HERE WE GO AGAIN: It’s becoming a well-established pattern. President Donald Trump grows frustrated with Iran’s refusal to capitulate to all of his demands and issues an apocalyptic threat — “a whole civilization will die,” you’ll be looking “at one big glow coming out of Iran,” and his latest “The Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them” — only to back off claiming there is significant progress toward an acceptable deal. So far, Trump has been left frustrated and disappointed to find that, despite his belief that a deal was close, the Iranians, emboldened by their stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz and led by fanatical leaders, have no intention of surrendering. “Dialogue does not mean surrender,” Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on X. “The Islamic Republic of Iran enters into dialogue with dignity, authority, and the preservation of the nation’s rights, and under no circumstances will it retreat from the legal rights of the people and the country.”
As Iranians gathered in Tehran at government-organized street rallies to profess their willingness to die as martyrs for their country, Trump told reporters at the White House, “There seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out. If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I’d be very happy.”
