News Vérité

Leave it to the Ayatollah Khamenei II to put the truth to the Trumpian hyperbole. The Iranian Supreme Leader says that Donald Trump showed “desperation” in seeking a peace deal with his country. Ya think? “It was the American president who, out of desperation, used all kinds of leverage to bring this about,” Khamenei wrote on a social media post about the recent 60-day pact. Look at the results, which completely favor Iran. Welcome to the Strait of Hormuz toll booth and insurance sales office. Now comes word that the U.S. is releasing funds to Iran for “humanitarian purposes.” Yeah, right — to feed Hezbollah and Hamas, with guns, ammunition, and missiles. In typical fashion, our president lashed out in response to the Ayatollah’s depiction with another threat that will never be carried out: “They are FINISHED! We’ll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not ten cents!” Remember Trump’s previous threats to bomb electricity to oblivion in Iran, etc., etc. What became of those threats? The Ayatollah also said that no further concessions will be made. (What concessions?) Which doesn’t bode well for the nuclear arms deal that is part and parcel of the 60-day negotiating window

We really won this war, didn’t we? After our agreeing to an Iranian-mandated ceasefire in the form of a memorandum of understanding (MOU), Iran is now requiring ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz to obtain a permit and insurance from the Islamic Republic. Hmmmm…passage was free prior to February 28 and our bombing campaign on Iran. Now, ships have to pay? Not only that, but Iran is refusing to continue negotiations for a nuclear deal, citing Israel’s belligerence toward Hezbollah. No doubt part of a tactic to string the U.S. along in negotiations until we just give up, or Trump is succeeded by a Demofiend president willing to accept anything. Here’s what’s going on with the Strait: Iran now requires all commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to obtain prior passage permits and use Iranian-approved insurance. Issued by the newly established Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), these rules stem from the recent US-Iran interim peace deal to restore maritime navigation. Also, passage must occur only on lanes designated by Iran rather than the internationally recognized Traffic Separation Scheme, as before. Here’s the good news: Fees are on hold while the 60-day negotiating window is open. Get those ships moving

UPDATE: Since I wrote this, the administration has released the final version of the 14-point memorandum of understanding (MOU), discussed below in its draft form. The released version is certainly wordier, but it is still so Iran-friendly as to look like we never bombed the hell out of them and won the war (presumably). As for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, it still does not bar “fees” being charged. It also releases assets currently frozen by sanctions and other actions, in addition to the promised $300 billion redevelopment fund. Regarding Iran’s fissionable nuclear material, the MOU cops out completely, saying that it only need be “down blended,” which means it could also be “up-blended” in the future to develop nuclear weapons. READ THE 14-POINT MOU My original post follows: Wow, I can’t believe what I just read. The Wall Street Journal has released a copy of the draft of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) to be signed by U.S. and Iranian representatives this Friday. From what I’ve read, I’d say that Iran comes out the winner. The deal even makes Barack Obama’s generosity, dollar-wise, look like a pittance. This MOU pledges $300 billion for the redevelopment of Iran! The