Media reports–for what seems like the umpteenth time–that an Iran peace deal is imminent. Everybody but Trump says it was in the bag. Here’s an example from the liberal Zionist former US ambassador to Israel:
By all accounts, Trump is very close to accepting a deal to try to open the Strait and essentially punt nuclear talks to the future.
And of course, Netanyahu is working against it.
I wonder if he will give a speech in Congress.
— Dan Shapiro (@DanielBShapiro) May 23, 2026
The problem was that neither the president nor Iran had given their final approval. The former teased the announcement by declaring he would make a decision after a Situation Room meeting. This set the stage for a dramatic reveal…which never happened. Trump left the meeting still without agreeing to anything. When decisiveness is called for, he’s nowhere to be found.
Why is he hesitating? The provisions of the agreement, as outlined in news stories, are diametrically opposed to Trump’s own public statements yesterday:
Iran “must agree” to never have a nuclear weapon, and the Strait of Hormuz must be “immediately open” to unrestricted shipping traffic, with no tolls being imposed, Trump demanded in the Friday morning post.
…Trump also stated that enriched material buried at the site of last year’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities will be “unearthed” by the U.S. “in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED.”
“No money will be exchanged, until further notice,” Trump added.
How can there be such dissonance between the proposal and his own blather? Either he doesn’t know or doesn’t care what the MOU entails, or he’s a bald-faced liar, or both.
Journalists ballyhooing US officials who proclaim an agreement is imminent, forget that Iran is also a party to the deal. News media accounts offer some fleeting references to its views on the matter, which contradict Trump’s on almost every point. Here’s how Iran sees things:
Iranian state news outlet Fars after Trump’s post on Friday pushed back on the president’s assertion, saying it “raised issues that contradict the provisions of the agreement’s text.”
Despite Trump’s reference to a toll-free strait, there is “no such clause in the text of the agreement,” Fars reported…citing “informed sources.”
The draft deal in discussion also contains no reference to Iran dismantling or destroying its nuclear materials, according to the Fars post.
Fars also asserted that “the most important part of the agreement” is “the immediate payment of $12 billion of Iran’s frozen assets.” Iran will refuse any further negotiations unless that payment is made…
Sounds like the parties are in perfect agreement…
No matter what certain US officials proclaim about a deal, Trump cannot and will not approve one that directly contradicts parameters he’s set out in these public statements. Whatever else he is, he is a man of vanity. All image and no substance. He never wants to be proven wrong. Signing a deal which every MAGA Republican reviles, and which he himself has contradicted, would be the ultimate insult to him. That’s why he’s hesitating.
I strongly suspect that the leaks claiming an accord is near are a stratagem intended to keep gas prices low[er]. Mere whispers of a possible deal send oil prices lower. Failed negotiations or hostilities raise the price: an outcome Trump desperately seeks to avoid. Trump needs a low price for political reasons. If he doesn’t bring it down Republicans will lose the mid-terms. If they lose, Democrats will hound him for the remainder of his term with hearings, depositions, lawsuits, impeachment, etc. Thus the leaks heralding agreement, which repeatedly prove unfounded.
Trump may not resume the war. But he will not end it either unless on favorable terms. The Iranians have no interest in offering such accommodation. I fear we face a standoff that will continue indefinitely…until one side blinks. It will have to be Trump, because he has the most to lose. When and if he will recognize that is the question.
Came across this quote today …
Empires, blinded by the myth of their own omnipotence and military superiority, blunder at the final stages into conflicts with little understanding of where they are headed. They alienate their allies. They stumble from one military fiasco to the next, as the U.S. has done for over two decades in the Middle East… [Chris Hedges report]
Doing a write-up researched my argument: “Zionism A Century of Terror In Palestine” came across writings by C. Heike Schotten … interesting.
Continuous Manifest Destiny … blood thirst will not end soon.