By Lev Tsitrin
According to Machiavelli, a ruler should delegate delivery of bad news to an underling. This was fully on display in Trump’s sending J.D. to the networks to spin the upcoming MOU with Iran as some stunning American success — though it is clearly anything but, the ayatollahs having snatched the diplomatic victory out of the jaws of military defeat when sensing the administration’s reluctance to continue fighting.
So how did J.D. squeeze lemonade out of this lemon? Given that “masses are asses,” the task was easily accomplished. “Iran will “never get a dime of American taxpayer money, ever” he declared in one interview after another. “Not a SINGLE CENT of American money goes to Iran” he assures Americans on White House site
Which, of course, does not mean that non-American pennies, dimes — not to mention billions of dollars — are not going to flood into ayatollahs’ coffers at the result of the MOU. Speculations are rife that the funds will come from Gulf states, so recently bombed by Iran, as Iran’s shakedown for opening Hormuz. Plus, US will lift sanctions, and unfreeze Iran assets.
Does none of this count as ayatollahs’ huge gain simply because the dollars are not coming from the US — unlike in JCPOA that delivered a planeload of cash to ayatollahs? Really, J.D.?
The “American people” to whom J.D. promises quick relief at the pump may think so — or more likely, they do not care as long as gas prices drop. And ayatollahs don’t care, ether. Why does it matter where the money to rebuild the military infrastructure destroyed by US and Israeli bombs came from? J.D. may hope to save face by pointing to a fact of US not being the source of funding the regime which, while correct in itself, is utterly meaningless — but ayatollahs know better. No matter where the money is coming from, they won — big time!
It has been often repeated that Iran “Has Never Won a War, But Has Never Lost a Negotiation” That’s not quite true. Sure, Iran won in negotiating JCPOA with Obama, swapping a mere 15-year hiatus in producing a nuclear weapon for America legalizing Iran’s nuclear project. Yet, this colossal Iranian win came to naught when Trump pulled the US out of that insane “deal.” Then, the diplomatic score increased in Iran’s favor during Biden administration which turned a blind eye on Iran speeding up its enrichment of uranium.
The 60-day negotiations in the spring of 2025 again heavily favored Iranians, except that Trump insisted on results rather than mere talk — and Iran’s glib talking went up in smoke in operation Midnight Hammer that was far more successful in stopping the centrifuges than endless negotiations. The score tipped in America’s favor, as it did in the next round of diplomacy, in the winter of 2026 which Iran negotiators started from what they thought was the position of strength — telling the Americans that they had eleven-bombs-worth of enriched uranium on hand. Such “diplomacy” brought down on Iran operation Epic Fury, increasing the diplomatic score to about 2-0 in American favor. MOU now changes it to 2-1, it being a clear Iranian win.
Will the next round — the post-MOU sixty-day nuclear negotiations — cement Iran’s diplomatic triumph? Will J.D. yet again be called to spin yet another Obama-like futile “deal” that leaves uranium in Iran’s hands, and merely pauses rebuilding of Iran’s nuclear project as the victory of American diplomacy — or will it be Trump this time around taking a genuine victory lap, announcing removal of all uranium from Iran, and total and permanent ban on centrifuges on Iranian territory or, failing that, resumption of the bombing campaign to achieve this goal?
Time will tell. I hope we will not see J.D. Vance — the bringer and spinner of bad news — giving interviews in two months from now, yet again signalling American diplomatic defeat while spinning it as American diplomatic victory with some nonsensical argument like the one we just heard from him — than ayatollahs getting non-American billions is better than them getting American pennies and dimes.
One Response
The released money (when, and if, released) is tagged to pay for various reparations first to injured countries and to pay our war expenses. Iran who has yet to abide by an agreement will likely fail they treaty test many times. The strategy envisioned in a post by James Lindsay on Facebook envisions an Anaconda strategy in which the allied states gradually tighten their grip on the country with each wiggle (abrogation of the treaty) until it expires. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=122130661347152248&set=pb.61584567462626.-2207520000&type=3
I believe this makes great sense as I don’t believe a Hollywood victory is possible against them.