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While his own vice president sat across the table from Iran’s top negotiators in Switzerland on Sunday, the president was at Camp David… posting threats on social media. “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” he wrote. “If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!” Hours later, in a Fox News phone interview, Trump went further. He told the host he had warned Iran’s president to “watch what he says.” He threatened to “take over the rest of the country.” And he told Iran’s delegation they would not “even make it back” to their country if they did not agree to open the strait. The talks stalled. Iranian state media said negotiations had entered a “difficult phase” after what they called an “insulting message.” Iran’s chief negotiator, Ghalibaf, posted that Tehran’s armed forces were “prepared to respond.” The Iranian delegation refused to appear in photos alongside Vance. By Sunday evening, mediators from Pakistan and Qatar managed to restart the session. A joint statement called the talks “positive and constructive.” A road map for a final deal within 60 days was agreed on. But the pattern was already set. The president builds the table. Then he lights it on fire from the next room. |
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BREAKING Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Said Saturday It Was Closing the Strait of Hormuz Again — Five Days After the Deal Opened It |
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On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps announced it was closing the Strait of Hormuz again. The reason: Israel’s continued strikes in Lebanon, which Iran says violate the deal signed five days earlier. The United States disputed the closure. Officials said shipping traffic continued on Sunday through the smaller side channels. But the central route remains mined… roughly 80 mines have not been cleared. And Iran’s announcement sent a message that the strait’s reopening is not permanent. It is conditional. And the condition — a full ceasefire in Lebanon — has not been met. A renewed ceasefire in Lebanon, brokered on Friday, appeared to be holding as of Sunday. Israel said it would lift movement restrictions near the border Monday morning. But neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a signatory to the U.S.-Iran deal. And Netanyahu has said Israeli forces will stay in Lebanon until every threat is eliminated. The deal’s signature accomplishment was opening the strait. Five days later, the country that agreed to open it is threatening to close it again. Not because the deal failed on its terms. But because Israel — which is not a party to the deal — will not stop. |
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EXPOSED Jared Kushner Sat at the Nuclear Negotiating Table in Switzerland. He Has No Diplomatic Title and No Arms Control Experience. |
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Sitting alongside Vance at the Bürgenstock Resort on Sunday were Steve Witkoff, the special envoy, and Jared Kushner — the president’s son-in-law. Kushner has no confirmed diplomatic role. He holds no Senate-confirmed position. He is not listed as a member of the National Security Council. But he was at the table for the most consequential nuclear negotiation since the 2015 Iran deal. Kushner was already in Switzerland ahead of Vance, helping to sort through the technical details of the nuclear file. He has been present at nearly every major diplomatic meeting since the war began. His background is real estate development. The 2015 deal was negotiated over two years by career diplomats, nuclear scientists, and sanctions lawyers. The current deal is being led by a vice president who has been in office for 17 months, a special envoy with no prior government experience, and the president’s son-in-law. The American delegation at the most consequential nuclear talks in a decade includes no one with a background in nuclear arms control. The machine does not need experts. It needs loyalists. |
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DEVELOPING The President Threatened U.S. Tolls on the Strait He Promised Would Be “Permanently Toll-Free” |
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On Saturday, the president made another promise about the strait. If no final deal is reached in 60 days, the United States will impose its own tolls on ships passing through the waterway. He called the payments “services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East.” The memorandum says ships pass toll-free for 60 days. After that, Iran and Oman will negotiate the “future administration” of the strait. Now the president is adding a third party to the toll booth: the United States. One week ago, the president said the strait would be permanently toll-free. On Saturday, he said the U.S. would charge for passage if the deal collapses. The waterway that was supposed to be freed by the deal could end up with competing toll systems — from Iran, Oman, and the United States. Free passage was the headline. Conditional access is the fine print. And the man who wrote the headline is now rewriting the fine print from Camp David, one post at a time. |
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They rely on the shadows. |