QUID PRO STATUS QUO?: Under the terms of a draft memorandum of understanding that President Donald Trump is said to be considering, the war with Iran would stop, and then over a period of 30 days, the status of negotiations would revert to where they were Feb. 27, when Iranian negotiators were offering proposals to deal with its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and promising to forswear any program to develop nuclear weapons.The Strait of Hormuz would return to its status as a free, international waterway, and the U.S. would gradually lift its blockade of Iranian ports. A 60-day ceasefire would follow, and Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would take up where they left off, negotiating terms of a more extensive deal designed to ensure Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon.But it’s not like the 39-day Operation Epic Fury, which took out more than 15,000 targets, didn’t accomplish anything. Vice President JD Vance told reporters at Joint Base Andrews last evening.
“If you look at what we’ve already accomplished here, assuming that we’re able to get to a final agreement, we’re reopening the Strait of Hormuz, we’ve already decimated their conventional military, and we’re in a position where we can substantially set back their nuclear program — not just during the term of this president — but over the long term,” Vance said. “So we’re not there yet, but we’re very close. We’ll keep on working at it.”
