Irreconcilable ‘Excessive Demands’

by NBC News

Iran state media said “excessive demands” sank the possibility of a US-Iran agreement to end the war at this weekend’s peace talks.

Both sides could not find common ground on a number of key matters, including the Strait of Hormuz and the country’s development of nuclear technology.

NO AGREEMENT IN PAKISTAN: Vice President JD Vance said the US leaves Islamabad, where a delegation was meeting for face-to-face negotiations with Iran, without reaching an agreement. The sides held talks for 21 hours.

IRANIAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM: Vance said after the talks that the US needs a commitment that Iran would not seek to develop a nuclear weapon. “We haven’t seen that yet. We hope that we will.”

NETANYAHU SAYS IRAN CAMPAIGN ‘NOT OVER YET’: The Israeli prime minister said the strikes were launched because Iran was close to obtaining nuclear weapons and he claimed major blows to its nuclear program.

The vice president said the US needs a firmer commitment that Iran will not develop a nuclear weapon in order to reach an agreement. “The simple question is, do we see a fundamental commitment of will for the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon, not just now, not just two years from now, but for the long term? We haven’t seen that yet. We hope that we will.”

Food for Thought: by Steven Shamrak

The result of the meeting in Pakistan was predictable. At least, the US did not waste too much time there. Regime change in Iran is the only option! It will bring complete denuclearization of Iran, open the Strait of Hormuz, and end Iran’s sponsorship of terrorist groups. This is a strange war! It has no clearly defined and stated objectives. The ‘winner’ is begging for a ceasefire, and the ‘looser’ sets preconditions before talks.

Al Jazeera Terrorist Eliminated

IDF troops in the Southern Command struck and eliminated Muhammad Samir Muhammad Washah, who operated under the guise of an Al Jazeera journalist, a key terrorist in Hamas’ rocket and weapons production headquarters. Throughout the war, Washah was involved in the production of drones, rockets, and additional weaponry, and also took part in the transfer of weapons through the Gaza Strip. (How many ‘journalists’ does a little strip of land like Gaza need? Why aren’t they in Sudan?)

Israel Dumped Spain from Gaza coordination Center

Israel announces Spain’s exclusion from the CMCC under President Trump’s plan, citing Madrid’s anti-Israel stance and harm to strategic interests. Netanyahu: ‘I am not willing to tolerate this hypocrisy and hostility.’ Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar stated: “The Sánchez government’s anti-Israel bias is so egregious that it has lost all capability to serve as a constructive actor in implementing President Trump’s peace plan and in the CMCC operating under that plan.” (France is next. Already removed from negotiations with Lebanon.)

Iranians Fearful of Greater Crackdown

The US President Donald Trump promised “regime change” in Iran, but the Islamic Republic has emerged intact after nearly six weeks of the US-Israeli war. “This feels like unfinished business. I think eventually it’s going to be war again,” said a Tehran resident. “Ending in a situation where the Islamic Republic feels victorious isn’t really a good thing. They have more self-esteem. They kill more people. They keep the internet shut down. Everything is going to be way worse.”

Lebanon Excluded from Ceasefire

After Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that US, Iran and their allies “have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the two-week ceasefire “does not include Lebanon”. Israeli military continued to carry out attacks on southern parts of the country. Israeli forces bombed the southern town of Srifa in the Tyre region, and also issued an evacuation warning for a building near the town. (Even the US has agreed that Lebanon is not included in the ceasefire.)

Iran can Recover and Fire Thousands of Missiles

Iran could dig out or fix many of the launchers that were damaged or buried underground in the US-Israeli bombing campaign. Iran also has thousands of medium and short-range ballistic missiles that it can retrieve from storage spaces above and below ground. Additionally, Iran still has a small stockpile of cruise missiles that it could fire at ships in the Persian Gulf or US troops who try to seize the Strait of Hormuz.

‘New’ Khamenei Unresponsive in Hospital

Mojtaba Khamenei, was declared supreme leader after his father’s death, is hospitalized unconscious in Qom, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is effectively running the war.

Priestly Blessing vs anti-War Protests

Israeli Supreme Court sparks controversy with ruling on the Sabbath permitting expanded anti-war demonstration, despite instructions from Home Front Command limiting gatherings. The ruling permitted no fewer than 150 participants at three different sites and no fewer than 600 people at Habima Square for the anti-war protests. The Western Wall priestly blessing was limited to 50 as High Court permits larger anti-war protests. (Once again, the High Court has shown its true anti-government colour.)

Quote of the Week:

“The campaign is not over yet. Iran wanted to eliminate us. Now it is fighting to survive. We still have more to do. We were the first to break the barrier of fear to act in Iran. If not for Operations Rising Lion and Roaring Lion, Iran would already have had nuclear bombs. In Operation Roaring Lion, we eliminated eight nuclear scientists, and Iran today has no active enrichment facility. There has been a tremendous change thanks to our pilots and aircrews. We still have more to do. As a result of our strength, Lebanon approached me over the past month to hold direct negotiations, which has never happened before, and I approved it, conditional on Hezbollah’s disarmament and a real peace agreement,” – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Lebanon wants to get rid of Hezbollah too – especially after the Beirut blast of a few years ago.

Another War without a Decisive Win

by Lazar Berman

Trump moves toward talks with Tehran that could send billions to regime and fuel its rearmament, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears unable to land a knockout blow against Israel’s foes in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

A two-week ceasefire with Iran looks likely to leave the Islamic Republic in a position to survive and rebuild after nearly 40 days of war.

Israel, which wanted to keep fighting, has been more circumspect, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israel “has more goals to complete.”

Trump and his team are using two central claims as evidence of their stated victory.

First, he says that Iran will not be allowed to enrich uranium. Second, the US – as well as Israel – is boasting about the fact that Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Both those claims are suspect. (Did not last long.)

There is no sign that Iran has agreed to any concessions regarding its nuclear ambitions. If that is granted, Iran would bring in many millions of dollars every day. An Iranian official estimated the Islamic Republic could earn up to $80 billion a year from Hormuz fees.

Under Netanyahu, there is no question that Israel hammered Iran and its proxies with its outstretched arm. But the decisive victory that Netanyahu promised continues to evade him.

Instead, Israelis are told that intermediate measures – creating buffer zones in Gaza and Lebanon, and destroying Iranian military capabilities – are the equivalent of victory. And even if not, Netanyahu says, Israel can return to war to complete the work.

Read previous Editorials here.