After greenlighting efforts by VP JD Vance to negotiate directly with Iranian hardliners to strike a peace deal, President Trump has once again changed his mind. He now says no deal is necessary. On Truth Social, he refocused his vice president, to wit:
“I have asked Vice President Vance to focus his complete and total attention on the Massive Corruption and Crime taking place in Democrat run Cities and States throughout the U.S. We don’t need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed. We’ve got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we’ve got their Strait!”
His depiction of “having” Iran is at least partially correct. We still have their frozen assets, their shipping lanes have been sealed off, and the Strait of Hormuz is actually fairly functional. Some reports even indicate that more oil is now flowing through the narrow passageway than before hostilities began in February.
If economic pressures alone will lead to either regime or policy change in Iran, then Trump can play his waiting game and possibly win. However, his original dream of quickly finding a Delcy Rodriguez clone to run the country in his stead is clearly not going to happen. Which leaves some kind of domestic revolution to bring down the Mullahs and the IRGC. Does anyone actually believe that’s going to happen, except for perhaps Sir Donald?
Which leaves another question: Will the Iran-U.S. standoff still be an issue come the 2028 presidential contest? If so, the GOP really stands no chance.
