UAE SHIP HIT ORIGIN UNKNOWN IRAN IN DRIVERS SEAT DEMANDING HUMILIATING TERMS FOR END OF CONFLICT OPENING OF STRAIT Revisiting a CT&Reasoning Post from December 2022 "Building Our Own Digital Prison" Flock Camera Expose Coming
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
[AUGUST 9, 2026 (15:30 PDT)]
Hey Critical thinkers, just wanted to park a few stories as we head into a new week,
Commercial vessels anchored last week in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran.AMIRHOSEIN KHORGOOI/ISNA/AP
WASHINGTON—For weeks, President Trump had been laying the groundwork to declare victory in the Iran war should Tehran fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, even floating the idea privately to senior aides that he’s willing to walk away without a nuclear deal, U.S. officials said.
But that scaled-back objective became more difficult when Iran insisted Saturday on its highest price yet for permitting the free flow of traffic in the waterway, seeking billions of dollars in U.S. payments, the removal of American troops from the region and an end of the U.S. naval blockade, among other things.
This rapid chain of events suggests Trump’s options for walking away from the conflict have again narrowed. Trump has repeatedly threatened—and then backed away from—a massive escalation of its bombing campaign. But the recent chaos in negotiations signaled Tehran is prepared for a long and grinding conflict.
“Iran’s recent hardline demands for reopening the strait make it increasingly difficult for the president to manufacture a face-saving off-ramp from the conflict,” said Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
Gregory Brew, an Iran expert at the Eurasia Group consulting firm, said, “The Iranians fully believe Trump wants out and is focused on opening the strait, which is why they are playing hardball.”
Hanging over diplomatic talks since April has been the White House’s ultimatum that Iran will never obtain a nuclear weapon. Trump sought to include nuclear talks as part of broader negotiations with Iran, but those have proven too difficult, leading the White House in recent weeks to focus more on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s ability to essentially choke off the waterway through sporadic missile and drone attacks has proven to be powerful leverage for the country, stalling commercial traffic and roiling global oil markets. Trump has declared repeatedly in recent weeks that the Strait of Hormuz was already fully open, but each of those promises has proven premature.
Now, with less than three months until the midterm elections and the price of gasoline still much higher than it was before the war started in late February, Trump has been looking for ways to tell the American public that the war is won.
President Trump has said the White House won’t allow any taxpayer money to go to Iran.JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON/AP
In recent days, Trump told reporters that he was prepared to launch the biggest military attack since World War II but was talked down by U.S. allies. He insisted that a deal was “imminent” although one hasn’t materialized yet.
On Friday, the president on social media suggested victory was already in hand even without a nuclear agreement, linking to an article declaring “Donald Trump Won the Iran War.”
Vice President JD Vance told Fox News that the U.S. would continue to pressure Iran to make long-term changes in its relationship with Washington. “And if not, that’s fine, too, we’re just going to keep on applying the pressure we can apply, and getting as much oil and gas out of the Middle East so that Americans can enjoy lower gas and energy prices.”
“We’re in the middle of the game,” Vance said.
Tehran, which closed the waterway once the war began in February, has insisted that no American warships be allowed to traverse the waterway and has pushed to collect revenue from commercial vessels. Washington has said it won’t accept Iranian restrictions or tolling, U.S. officials said.
The prospects of a deal appeared to darken over the weekend when the United Arab Emirates said Iran launched a missile attack on one of its ships and a top Iranian official laid out a series of tough demands for allowing traffic through.
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the U.S. would need to permanently end the war, lift its naval blockade, withdraw its forces, end all sanctions, free Iran’s frozen assets, pay war reparations, end threats and insults, and stop military action against Iran’s militia allies around the region before Iran would open the strait, according to a report on state news agency IRNA.
U.S. officials said Trump is patient and expected to ride out the latest diplomatic snarl, especially so long as gas prices remain where they are. The average price of gasoline was $4.02 a gallon on Saturday, according to AAA. That is up from $3.16 a year ago but down a bit from a week ago.
A White House official insisted that the U.S. completed all of its military objectives against Iran. Trump’s focus now is securing the flow of the world’s energy through the Strait of Hormuz and will keep military options on the table should Iran further target ships, the official said.
On the nuclear concerns, Trump has told senior aides privately in recent weeks that Tehran is likely unable to revive its nuclear work during his presidency after the U.S. destroyed three primary nuclear sites last year, the officials added.
U.S. intelligence capabilities would likely catch any Iranian attempts to rebuild those facilities or covertly build a bomb, the president has said in recent meetings, and he is confident the threat of more American attacks would serve as an enduring deterrent.
A mural depicting Iran's late supreme leader in Tehran on Saturday.ATTA KENARE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
If the U.S. can keep the nuclear program in check and traffic resumes in the strait, then Trump is more likely to extend the current ceasefire indefinitely, the officials said. Trump also is expected to lift the U.S. military blockade on Iranian ports if Tehran fully reopens the strait, they added.
One major complication for the Trump administration is money. Iran is seeking billions of dollars in war reparations in addition to an agreement to unfreeze the country’s assets around the world. Trump has said the White House wouldn’t allow any taxpayer money to go to Iran, although a deal appears unlikely without the U.S. unfreezing some assets, possibly with conditions attached.
There also is a dispute about whether the U.S. should issue waivers to let Iran sell oil on the open market. The U.S. had agreed to the waivers last June as part of an interim peace agreement with Iran. That ceasefire fell apart after Iran attacked ships in the strait, and the U.S. reinstated sanctions on the Iranian oil trade.
Trump’s recent comments indicate he is looking for an exit.
The U.S. blockade on Iranian ports meant the Strait of Hormuz was “sort of open right now,” Trump told reporters on Thursday, though the president acknowledged Tehran could still damage ships with missiles, drones and mines. He also has suggested Iran’s buried uranium stockpile was a nonissue.
“We’ve already got the nuclear material, because it’s so far underground,” Trump said during July’s summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. “Nobody’s going to be able to get it except us.”
Internet buzz of Israel planning an attack without US help may be what is next; in addition, I am researching a stand alone post on the Flock camera controversy and the networking of other surveillance systems.
CT&Reasoning has reported on the development of the systems going back years, now.
World Economic Forum [WEF] Graphic on Plans to Enslave Humankind
[December 14, 2022 (11:30 PST)]
Back to the Keyboard CT&Reasoning Aficionados,
There is so much unraveling from the years long Covid narrative, one can only think the powers that be will need something really big to transpire in order to coverup what has been done to the world's population.
On the Fast Track: Rolling Out the Next Phase of the Globalists Take-over Plan
Last night, this thought occurred to me after watching the video I am preparing to post today; arguably, Dr. Joseph Mercola has been one of the most prominent and credible figures in countering all of the propaganda, suppression of treatments, and toxicity of the mRNA vaccines.
As you scroll through the article, please watch the Maria Zeee interview of 20-plus-year Silicon Valley Computer Science & Electronic Engineer, Aman Jabbi, on what we are witnessing unfolding--better said to be putting into place.
World Economic Forum [WEF] Graphic on Plans to Enslave Humankind
If pressed for time, just jump to 16:00m in the video to get a breakdown on what will--I believe--will compel you to want to watch the entire video which is just over an hour long; in a nutshell, these 5G towers atop what are being changed-out into LED Smart streetlights, and buried digital fiberoptic cables are going to hack-into our devices and track our every move creating the long rumored [already largely in place in China] social credit score.
[MAY 1, 2024 (9:00 AM PDT)] Where to start on a morning like this is challenging, critical thinkers, I am surrounded by post-it notes with stories ranging from AstraZenica officials' testimony that they knew within weeks of the injections being foisted on an irrational locked-down--intimidated--public that it caused myocarditis and an 80% miscarriage rate, George Soros funding much of the campus violence, and Secretary of State, Blinken, reporting to his bosses at the World Economic Forum. Let us start with a program which I urge you to run--time permitting--regarding the collapse of any semblance of order or resistance to the tens-of-thousands pouring over our border, daily; obviously, we are at a tipping-point having reported in previous posts, the large percentage of the invaders comprised of military-aged men from countries hostile to US foreign policy and hegemony. Redacted News: Retired Border Enforcement Official Decries Treason Reveals NGOs Running Operation[1:30-26:00m]...
[OCTOBER 17, 2024 (16:00 PDT)] Hello again, critical thinkers, This story broke or has been trickling-out for over a week now; however, I wanted to wait until we had more specifics--namely--the attempt to also sell Jones' plethora of other platforms, his X' account, video games, and book (s) profits. Jones' even claims the court wants to seize his likeness and ability to operate any website once parent company, Free Speech Systems, InfoWars studios, and platforms such as Banned.video are shutdown. Reading the story below, it would seem the court desires to shutdown any future intellectual content on alt-platforms such as Rumble, Telegraph, or established websites Jones' has planned to partner with. . . .how is this not a gross 1st amendment violation destined to head to the supreme court? BLOOMBERG LAW: Alex Jones Bankruptcy Trustee Aims to Sell Social Media Accounts Jones' First Target of 2017 Censorship of Social Media Spreading to Thousands of Others Full 49-p...
[September 18, 2023 (11:00 AM PDT)] Social Influencer & Alternative Media Guru Russell Brand Day 3: The Most Important News Story in the World . . .Really? BRAND ACCUSED OF SEX CRIMES MET POLICE INVESTIGATING SHOWBIZ SPIRAL A new week critical thinkers, First, let me thank whomever of you who have been sharing our link within your social media accounts; arguably, this month has already surpassed any month for views--triple the amount for August! According to Russell Brand, a "Coordinated Attack" is at work and as I look around the alternative media landscape and the coverage this story is receiving, I would surmise Brand is on to something. What we media-types refer to as a Top-fold Banner Headline [a holdover from print newspaper jargon,] started on Friday September 15, 2023; at first, I thought "what Brand"? Again, like branding in media--and for some reason the banner headline photo image never appears on my laptop--I realized we were dealing with one of t...
Comments
Post a Comment