Tag: Ceasefire

BiBi Does Not Agree

You were expecting something different?

Recently Hamas has said it will begin to disarm…..of course I had to write about the turn…

Hamas Update

Most thinking people knew that this would not fly with BiBi and even his buddy Donny has a plan that he does not agree with….go figure….

Donny’s brain child the Board of Peace has issued its plan and BiBi is stalling…..

In a video posted to his social media accounts on Tuesday night, Netanyahu said the team of President Donald Trump “believes that they can bring about the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza. We are checking this. They sent us a draft – we did not agree to it, it is not our draft. We sent our comments.”

Netanyahu met with the US-backed Board of Peace on Monday and received guarantees that the Israeli army would only be required to leave its current positions in Gaza after Hamas disarms.

But pressure has been growing on the premier from his far-right coalition partners to reject the deal.

Hamas on Tuesday called for clarifications from the Board of Peace, voicing “unease” over comments it made regarding the group’s prospective disarmament and Israel’s withdrawal in Gaza.

A Hamas official said Tuesday that Hamas and other Palestinian factions “are uneasy with the statement issued by (Nickolay) Mladenov after his meeting with Netanyahu,” referring to the high representative for Gaza under the Board of Peace.

“The statement focused solely on the issue of weapons and failed to address the occupation’s obligations, particularly those related to humanitarian aspects and Israel’s commitment to halting its aggression, including aerial and artillery bombardment, gunfire, assassinations and military operations in the Gaza Strip,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, which are mediating the truce in Gaza, have criticized Israel after renewed strikes in the Palestinian territory.

Qatar blamed Israel on Tuesday for delays in implementing the Trump plan for Gaza.

“It is clear to the international community who is obstructing the implementation of the agreement,” Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari told reporters. “The full responsibility lies on the Israeli side.”

An increase in Israeli strikes in Gaza over recent days was “nothing more than an attempt to derail the plan’s implementation and block peaceful solutions,” he added.

Following Monday’s meeting with Netanyahu, the Board of Peace posted on X that Israel’s withdrawal beyond the Yellow Line, which demarcates the area between Hamas and Israeli military control, “will take place only once decommissioning (of weapons) is complete, as Hamas committed to the mediators.”

(tag24.com)

I love being right.

BiBi has to make the Israeli far-right happy if he wants to keep his job….and boy does he want to keep his job.

No matter what is done in Gaza to try and stop the killing will be ignored by Israel…..the killing will continue.

What will Donny do?

My guess is….not much.

I Read, I Write, You Know

‘lego ergo scribo’

Imaginary Treaties And Ceasefire Illusions

This saga will go on and on….the deal is on….the deal is off….the deal is back on….

Donny officially sign the new agreement between Iran and the US….but will this be just another treaty/agreement that the US and its ally Israel have no intention of honoring?

“A truce [between Lebanon and Israel] that has been in effect since April 17 has never been respected,” AFP reported. So what exactly is a cease-fire worth if the fighting continues? From Lebanon to Ukraine, cease-fires are announced with great fanfare and violated with remarkable speed. Yet politicians and commentators still speak as if a truce were the same thing as peace.
Donald Trump is one of the worst violators of this confusion. Trump’s claims to have ‘ended’ eight wars follow a familiar pattern. A cease-fire becomes peace, a negotiation becomes a deal, and a temporary pause in fighting becomes the end of a war. Trump’s declarations belie the underlying reality that the conflicts he refers to remain unsettled—much like a schoolyard fight is declared “over” the moment the children are pulled apart.

Did Trump really “end” eight wars? Are the underlying conflicts actually over? Lebanon remains unstable. Iran and Israel continue to exchange threats and attacks. Russia and Ukraine are still at war. The Houthis still fire missiles. Gaza remains unresolved. Kashmir remains disputed. The Democratic Republic of Congo remains violent. These claims often amount to relabelling partial stabilization, normalization, or temporary pause as a final resolution. If these wars were truly “ended” by Trump, nobody seems to have informed the combatants, civilians killed in the fighting, or the millions suffering and displaced.

Cease-fires are among the most celebrated and least understood achievements in modern diplomacy. They generate headlines, press conferences, handshakes, and declarations of success. (See the famous September 13, 1993, photo of Bill Clinton, Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat White House handshake from the Oslo peace process.) Many cease-fires are violated almost immediately. Some collapse within days. Others survive on paper long after they have ceased to exist in reality.
What is the value of the cease-fire? The New York Times headlined recently: “Israeli Strike Kills 3 Lebanese Soldiers, Days After Truce Was Signed.” While there may be benefits to agreements intended to halt fighting, the cease-fire glass appears not merely half-empty, but nearly drained. Too often, the promises are celebrated while the fighting continues.

…

A cease-fire can pause a war. It cannot resolve the conflict that produced it. What is often claimed as having “ended” a war is merely political branding. Only sustained diplomacy can turn a pause into a settlement.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/06/12/imaginary-peace-treaties-and-the-cease-fire-illusion/

This is nothing more than a feel good gesture by Donny.

Basically the ‘deal’ he will sign is the same ‘deal’ the Obama had with Iran so just what in god’s name was the war all about?

But what is Donny’s diplomatic strategy (if he has one)….

But the Iran war has shown Trumpian diplomacy colliding with a real world that does not always bend to his will or succumb to US displays of force. The real world, it seems, is more complex than he thought.

Hitherto, five elements have characterised Trump’s approach to diplomacy. First, he prefers to eschew the traditional institutions and mechanisms of diplomacy. The State Department languishes, the UN is ignored. Traditional alliances, multilateral organisations and international gatherings have been disdained, unless they provide a platform for Trump to demonstrate his power and “call the shots”.

Rather than use US ambassadors or diplomats to tackle international issues, Trump relies on a small cast of trusted personal envoys – including his son-in-law Jared Kushner, real-estate developer Steve Witkoff and Massad Boulos, a Lebanese-American businessman who is father-in-law to his daughter Tiffany – to negotiate on his behalf. Even the secretary of state and national security advisor, Marco Rubio, is given a limited role, mainly in the western hemisphere.

https://theconversation.com/how-donald-trump-has-changed-the-way-diplomacy-is-done-285440

Donny’s approach is amateurish and infantile at best….

Whatcha think?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Is Reagan Rolling Over?

The body of Reagan is flopping around in his grave with the ‘deal’ that Iran and Donny signed yesterday.

Even the GOP is NOT happy with Donny’s stupidity.

President Trump’s ceasefire framework with Iran isn’t even signed yet, and one Republican senator is already calling it a historic mistake. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana blasted the memorandum of understanding on X Wednesday afternoon, saying Ronald Reagan “is rolling over in his grave” and labeling it “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades,” the Times-Picayune reports.

  • “Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future,” Cassidy wrote. “Now, Iran gets to build brand-new infrastructure under this deal. Before the war, the strait was open, Iran was being crushed by sanctions, and 13 service members were still alive. Now, 13 Americans are dead, families have paid billions at the pump, sanctions will be lifted, and the bombing has stopped.”
  • The draft accord, set to be inked Friday in Switzerland, would halt military action for 60 days while negotiators hammer out nuclear issues. Trump said Wednesday that bombing would resume if no agreement is reached within that window. The plan would also end Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, reopen the Strait of Hormuz to global oil shipments, and permit Iranian oil sales. Around $300 billion in reconstruction financing for Iran would be guaranteed by regional nations, with Trump insisting no direct US funds are included.

  • Cassidy’s criticism echoes broader GOP concerns that the deal resembles the Obama-era nuclear agreement Trump abandoned in 2018, the Times-Picayune reports. On Capitol Hill, Cassidy, who lost his primary last month to a Trump-backed opponent, said Congress must be fully briefed and have a chance to weigh in on the deal, the Hill reports. “It’s clear that they don’t have a plan. Or if this is the plan, it’s not a very good plan,” he said.

  • At the G7 summit in France, Trump cast doubt on whether the signing would happen as planned on Friday, the AP reports. “You never know with deals, do you? But you’re going to find out pretty soon,” he said. The president also joked about blaming Vice President JD Vance, who will be sent to sign the deal, if things don’t work out, reports CNBC. “If it works out, I’m going to take the credit,” he said. “If it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming JD.”

This document does nothing that Donny’s tough talk promised during the war…..nothing!

In essence it is the same deal that Obama negotiated and Biden continued….so the bottom line is Iran won that war.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Yes Irene We Have A Deal

There were rumblings over the weekend that there was a deal waiting to be signed…..and it was announced on his birthday (go figure)….

The US and Iran have finally struck a peace deal after 4 months of war. Both sides on Sunday said they had agreed to halt military operations in a conflict that has rattled global politics and energy markets, reports the Wall Street Journal. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a formal signing will take place Friday in Switzerland. “Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” he wrote. The two nations later confirmed, though “permanent” might be a overly optimistic: The most difficult issues have pushed into the next round of talks, notes the New York Times.

  • Trump: “Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” President Trump wrote on social media late Sunday afternoon. “Congratulations to all! I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”
  • Iran: “Agreement reached,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on the X platform. “Greetings to Diplomacy General,” he added, under a photo of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
  • 60 days: The accord launches a 60-day window for talks over Iran’s nuclear program. In return for limits on that program, Iran expects access to frozen funds and potential sanctions relief. Trump said he’s not seeking regime change, while promising “strong inspections” without detailing how they would work.
  • Oil prices: The price of Brent international crude dropped about 5% on the news to $83 a barrel, report CNBC.

There had been word that Donny would sign the deaal on Sunday….

President Trump said Saturday he plans to sign a peace framework with Iran on Sunday, though the Tehran government indicated it’s not on the same timeline. Posting on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow,” the Hill reports. He promised the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil chokepoint closed during the current crisis, would reopen immediately after a signing, while hinting at an undefined “ultimate alternative” if the process falters. Pakistan, which is mediating the talks, similarly projected a quick resolution, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying the agreement would be finalized within 24 hours.

You did not think he would let this minor deal crap on his birthday bash did you?

It is good news that the ‘war’ is over….but is it?

Will Israel stop killing in the name of ‘defense’?

If I were Cuba I would be fearful!

How long before Cuba will feel the pressure from Donny and Pistol Pete?

Just wondering.

Any thing to add?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Deal Or No Deal

On 28 May mews broke that a deal had been hammered out between US and Iran …..

It appears that a deal to formally extend the Iran-US ceasefire for another two months is tantalizingly close. Multiple outlets—including Reuters, Axios, and NBC News—say negotiators have hammered out a 60-day “memorandum of understanding” to open the Strait of Hormuz, extend the ceasefire, and lay the groundwork for more detailed talks on issues such as Iran’s nuclear program. All three outlets say the deal awaits Trump’s signature, with Axios quoting a US official saying: “The president relayed to the mediators that he wants a couple of days to think about it.” Neither the White House nor Tehran has formally confirmed the existence of a 60-day MOU.

“It was already closed in Doha three days ago, now everyone is playing a game of chicken and egg,” a senior Arab official tells NBC. On Wednesday, Trump reiterated to reporters that he is not in a rush to approve any deal. One snag could be the president’s wish that more Mideast countries join the Abraham Accords and recognize Israel. Under the MOU, Iran would reportedly remove all its mines from the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days and reopen the waterway to unrestricted shipping.

The deal awaits Donny’s approval before it can move forward….

Donny and his band of slugs slithered their way to the Situation Room to discuss the deal …..and as usual no decision was made by Donny….

President Trump held a two-hour meeting with top advisers in the White House Situation Room on Friday after posting he planned “to make a final determination” on a deal with Iran. But he left without revealing a decision, the New York Times reports. There was no word on why the president postponed the call. The meeting came a day after reports emerged that negotiators had hashed out a 60-day “memorandum of understanding” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and extend the truce, reports the AP. Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday that the US and Iran were “very close” to finalizing the MOU, though he stopped short of predicting what Trump would do, notes Axios.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, meanwhile, wrote Friday on X that his country has “no trust in guarantees or words,” only actions, and that “no step will be taken before the other side acts.”
After promising a final determination Donny decided to kick the can down the road….something he has become a master at doing.
This deal is the same deal from months ago….and it is a huge scam.
A fifth round of talks to end the Iran war is underway, but there’s little sign of a breakthrough. The proposed 60-day ceasefire would give Tehran 30 days to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — but Iran, which has built a bureaucracy to charge transit fees, has little reason to hurry as the global economy strains.
A new round of negotiations to end the war between the Trump administration and the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran is dominating the news cycle. These negotiations now make the fifth such purported negotiation. None of the previous talks yielded anything other than more bloodshed, bombs, and bellicosity.
Many suspect that President Donald Trump is merely claiming his team is nearing a deal to manipulate markets, since the one metric Trump seems to care about consistently is the stock market. When it does well, he believes he is doing well. When it dips, he thinks he’s doing badly.
Donny has made the deal further away over the weekend…
President Trump has stiffened his stance on a proposed agreement to halt the war in Iran, sending a tougher version of a peace framework back to Tehran. The exact revisions weren’t disclosed, but US officials said Trump is uneasy with provisions that would unlock frozen Iranian funds, the New York Times reports. He’s repeatedly blasted the Obama administration over the years for doing that under the earlier nuclear accord. Trump has also grown impatient with the speed of Iran’s response, one official said, despite negotiations being routed through intermediaries such as Pakistan.
Included in the new proposal are revisions related to the Strait of Hormuz and the removal of highly enriched uranium, per CBS News. Axios reports Trump asked for the changes in a two-hour Situation Room meeting on Friday. That kicked off another round of exchanges that could go on for days. Some in the administration consider the changes an attempt to pressure Iran into agreeing to a framework already under review, per the Times. The draft deal would trade an end to the US-Israeli bombing campaign for Iran lifting its blockade of the strait.
Can you say market manipulation?
There could be another reason for his reluctance…Israel.

As Israel launched a new bombardment of Lebanon on Tuesday, its far-right security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, suggested that it was trying to derail ongoing peace negotiations between US President Donald Trump and Iran.

During a press briefing on Tuesday, the influential settler politician railed against the possibility of a deal to end the war as it neared the three-month mark and said the whole Israeli Cabinet was in agreement.

“I know that Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and all of us members of the Cabinet… as the government of Israel, cannot allow this to happen,” Ben-Gvir said in Hebrew. “This is an agreement that can harm the state of Israel, and we will not allow this to happen.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/ben-gvir-iran-ceasefire

“Will not allow”?

Now that tells you who controls things in Donny’s house.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Iranian Two Step

This is good stuff….as a student of international relations this is perfect example of how not to act.

WE have a ceasefire between the US and Iran (at at least I think we do) and on Friday Iran opened the Straight of Hormuz to shipping traffic….

Iran has reopened the Strait of Hormuz, and world markets were celebrating. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced on X that the waterway is once again open to commercial traffic, reports the Wall Street Journal. He said it will remain open at least through the duration of the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Oil prices plunged about 10% on the news, with benchmark Brent down to roughly $90 a barrel, per CNBC. The Dow surged more than 500 points, or 1.1%, and the S&P 500 also rose about 1%.

President Trump hailed the move on Truth Social. “Iran has just announced that the Strait of Iran is fully open and ready for full passage,” he wrote in all-caps. “Thank you!” However, he added that the separate US blockade on ships entering and exiting Iranian ports would remain in effect “until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete.” He said reaching a final deal should “go very quickly” from here on out.

Then our clueless leader had to go on stage and chest thump about taking Iranian uranium in his clumsy way…….then on Saturday a 180….

Iran swiftly reversed course on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, reimposing restrictions on the critical waterway on Saturday after the US said it wouldn’t end its blockade of Iran-linked shipping. Iran’s joint military command said that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state … under strict management and control of the armed forces,” per the AP. It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect. The announcement came the morning after US President Trump said that even after Iran announced the strait’s reopening on Friday, the American blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the US, including on its nuclear program.

The conflict over the choke point threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy after oil prices began to fall again on Friday on hopes that the US and Iran were drawing closer to an agreement. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait, and further limits would squeeze already constrained supply, driving prices higher once again. Control over the strait has proven to be one Iran’s main points of leverage and prompted the US to deploy forces and initiate a blockade on Iranian ports as part of an effort to force Iran to accept a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire to end almost seven weeks of war that has raged between Israel, the US, and Iran.

Iran said it fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels after a 10-day truce was announced between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. An end to Israel’s war with Hezbollah was a key demand of Iranian negotiators, who previously accused Israel of breaking last week’s ceasefire with strikes on Lebanon. Israel had said that deal didn’t cover Lebanon. But after Trump said the blockade would continue, top Iranian officials said his announcement violated last week’s ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US and warned the strait wouldn’t stay open if the US blockade remained in effect. Data firm Kpler said that movement through the strait remained confined to corridors requiring Iran’s approval. US forces have sent 21 ships back to Iran since the blockade began on Monday, US Central Command said on X.

Only an extremely stupid person does not know when to keep their idiot mouth shut.

The logical question now is what comes next?

Oil prices plunged and the stock market boomed on Friday after Iran and the US said the Strait of Hormuz was largely open to commercial traffic. An Iranian official suggested the move isn’t permanent as peace negotiations continue, though President Trump said on Truth Social that Iran promised to never close the strait again, and declared that the Hormuz “situation is over.” Related coverage:

  • Questions: Plenty of questions were unanswered about how freely ships will be able to move and even whether they may have to pay a toll to Iran, notes the Washington Post. Further complicating things was that the US was leaving its own blockade of Iranian ports in place. It may take awhile for the details to clarify, but “assuming this holds, then I think it’s great news,” Jerry Kalogiratos of the shipping company Capital Clean Energy Carriers tells the New York Times.
  • Uranium: One of the sticking points in talks has centered on Tehran’s stash of enriched uranium. On Friday, President Trump said in a Truth Social post that Iran had agreed to hand over its stockpile, though Tehran hasn’t confirmed. “We’re going to get ‌it together,” Trump told Reuters. “We’re going to go in with Iran, at a nice leisurely pace, and go down and start excavating with big machinery. … We’ll bring it back to the United States.”
  • Oil/gas prices: The cost of a barrel of Brent crude plunged 10% to under $90 a barrel, and that could translate into a quick reduction in gas prices, says GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan, per NBC News. “This could accelerate sending fuel prices lower starting this weekend with the national average likely falling below $4/gal to perhaps $3.65-$3.85,” he wrote. The average price was $4.09 Friday morning.
  • The talks: The Times reports that US and Iranian negotiators were finalizing a three-page memo that contained the broad strokes of a peace deal. It could be signed at a second round of talks in the coming days.

Now that Donny has fucked up this attempt at a ceasefire…..where will he go now?

For one he will start seizing ships….

The US military is preparing to board and seize Iran-linked commercial vessels on the high seas in the coming days, officials say, widening a maritime campaign that has so far centered on the Persian Gulf region. The move follows Iran’s assertion that it is again tightly controlling the Strait of Hormuz, coupled with reported attacks on commercial ships there. The Trump administration is using increased naval activity and economic leverage to pressure the Iranian government over its nuclear program and its control of oil exports, the Wall Street Journal reports.

And now he has made one of his ill-conceived sweeping statements…..

President Donald Trump has issued his latest threat to Iran and said that if officials fail to make a deal with the United States “the whole country is going to get blown up.”

The president also made threats Sunday morning to target civil infrastructure after it was reported that Iranian forces were refusing to allow ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz this weekend.

“We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!” Trump wrote. The posts appeared to be an effort to bring the regime to the table for 11th-hour talks before the U.S.-Iran ceasefire expires next week.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-iran-negotiations-infrastructure-bridges-b2960588.html

Iran ddoes not need nukes….it has the Straight of Hormuz.

Will someone give this twat a Big Mac and Diet Cola and tell him to go sit in the corner?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Shaky Ceasefire

Note:  I get juiced this morning early so I will be down for the count….chemo has that effect…..hopefully I will be at full strength come Saturday…..Have a good day.

It has been announced and it has been on unstable ground since that day…..but just for the FYI here are the points of each side….

US 15 Point Proposals Now

1) US will remove all sanctions on Iran

2) It will cease all threats to reimpose sanctions

3) Iran’s nuclear program will be frozen under a defined framework

4) US will assist Iran in developing a civilian nuclear project

5) There will be limit on enriched uranium to remain under supervision

6) US agrees to address the Iranian missile program at a later date

7) Iran’s nuclear program will be restricted to civilian purposes only

8) Iran will halt the development of existing nuclear facilities & capabilities

9) Iran will discontinue further expansion of enrichment capabilities

10) No production of weapons-grade nuclear material to occur on Iranian soil

11) Iran will hand over all enriched materials to the IAEA on an agreed timeline

12) Iran’s Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow nuclear facilities will be taken out of use

13) International monitoring and verification mechanisms

14) Implementations will be gradual and tied to compliance

15) Both sides to discuss additional regional and security issues

Then there is the counter from Iran….

Iran’s Current 10 Point Proposal

1) Guarantee that Iran will not be attacked again

2) Permanent end to the war, not just a ceasefire

3) End to Israeli strikes in Lebanon

4) Lifting of all sanctions on Iran

5) End to all regional fighting against Iranian allies

6) In return, Iran would open the Strait of Hormuz

7) Iran will determine the rules of safe passage through Hormuz

8) A Hormuz fee of $2 million per ship

9) Iran would split these fees with Oman

10) Iran to use Hormuz fees for reconstruction instead of reparations

Let’s pretend that this ceasefire holds…..who won?

So who’s winning, or has won, the Iran war thus far? Who’s losing?

Iran has agreed to a temporary ceasefire and to negotiate. But it will still run the Hormuz strait. It will collect fees. Higher global oil prices means it will make even more money from oil sales. That can buy a lot of Chinese radars and Russian anti-aircraft systems. The US will not control the Hormuz in any way. Iran will set the rules and control the strait, in cooperation with one or two friendlier Gulf states (Oman, maybe Qatar?)

Iran will replenish and accelerate production and development of its missiles and drone programs.

The Iran war—like the Ukraine war—means military power has changed radically. Surface ships are sitting ducks. Even 5th generation aircraft if they get too close. War is now about hypersonic missiles, autonomous weapons, massed drones in the air, on and under the water, low orbit satellites and surveillance—and of course economic destabilization.

The most important question remains: what will Israel do should US and Iran agree to a deal (or don’t)? Trump and the Iranians can agree to all they want. Israel will not necessarily abide by it (even if it says it will). When the dust settles, Israel will again try to find a way to lure America into its wars of expansion in the middle east.

(counterpunch.org)

Will this actually hold a peace in the region?

I think not for Israel does not want a peace for the region.

What say you?

Just FYI….Iran is claiming victory…..

US forces secured a “historic and overwhelming victory” over Iran, defense chief Pete Hegseth declared Wednesday, adding that “Iran proved utterly incapable of defending itself.” Iran, of course, begs to differ, with its national security council boasting that it delivered “an undeniable, historic, and crushing defeat” to its foes, per the Wall Street Journal. A Washington Post piece finds that behind the bluster, neither side is a “clear winner,” but the newspaper is among a number of outlets exploring why Tehran is maintaining victory. The short version: The regime survived, albeit after losing key figures; Iran tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz; and it still possesses a stockpile of highly enriched uranium, per Politico.

“What Iran did, systematically and deliberately, was hurt the US economy” by shutting down the strait and sending oil prices soaring, Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Institute tells the Journal. “They made sure the war was felt in the US,” he says, adding, “I don’t think Trump’s going to try that again.” And even after the ceasefire, Iran continues to maintain control over which ships are allowed to navigate the strait. “The implication: Iran is intent on using its newfound control over the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf as leverage over Trump as the Islamic Republic seeks to rebuild its power after the biggest threat to its survival in decades,” writes David S. Cloud of the Journal.

The Post, meanwhile, notes that crowds filled the streets of Tehran after the ceasefire announcement, triumphantly waving their nation’s flag, far from the “unconditional surrender” President Trump had previously demanded. Not that Iran emerged unscathed: In additon to the relentless bombing attacks from the US and Israel, it is now more isolated than ever in the region because of its attacks on neighboring nations. Still, as one Asian diplomat tells Politico of Hegseth’s threat to resume strikes if necessary, “Declaring victory by saying he will attack Iran some more seems like losing.”

What say you?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Just In The Nick Of Time

For about 5 weeks our little mash-up with Iran has been raging…..Donny has been ranting and his minions have been dutiful.

And as if a movie plot at the very stroke of midnight a ceasefire deal has been announced.

Iran says it has accepted a proposal for a two-week ceasefire, but the war will only be considered over if and when a final agreement is reached that aligns with every element of its 10-point plan. President Trump said Tuesday that he had suspended attacks on Iran for two weeks after receiving a “workable” proposal for Iran. According to Iranian state media, the plan calls for coordinated, controlled passage through the Strait of Hormuz under Iranian military oversight, a halt to military operations against Iran and its allied groups, and the withdrawal of US combat forces from all bases in the region, Reuters reports.

  • “It is emphasized that this does not signify the termination of the war,” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said in a statement, per the AP. “Our hands remain upon the trigger, and should the slightest error be committed by the enemy, it shall be met with full force.”
  • Tehran is also demanding the lifting of all US sanctions—both primary and secondary—the release of frozen Iranian funds, and payment of “full compensation” to Iran. In a statement on X, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, “For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.” Araghchi, who said he was making the announcement on behalf of the Supreme National Security Council, said Iran would halt military attacks as long as the country was not attacked, NBC News reports.

The deal has done what it was suppose to do….drop oil pricess….

Oil prices plunged and US stock futures jumped on Tuesday after President Trump held off on his threat of devastating attacks on Iran. Futures for US crude oil sank 18% to around $92.60, while Brent crude oil futures fell about 6% to $103.40, the AP reports. Both prices remain well above where they were at the start of the war. Futures for the S&P 500 rose 2.4% and Dow futures jumped 2.1%, more than 900 points, reports CNBC. Stock markets in Japan and South Korea also soared, while bitcoin rose more than 5%, the Wall Street Journal reports.

  • Late Tuesday, Trump said he was holding off on his threatened attacks on Iranian bridges, power plants and other civilian targets, subject to Tehran agreeing to a two-week ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it had accepted a two-week ceasefire and its foreign minister said passage through the strait would be allowed for the next two weeks under Iranian military management.
  • Oil prices have spiked because the war has snarled the production and transportation of crude in the Persian Gulf. Much of that oil exits the gulf through the Strait of Hormuz to reach customers around the world, but Iran has blocked it to enemies. A regional official, speaking on condition of anonymity, tells the AP that the two-week ceasefire plan includes allowing both Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting through the strait. The official said Iran would use the money it raised for reconstruction. It wasn’t immediately clear what Oman would use its money for. The strait is in the territorial waters of both Oman and Iran. The world had previously considered the passage a toll-free international waterway.
  • About a fifth of the world’s oil transits the strait in peacetime. Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, wrote in a statement that: “For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.” Before the war, there were no “technical limitations,” the AP notes.

There is two weeks for a deal to end this stupidity once and for all.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Donny Makes His Desire Known

The Iran conflict has been going on for about 4 weeks and we have heard all sorts of crap and now more stuff to ponder.

Donny has made his offer for this war to end…..

US officials said late Tuesday that Iran had been sent a 15-point plan to end the war, and Pakistani officials confirmed on Wednesday that Iran got it. The plan was submitted to Iran by intermediaries from the government of Pakistan, which has offered to host renewed negotiations between Washington and Tehran, a source tells the AP. More:

  • What the US seeks: The Wall Street Journal reports the proposal would reportedly require Tehran to dismantle its three main nuclear facilities, halt all uranium enrichment at home, freeze ballistic-missile development, ease support for regional proxies, and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
  • What Iran would get: In exchange, Washington would lift nuclear-related sanctions and help oversee a civilian nuclear program.
  • Nothing new: The Journal reports the plan largely mirrors a prewar offer made by President Trump before the war began on Feb. 28. The Guardian’s sources paint it as even older, saying it’s based on a plan that was shared with Iran in late May 2025.
  • Tough prospects: In the AP’s view, any talks between the US and Iran would face monumental challenges. Many of Washington’s objectives, particularly over Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, remain difficult to achieve, and it is not clear who in Iran’s government has the authority or would be willing to negotiate.
  • Tough prospects II: Bloomberg sees a similarly uphill battle, reporting Tehran is “signaling little willingness to compromise.” Bloomberg flags a Wednesday comment from Iran’s armed forces to that end: “The level of your internal conflicts has reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves,” the statement said, per state-run IRIB News.

Now Iran has given a response….

The Trump administration’s 15-point proposal for ending the war in Iran did not get a warm reception. The AP reports that Iran has rejected the plan, citing Iranian state television’s English-language broadcaster, which quoted an anonymous official. The Guardian reports the official characterized the asks as “excessive” and said “Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met.”

The Wall Street Journal offers a similar report, saying Iran’s information council—part of the government’s communications arm—dismissed the plan as a wish list of goals that hadn’t come to pass through the use of force. “Trump’s statements are false and should not be taken seriously,” it said.

But Reuters describes the door as not being fully shut; it quotes a senior Iranian official as saying the view on the proposal was “not positive” but that it is still being reviewed. Reuters separately reports that Pakistan, which delivered the proposal, is still waiting for a reply.

The Guardian adds that the senior political security official quoted on Press TV shared five conditions that Tehran seeks:

  • A stop to “aggression and assassinations.”
  • An end to the war on Iran and “all resistance groups” in the region.
  • “Concrete” guarantees of no future military action against Iran.
  • Reparations and war-damage payments.
  • Recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

Now the wait to see what late night BS Donny will send out over Truth Social (a name that sends shudders through my body).

Is this a place to start negotiations or just Donny whipping off some crap for the media?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

How To Mend A Broken War

Donny has been trying to get our attention away from his failed war that Israel conned him into fighting….but so far he has done a terrible job of doing so.

There have been many articles written about how the US could end this war and few are very pleasant…..but then I read an op-ed by Kristof…..

Nicholas Kristof sees the Iran war as a major miscalculation by President Trump, and he warns in a New York Times opinion piece that things could get far worse if Trump doubles down instead of finding a way out. What to do? “His least-bad option, I believe, is to do roughly what he did when he bungled policy toward China and Yemen last year,” writes Kristof. “In each case he boldly declared victory and then frantically negotiated. The United States ended up the loser, particularly vis-à-vis China, but at least the storms calmed.”

The same could happen here, he writes. After declaring that his war aims have been achieved, Trump should press Israel to stand down and quietly seek a negotiated pause in Iran’s nuclear work in exchange for some sanctions relief. “I don’t know if a deal is possible, and it would require immense finesse,” writes Kristof. “But Iran does need revenue and investment, and a reduction in sanctions would be very appealing.” Let everyone declare victory, he advises, because “intensifying and lengthening this war would leave everyone a loser.”

Read the full piece.

To me this idea has Donny written all over it.  He could declare himself the winner and start doing his ‘stable genius’ crap and negotiate.

Then what would Iran do?

After the violation by Israel and the US would they be willing to saddle up with the US?

Then there is Israel…..could Donny con them into stop their blood lust long enough to find a solution.

Like I said the idea sounds good but there are so many moving parts that Donny may have a hard time keeping up.

Any thoughts of this possibility?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego erego scribo”