Trump’s Iran deal is fake news

On Tuesday, hours before he had promised to ”end a civilization,” Donald Trump suddenly announced that there was to be a two-week cease fire. Too bad it isn’t real.

“We received a 10 point proposal from Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, ”and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate.”

Soon after, Trump posted what he titled the official statement of Iran declaring that they would agree to a ceasefire based on the “announcement by POTUS about acceptance of the general framework of Iran's 10-point proposal as a basis for negotiations.”

On the surface, this doesn’t sound bad. Iran stops directing drones into its neighbors and the U.S. doesn’t go forward with Trump’s plethora of promised war crimes. However, there is an issue, because Iran’s 10 point plan doesn’t read as a compromise. It reads like the terms of an American surrender.

Here are those 10 points.

1. The U.S. must fundamentally commit to guaranteeing non-aggression.
2. Continuation of Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz.
3. Acceptance that Iran can enrich uranium for its nuclear program.
4. Removal of all primary sanctions on Iran.
5. Removal of all secondary sanctions against foreign entities that do business
   with Iranian institutions).
6. End of all United Security Council resolutions targeting Iran.
7. End of all International Atomic Energy Agency resolutions on Iran's nuclear
   program.
8. Compensation payment to Iran for war damage.
9. Withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from the region.
10. Cease-fire on all fronts, including Israel's conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

According to this plan, the United States agrees to leave the entire Middle East, gift Hormuz to Iran, allow Iran to process all the Uranium it wants without supervision, and cut a check for damages. It’s safe to say that, should any kind of treaty on this basis come before Congress, it would be laughed out of both chambers. Yes, even this Congress.

Of course, that’s not going to happen. Because Trump isn’t really looking for a deal; He’s looking for an excuse. Having firmly grasped this hot potato, he’s discovered that putting it down is impossible. So he’s pretending to negotiate with people who aren’t interested in anything but accepting his surrender. Meanwhile, Iran isn’t even bothering to pretend. It’s just using the lull in U.S. attacks to bring in fresh missiles from Russia.

Of course, any deal—even an awful deal that leaves the United States parsecs worse off than it was before Trump unilaterally broke the previous agreement with Iran—would be better than Trump carrying through with his apocalyptic threats. But it’s unlikely this arrangement will last two days, much less two weeks. It’s more salt in the wound than bandage.

Benjamin Netanyahu is ignoring any deal to continue his bombing of Lebanon. Iran is responding to those attacks as violations of the agreement Trump promised. Iran’s neighbors are striking back at Iran. In other words, there is no cease fire. The hornet’s nest Trump kicked remains as angry as ever.

https://bsky.app/profile/joncooper-us.bsky.social/post/3miy5zu6vxc2d

https://bsky.app/profile/carlquintanilla.bsky.social/post/3miymkfyjzs2n

On Wednesday, the Iranian speaker of parliament declared that a cease fire was “unreasonable,“ citing “Non-compliance with the first clause of the 10-Point Proposal regarding the ceasefire in Lebanon.” As of midday, it appears only two vessels have been permitted to pass through the strait.

The result of all this is that Trump is humiliated. He’s the Big Bad Wolf who promised a dozen times he was about to huff and puff, only to be revealed as nothing but a blowhard. And that could be the scariest thing about this whole sequence. Trump will never admit that he’s been played (he has) or that this whole “excursion“ is a ghastly mistake (it is). And he still has the button.

What Trump does next will be fueled by the bitter wreckage of his ever-fragile ego. It’s unlikely to be pretty. In the meantime, the whole world continues to pay the price for his ignorance.