But, Rump (pardon the pun) May Find This Requirement Too Much to Bear…
That is why it was unexpected for Trump to respond to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday nite with a subdued and modest condemnation of the Iran-Oman plan, rather than an angry and outspoken rebuttal. This is great news for the doves who regard the conflict as terrible and want an end to it quickly.
Reuters has reported
The Trump administration is, in my opinion, going to wind down very shortly. “I don’t think they can go much longer,” the president said, his words intentionally vague. The Iranians have been strongly disputing the US’s involvement in negotiations with Tehran, but Trump reiterated the point and adding, “I think we’re doing fine.”
Nearly six months of war have depleted the Pentagon’s stock of missiles and interceptors, prompting Trump to become irate on Thursday over matters pertaining to the conflict’s domestic aspect. Several stories in major US media outlets claimed as much. His use of the terms “treasonous” and “fake reporting” to describe the claims is contradictory, but he went so far as to threaten to jail “leaks” in connection with them.
The US bombs have been silent over the last several days, in keeping with Trump’s tendency to lash out against ‘dishonest’ and ‘evil’ Iranian authorities. This is following his decision to cancel planned ‘harder’ strikes over the weekend, which was the final major TACO moment among several before it.
The White House has been relatively silent despite Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s frank criticism of America, Trump’s antics, and his erratic X policies. On Thursday, he penned:
“Massive attack coming… wait, never mind, they want to negotiate.” Theater diplomacy at its finest. A bad technique is to use bullying, broken promises, and fake news as leverage. Recognize the truth and keep your word. Our entertainment needs are already being met.
With the US confronting a “go big or get out” conclusion and the idea of plowing thru months more of a growing quagmire becoming too politically and economically costly, there has been a noticeable shift in tone and posture in Washington, suggesting that now could finally be the time for a genuine offramp. Maybe now is the time to say “victory” and run away. Just walk away, says former congressman Ron Paul.
This is further supported by Trump’s abrupt shift to realism, which he voiced in the same press conference at the Oval Office late Thursday. Regardless of how badly they are defeated, it’s easy for them to dispatch a drone or two, plant a mine, or deliver a close range missile somewhere along or in this Waterway, he said when asked about the situation of the Strait of Hormuz.
In addition, he admitted:
He did admit that “people don’t want” to put billion-dollar ships in danger by exposing them to the Strait of Hormuz and the prospect of an unintentional mine strike. On Thursday, Trump asserted that Hormuz is “sort of open right now,” despite the fact that, according to Kpler statistics, fewer than 10 ships per day transited from Sunday to Tuesday.
Obviously, the United States and Iran have been thru similar “pauses” and cooling off periods in the past, only to find out that they were really just temporary. Now that Tehran has caught on, it has pointed out that the Pentagon simply rearms, repositions, and increases military supply flights to the region during these periods of no fighting.
‘Good First Step’ Toward an Exit for Joe Kent
One high-ranking official who quit in opposition to the Iran war at the outset, Joe Kent, is praising these developments as evidence that Trump is determined to pull the United States out of the battle no matter what:
As a first step toward rescuing us from what would have been a disastrous error, Trump is claiming victory in the fight. In all honesty, the only “deal” we can strike with Iran that would benefit us right now is to simply depart; in this scenario, the president would be in a position of power.
Before the Iranians drag him back into another bloody conflict, he must “close the deal” immediately. It would be foolish to think that Iran will sit on its hands while we decide what to do next. To make matters worse, it appears like we aren’t taking into consideration how radicalized the Iranian leadership and people have become as a result of the assassination of the Ayatollah and the bombing of the girls’ school. As a result, Iran may feel obligated to drag us back into the war and make the United States retreat in a bloodbath, for reasons related to national pride and deterrence.
Trump may put a stop to it by immediately removing American forces from the region. This will leave Iran with fewer targets to attack and less leverage to escalate. According to Trump, we can bring them home because we’ve won.
Either Trump is really gearing up for something greater, or this is finally the “cut and run” moment that most Americans have been yearning for, albeit at a later date.
His most recent Truth Social post is more evidence that Trump may be ready to declare “mission accomplished” and withdraw, leaving the region and oil transportation to their fate:
The Islamic Republic of Iran Remains Unmoved
Declaring an evacuation and then bringing in ground troops and a complete regime change is a lethal alternative. Thankfully, Trump administration officials have mostly persisted in denouncing this as a plausible scenario, despite the fact that it would undoubtedly draw US soldiers back into a new “forever war” that may linger for decades.
Take a look at: Iran’s Massive Size and the Prolonged Chaos That Would Follow Any Ground Invasion.
Meanwhile, tho, the Iranians can detect a whiff of weakness and perhaps blood in the water. Tehran stated its military targeted and struck ‘hostile objectives’ at Qeshm island, near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, just before US markets closed Thursday.
Iran is still refusing to budge, and it thinks it has the upper hand in its asymmetric warfare capabilities, even tho the United States is a far bigger enemy and isn’t sure what to do. This was brought to light when Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview this week, “Our enemies expected the country to collapse due to the pressures they have exerted.” He went on to say that these pressures have “reached their maximum”.
Bad Hair Day
