By Walt Zlotow
In a poker game with Iran’s unified, determined, winning government, Trump is playing 52 Pick-Up
Trump loves to bleat the US is winning his criminal war on Iran. The opposite is true. Iran is holding all the cards. The US, not Iran, implemented a ceasefire because Trump’s bombing campaign was a catastrophe. It didn’t collapse the Iranian regime within 48 hours. It didn’t cough up Iran’s enriched uranium. It didn’t destroy Iran’s missile capacity. It didn’t force Iran to beg for negotiations.
It did, however, so damage America’s 13 Gulf States bases they are largely uninhabitable. It caused the worst destruction in Israel’s 78 years. It caused the US to nearly run out of defensive missiles. It closed the Strait of Hormuz, initiating a global economic crisis that will take months to resolve even if the war ended today.
Trump is so discombobulated he’s making up fairy tales about Iran’s begging for negotiations to end their impending loss. He announced his negotiating team of golfing buddy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, both representing Israel’s, not America’s interests, were heading to Pakistan to seal America’s victory.
One huge problem. Iran won’t negotiate while Trump is continuing the war with his senseless blockade of Iranian ports… a war crime. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reminded Trump there will be no negotiations “… as long as hostile actions and operational pressures by the US persist. Recent US actions, including intensified maritime restrictions against Iran, are major impediments to trust-building and diplomacy. While messages about negotiations are conveyed, the simultaneous escalation of naval blockade and operational pressure undermines the environment needed for mutual trust.”
Trump quickly pivoted, cancelling Witkoff’s and Kushner’s planned visit to Pakistani last weekend. “I said nope, you’re not making 18-hour flight to go there. We have all the cards. You’re not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing.”
Trump has all the cards, all right. It’s just that there on the Oval Office floor after President Pezeshkian tossed them at Trump and exclaimed “52 Pick-Up.”
Walt Zlotow, Glen Ellyn Peace Coalition Glen Ellyn IL
Keep Independent Journalism Alive – Support The AIMN
Dear Reader,
Since 2013, The Australian Independent Media Network has been a fearless voice for truth, giving public interest journalists a platform to hold power to account. From expert analysis on national and global events to uncovering issues that matter to you, we’re here because of your support.
Running an independent site isn’t cheap, and rising costs mean we need you now more than ever. Your donation – big or small – keeps our servers humming, our writers digging, and our stories free for all.
Join our community of truth-seekers. Please consider donating now via:
PayPal or credit card – just click on the Donate button below
Direct bank transfer: BSB: 062500; A/c no: 10495969
We’ve also set up a GoFundMe as a dedicated reserve fund to help secure the future of our site.
Your support will go directly toward covering essential costs like web hosting renewals and helping us bring new features to life. Every contribution, no matter the size, helps us keep improving and growing.
Thank you for standing with us – we truly couldn’t do this without you.
With gratitude, The AIMN Team
Uhm ….. Interesting analysis of the TACO Trumpian war to own the Middle East proven and potential fossil fuel reserves.
However, I demur at ”[TACO Trumpery] announced his negotiating team of golfing buddy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, both representing Israel’s, not America’s interests” are certainly NOT representing the interests of the American voters.
Rather Witkoff & Kushner are there as representatives of the Trumpery corporate entity in all its many corporate subsidiaries to snare the best deals, identify the best real estate cleared by missile bombardment by Butcher Bibi & the amoral IDF for later development into Trumpery family profit making ventures. Naturally the US government, hence US taxpayers, are paying for this business exploration opportunity.
Note this morning, 0530 hours 290426, there was an Al Jazeera television news report, partly heard, that Iran is seeking the end to the US blockade on world trade in the Straits of Hormuz. This may be another TACO blather burst, so watch the later MSM news feed for confirmation.
NEC, the last I heard is that Trump knocked it back.
We need to restart world diplomacy properly, after complete humiliating, knees cutting Trump failure, so that the old “balance of power” concepts re-emerge and are relevant again. Bash the nappy loading bully and the political and business perverts behind the stinker. Peace now.
@NEC; “..the Trumpery corporate entity in all its many corporate subsidiaries…”
Witkoff and Kushner actually represent the Zionist interests in American corporate, media, big tech and political circles – Trump is the front man for the Zionists and Huckerbee is Israel’s ambassador to USA. I just don’t understand how the US population at large continues to tolerate this criminal deception.
From @Donald Gorbachev, on X
The headline. Trump is skeptical regarding Iran’s recent offer to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran did not make an offer.
Iran legislated a toll.
The toll is on the books.
The toll is being collected.
The toll is in rials. The toll is denominated by tonnage and origin port. The toll has a parliamentary record. The toll has a clearing mechanism in Omani draft.
The toll is not an offer.
The toll is the new operating condition.
The empire calls the toll an offer because the empire needs the home audience to read the situation as a negotiation.
Negotiations have offers.
Negotiations have counteroffers.
Negotiations have a moment where the strong party considers the weak party’s request and decides whether to be generous.
The empire is staging the moment.
President ALL CAPS is performing the consideration.
The man is being skeptical.
Skeptical is the verb of someone who has the option to say yes or no.
The man does not have the option.
The toll is being paid.
The empire’s own shipping companies are paying.
The empire’s own insurers are writing the policies for the paying.
The empire is the customer. The customer cannot decline the bill.
The customer can only be skeptical about the bill.
Skeptical of an offer that was never an offer.
The toll was the announcement.
The announcement was the new arrangement.
The new arrangement does not require the empire’s signature.
The empire is being asked to sign anyway because signing is what the empire does. The empire signs treaties.
The empire’s role in the world is the signing.
If the empire does not sign, the empire’s role is over.
So the empire stages a negotiation it is not in.
The empire is skeptical of the offer it imagined Iran made because Iran did not make an offer and the empire needs an offer to be skeptical of, so the empire can perform the skepticism so the empire can perform the role so the empire can stay in the room.
The room is empty.