceasefire is that Iran has no intent of signing any peace deal with the U.S. Trump realizes that Iran only responds to military force, something he’s paused for over two weeks. Iran’s mullah leadership is now controlled by the Iranian Republican Guard Corps, not 56-year-old injured Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. Mojtaba is in no mood to compromise with Trump, only looks for vengeance for the loss of his father the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Wall Street won’t be happy if Trump renews his bombing campaign.
Trump could defer bombing until after his trip to China to meet with President Xi Jinping, largely over trade issues. Iran keeps firing on U.S. navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz, there to help escort commercial ships through the narrow passageway. Trump agreed to a temporary ceasefire at the request on Islamabad, who, over the last several weeks, has worked on a peace deal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio fears that fighting will resume soon if Iran doesn’t sign onto a peace deal acceptable to Trump. Trump wants control of Iran’s nuke program, conserned that over time the radical mullah regime would return to enriching weapons grad uranium. Tehran has been reviewing the latest U.S. proposal but it’s doubtful the mullah regime would approve Trump’s plan. Pointing to Trump’s new bombing campaign, Rubio expressed concern about the ceasefire.
Striking Irnian ships going in-or-out of port, Trump claims Iran violated the U.S. blockade, something Iran says violates the ceasefire. When it comes to the Strait of Hormuz, Iran wants to set up a turnpike, where commercial ships pay Iran for the privilege of transiting a internationally recognized waterway. Trump won’t stand for Iran’s claim to sovereignty over the Hormuz Strait, likely pushing him to resume the bombing campaign, this time on Iran’s energy infrastructure. Ignoring calls about war crimes, Trump rejects the idea that bombing Iran civilian energy infrastructure goes against the Geneva Convention. Blockading the Strait of Hormuze interferes with global commerce, leaving Europe running out of oil, natural gas, jet fuel and helium used in the medical industry. So, when it comes to egregious violations of global law, Iran breaches rules of the open seas.
Trump can’t understand why the European allies haven’t joined the military effort to reopen the Hormuz Strait. Trump has operated independent of Brussels when it comes to the Ukraine and Iran Wars. Announcing today a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine, Trump hoped it was the beginning on the end to the four year old Ukraine War. European Union officials backed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in refusing to ceded any territory to to Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the conflict. EU officials expressed concern that if they followed Trump’s peace plan, Putin would be encouraged to go after more European territory in the future. Trump dismissed EU concerns, saying that most important thing was ending the war before it escalate into something bigger. So, when it comes to Iran, EU officials worry about joining an unending military conflict.
Secretar of State Marco Rubio met with Iralian Prime Minister Georgio Meloni to figure out why there’s been so little European support for Trump’s Iran War. EU officials like French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have said they want to resolve the issues with diplomacy, not guns. Yet, both know that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has done everything possible to end the convlict, essentially getting no where with Iran. Macron and Merz know that Iran cannot assert sovereignty over an international waterway where over 20% of the world oil passes. Whatever skyrocketing prices and shortages exist today, you can chock it up to Iran’s hostile actions in the Strait. No commercial shipping company should have to deal with Iran’s aggression in the Hormuz Strait. Trump wants Iran to give up control.
Iran has run out of good graces when it comes to a ceasefire to hammer out an acceptable peace deal. Trump told Tehrn the days are drawing near when the ceasefire end and the fighting resumes, all because Iran won’t deal with Trump. EU officials, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, must wake up before its too late. So much damage has been done to the transatlantic relationship with the EU refusing to help Trump secure the Hormuz Strait. Trump stopped escorting ship at the request of Islamabad but there’s no proof that Iran takes the talks seriously. Only when the big guns come out does Iran take the talks seriously. Trump wants diplomacy to work but know he’s dealing with a radical terrorist state that doesn’t play by the same rules as normal states.
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.
