STRAIT OF HORMUZ, OMAN/IRAN — JUNE 16, 2026. (Photo enhanced and published by maps4media via Getty Images)
Here we go again: President Trump announces that negotiations are set with the radicals ruling Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and from there come to an agreement over neutralizing the regime’s nuclear assets and its giving up any nuclear ambitions; then Iran says no talks are set.
President Trump must resume—with Israel—the full-scale hostilities that he prematurely halted in April. If the entire intended target list had been hit, the war would have been over within weeks. Instead, the subsequent exercise of on-again, off-again talks and our military’s tit-for-tat responses to Iranian attacks make the U.S. look weak, inconsistent and unreliable. Such an image of irresolution encourages anti-American governments and terrorist groups.
Contrary to Vice President Vance’s fairy tales, Iran’s revolutionary fanatics haven’t turned over a new leaf. Their oft-stated goal to destroy Israel and the U.S. remains unaltered. Their religious fanaticism still burns hot. Any agreement with these vipers is worthless. It won’t last.
Iran—and most of the world—believes the U.S. wants out of this war in any way possible. They have concluded that this White House is consumed by the midterm elections and therefore can’t long tolerate high oil prices. That’s why Teheran is acting like a cat that’s cruelly teasing its victim mouse, the U.S.
