Iran stepped up their game this weekend, laying out conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz that if the U.S. were to accept would be a humiliating capitulation.
Their new terms for reopening the Strait include the following: to “never threaten nor insult Iran in any language;” to “[P]ermanently end the war against Iran and Iran’s allies in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, and Iraq;” to fully compensate for war damages; to lift all sanctions; to unfreeze and release all Iranian frozen funds; to lift the naval blockade and withdraw military forces from the surroundings of Iran.
These demands were issued in a statement by the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, which was aired on state-run media, according to the New York Times.
Other than President Donald Trump’s comments to Axios over the weekend, the response to Iran’s demands, actually a surrender document with Iran demanding that the U.S. surrender, were muted, to say the least.
Trump told Axios, “We are low-keying it,” and “We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.” He later added that “It will work out. It always works out. It’s like a chess game.”
But now Trump has responded on Truth Social Monday with a message right back to them:
“I see that Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran are asking for compensation for the damage done to them during the last five month Military Conflict (started because, THEY WILL NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON), even though it was never mentioned in any of our negotiations or meetings! But it is an interesting idea because now I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts, for which they are famous, as led initially by General Soleimani, including the families of those killed on the USS Cole, and thousands of others killed in combat. Additionally, compensation should be paid to the families of the hundreds of thousands of innocent protestors that Iran has killed over the last 50 years, not to mention the 52,000 that have been killed in the last five months. I have instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
And in a later addition to that post, he added, “Also, with respect to the Iran negotiations, Iran should be responsible for the damages and death caused to the people of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
That is a good start, in that it makes it clear that the answer is not just no, but hell no!
Beyond that, the next response should be to give the Iranians one week to publicly agree, with a joint statement from the same Secretary Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, along with the president, the foreign minister, the top general in the Iranian Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), and a representative of the so-called “supreme leader,” if he is actually alive, that the Strait is open for business without restrictions, fees or tolls, and that they agree to anytime any place inspections as they turn over all of their enriched uranium.
If not, the response should include that the U.S. and Israel will be back to take out the next top 40 to 50 Iranian leaders, as they successfully did during the first days of the current conflict that began on February 28. Iran obviously doesn’t care about the suffering of its own people. They hang them or gun them down in the streets by the tens of thousands if they protest at all.
Is it really possible that after all that has been said and done by and between the U.S. and Iran these past five-and-a-half months, Iran is about to control the Strait of Hormuz, be allowed to demand tolls/fees/blackmail – whatever you want to call it – in exchange for what, a return to the surrender document that the U.S. already agreed to known as the Memorandum of Understanding, promising a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran?
That is what it was sounding like from reports and public statements from Iran. Let’s hope this is more “fake news.”
As the current conflict with Iran continues into its sixth month, mixed signals are the order of the day, coming from both Iran and the U.S., as the future of the Middle East and the outcome of this November’s midterm elections hang in the balance.
At the July 31 Camp David cabinet meeting, President Donald Trump said, in reference to Iran, “I’m losing faith in them because they do lie. And they do misrepresent. The other day, five missiles were shot. We knocked them down. But we were in the midst of a negotiation.”
He added, “We’ll be hitting them. We will be hitting them very hard. At some point they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore.’”
“Iran will continue to pay until they come to the table in, what President Trump deems, a meaningful way,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Then, on August 1, Trump sent out a message on Truth Social that at the request of Iran and other Middle Eastern countries, “I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL. The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment.”
If the deal the U.S. is looking for is for Iran to back off any activity against any ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, and agreeing to turn over all of its highly enriched uranium, allow anytime, anywhere inspections by U.S. personnel (not IAEA), and a complete end to support for any of its terrorist proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, and that if they live up to all that for a full year, then maybe some of their funds could be unfrozen. That might be workable.
If by a deal the U.S. means return to a ceasefire and the terms of the June Memorandum of Understanding, then no, hell no!
That is why Iran must come out first with the head of the IRGC, a representative of the “supreme leader,” and their president and foreign minister representing the political class, and let them declare what they are agreeing to? Each time Trump has done an announcement that a deal has been reached, or is imminent, within a day or two at most, Iran has denied they agreed to what we say they agreed to and said that it didn’t even come up or that there are no negotiations going on.
And now, as current talks seem to indicate, the plan is to let Oman and Iran control the Strait, which they are acting on, and as of Thursday are reportedly claiming the right to charge fees and to forbid U.S. and Israeli shipments from transiting the Strait.
This follows U.S. Central Command saying that it thwarted an “attempted surprise attack” of ballistic missiles by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard aimed at U.S. forces in the Middle East, as CBS News reported July 29. CENTCOM said all the missiles were “successfully intercepted.”
In addition, U.S. and Saudi forces conducted joint strikes on “Iran-aligned terrorists” operating in Iraq, which was retaliation for nearly three dozen aerial drone attacks that were carried out at the direction of the IRGC.
President Trump clearly believed at the start of this current conflict that the first round of bombing, which began February 28, combined with Israel’s precision targeting of Iran’s leadership and other premium targets, would bring about what Trump called for in March: unconditional surrender. He said at the time he wasn’t interested in a ceasefire.
In an open letter from the CCNS, we implored Trump, saying, “you were right when you said there should be no deal except unconditional surrender. You were right when you told the Iranian people this was their chance to overthrow an oppressive regime. You were right when you walked away from the JCPOA. After all, it was indeed a catastrophic hoax. You were right when you said Iran will never possess a nuclear weapon and that America would no longer tolerate its terror and aggression.”
From the open letter: “Here is a timeline of more than three dozen Iranian acts of terrorism or war against the U.S. over the nearly half century of terrorism, war and chaos, most recently, in January, killing more than 30,000 of its own citizens who rose up in protest of the horrible conditions Iran’s people are forced to live under. Iran was also involved in the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Add to that the conviction in March by a jury in Brooklyn of a man, sent by Iran, who planned to assassinate you, President Trump.”
With their military nearly destroyed, as Trump often reminds us, including about 150 ships sunk, virtually all their military planes and most of their launchers taken out, their nuclear enrichment facilities “obliterated,” Iran discovered a weapon more powerful, control of the Strait of Hormuz, along with cheap drone-missiles, and some ballistic missiles that are moved around on mobile launchers or buried and out of reach.
That MOU we agreed to with Iran in June handed them a lifeline to prosper and survive as a terrorist state, if only they would restrain themselves for a while. It showed that we wanted to end the war more than they do.
Point 6 of the MOU states that the U.S. will “undertake with regional partners to develop a definitive, mutually agreed plan with at least USD 300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” That cannot be part of any deal going forward.
Bottom line: Finish off the current leadership of Iran. Hit the IRGC headquarters, the top political leaders and the current “supreme leader” if he is, in fact, alive.
Trump’s team and the Israelis should be able to figure out how to kill and destroy the people necessary to bring this war to an end without putting too many boots on the ground, or for very long. There are groups in the country, such as the Kurds, who are reportedly ready to do battle with the regime leaders.
One would have thought that Iran would have been clever enough to pretend to go along with the very generous MOU that was signed in mid-June, to get the cash flowing, to get the $300 billion “reconstruction” rolling along, to start playing their hide and seek games with their enriched uranium. But they couldn’t help themselves, which should now lead to their demise.
They’ve made enough other enemies in the region, on top of the enmity they already faced, that should be enough for the U.S. to lead a coalition to end the monstrous 47-year terrorist theocracy. That is the win the U.S. must seek, despite the naysayers. If not now, when?
Remember, President Trump. They lie and cheat and can’t be trusted. And most of all, the regime has no intention of changing its ways. They may have figured out how to stop the pounding they’ve been taking, and how to get money flowing back their way, but they still believe in and will pursue Death to America, Death to Israel, Death to Trump.
As Trump’s former special presidential envoy to Ukraine, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, asked recently: “Do we still have the will to prosecute a war to a successful conclusion? This can be simply defined as the ability to bend an enemy to our will while making minimal to no concessions. In short, do we still have what it takes to commit to the American way of war?”
“Based on the latest developments regarding Iran,” he added, “I am increasingly concerned about the answer to that question. It seems the American people are being told that negotiations to a satisfactory outcome for both sides are a win-win. That is wrong. If you believe the purpose of war is a means to negotiate, then you have already lost. You wage war to win. Period.”
He believes we can conclude the war successfully, based on “our exceptional military and our nation’s talented commanders.”
“It is time to stop negotiating,” Kellogg wrote last week for the Washington Times. “Finish it by winning.”
The views expressed in CCNS member articles are not necessarily the views or positions of the entire CCNS. They are the views of the authors, who are members of the CCNS.
