Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi announced Saturday that Iran was no longer observing the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding, which laid out the glide path for the United States and Iran to achieve a peace deal. “Practically, the United States has violated and suspended all its commitments. Consequently, we have also suspended all our obligations under the memorandum and are currently implementing none of them.” He also admonished the Trump Administration that “If they are wise, they must choose other approaches [than military action].”
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This came as the U.S. was finishing up bombing Iran for the seventh consecutive night in response to Iran’s refusal to uphold even the most basic parts of the MOU (see Iran Reneges Again, Strikes 2 Ships in Strait of Hormuz — US Responds by Hitting Them Where It Hurts – RedState) and attacking a desalination plant in Kuwait (Iran Attacks Kuwait Water Plant: Major Blow to Desert Nation’s Supply – RedState), a U.S. base in Saudi Arabia (Iran Reportedly Fires Missile at US Base in Saudi Arabia – RedState), and an overnight attack on two military bases in Jordan that left several U.S. military personnel injured.
One has to assume this announcement is for domestic and regional purposes to show the magnanimous and totally peaceful nature of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) regime; I say IRGC regime because if anyone is under the illusion that the deranged git of Ayatollah Khameini has any clout in decision-making, they are sadly deluded. President Trump declared the ceasefire over on July 8 (‘They’re Scum’—Furious Trump Explodes, Declares Iran Ceasefire Over – RedState) and alerted Congress that combat operations were resuming last Friday (see It’s War: Trump Formally Notifies Congress US-Iran Conflict Has Reignited, 60-Day Countdown Starts Now – RedState). Iran’s attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz were proof that Iran’s “government” either couldn’t or wouldn’t honor the MOU.
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Once upon a time, President Trump had an ice-cold grasp of what Iran was like.
Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2020
When Operation Epic Fury started, he had the same realist focus.
“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!… IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. ‘MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!).’” – President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/H2HKkBVkww
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 6, 2026
Somewhere along the line, things got, as the Brits say, “inshallah”… oh…I mean, “too cute by half.” A dictation of terms to the current regime as they summarily executed the IRGC leadership was the minimum that should have been acceptable. Regime change should have been the goal. We elected to use Pakistan, of all nations, as our mediator and then brought in what amounts to an Iranian proxy, Qatar, to help.
Flipping the current regime to just about anything else would’ve tamped down the unrest and terrorism we’ve come to associate with that region of the world and placed a critical maritime chokepoint under our control. More importantly, it would’ve demonstrated that we are not to be trifled with. For reasons I can only speculate about, we chose to negotiate with a counterparty who can’t be bothered even plausibly to lie about their intentions.
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Hopefully, this time around all the right people have learned the right lessons. Iran is militarily impotent. They can lash out, but they don’t have the combat power to change the situation. Their economy is on the ropes (Leaked Document Exposes Iran’s Regime Now on Brink of Collapse – RedState), and a leaked poll conducted for Iran’s leadership shows people aren’t happy, with a supermajority wanting major reforms or an outright change of government.
The focus in this round of fighting should be to bring Iran to its knees and require it to accept our terms. The second priority should be to take a page from the Ukrainian handbook and hunt down individual IRGC members and kill them.
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