DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Iran War... MoU and forward

While I chuckle at the thought that anyone is surprised this happened, I do honestly think this is the preferable outcome vs where the direction our negotiations were heading.

I think most people knew from the very beginning that Netanyahu would never allow the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon to happen. That's from article 1 of the agreement.

U.S. will resume naval blockade against Iran Tuesday, at Trump's direction

The U.S. will continue blocking maritime traffic from entering and exiting Iranian ports at the direction of President Trump, U.S. Central Command announced Monday.

The naval blockade will resume Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.

The U.S. military will continue to support traffic flow through the area for other permissible vessels, U.S. Central Command said.

The formal announcement comes after Mr. Trump said on Truth Social that the U.S. would resume the blockade, the latest effort to manage an uncompliant Iran.

"We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran's ships or customers from entering or leaving," the president posted on Truth Social Monday morning. "All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait."

In the same post, the president said the U.S. would "probably run" the Strait of Hormuz and impose a 20% fee on cargo shipments.

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/us-iran-war-trump-ceasefire-attacks-strait-of-hormuz/

AKA: The Strait of Hormuz tariff.

Oil is up about 10% in the last couple days and Iran just said they hit (2) oil supertankers

I was hopeful this would work out but had serious doubts. Iran can't be trusted and they never had any intention to move forward with peace. Nobody can say we didn't try.

As far as I am concerned we should just pound them in to dust. Not all at once, just day by day. See how far we have to twist their arm. One of the positives in all of this is it looks like the rest of the Arab world is sick and tired of Iran and are joining the fight. They want to sell their oil as well.

Sometimes with a cancer you just need to cut it out before you start therapeutic measures.

Marco Rubio’s Warning ‘No Country’ Can Charge ‘Tolls’ in Hormuz Goes Viral After Trump’s New ‘20%’ Fee Announcement

Secretary of State Marco Rubio's warning in late June that "no country" can charge tolls through the Strait of Hormuz went viral on Monday, hours after President Donald Trump announced the United States would begin collecting a 20% fee on cargo passing through the strategic waterway.

The apparent contradiction emerged after Trump abruptly declared in a Truth Social post that the U.S. would reimpose its naval blockade of Iran and assume what he described as a permanent security role over one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, following another round of military exchanges between Washington and Tehran.

"We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran's ships or customers from entering or leaving," Trump wrote.

He added: "The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as 'THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,' but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World."

"The process and formation will begin immediately," Trump said.

But Trump's new policy drew attention to remarks Rubio made just weeks earlier, on June 23, during a visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he slammed the prospect of transit fees in the waterway in a caution to Iran.

"That's the law. It's an international waterway. No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway," Rubio said. "That's existing international law. That's the way it is in international waterways all over the world and that's the way we'll expect it'll be here."

"I think all the countries in this region would agree," he added.

Now that it's Rubio's boss who is implementing the fees, the CBS News clip of the secretary of state's comment was resurfaced and was circulated online, including by the network's own senior White House correspondent Ed O'Keefe, garnering thousands of views.

Dozens of users began to post the video in reply to anyone sharing Trump's new announcement.

The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and natural gas exports, making it one of the globe's most strategically important maritime routes.

The post Marco Rubio's Warning 'No Country' Can Charge 'Tolls' in Hormuz Goes Viral After Trump's New '20%' Fee Announcement first appeared on Mediaite.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/marco-rubio-warning-no-country-160248994.html

So I suppose it's only legal when trump does it.

Does that include civilians and civilian targets?

Trump claims Iranians 'want to hear bombs' because they want to be free

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/t...-hear-bombs-because-they-want-to-be-free

Yet just last month.......................

AP Was There: Millions of mourners attended funeral of Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

https://apnews.com/article/iran-khomeini-1989-funeral-ap-was-there-f036d130059c4ecfb1d69636246c2a27

Yet trump told the people of Iran.......................

'Help is on its way,' Trump tells Iranians as he urges them to keep protesting

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cj691w2e840t

It seems as though things are a little messier than you make it appear.

And just as quickly as the wind can change directions...................

Trump drops plan to toll ships in Strait of Hormuz ahead of deadline for US blockade

The U.S. military said it will resume its blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to reinstate it. The president, however, reversed his plan to charge a 20% toll on cargo traveling through the strait. Instead, Middle Eastern countries will make investment and trade deals with the U.S., Trump said on social media.

https://apnews.com/live/iran-war-trump-hormuz-updates-07-14-2026

The fact that you and I (and pretty much anyone else with a shred of common sense) could've predicted this outcome should speak to the performance of the folks on our end that negotiated and agreed to the MoU. It speaks to a lack of clear goals as to what we are working towards.

For me, I think we know what the likelihood of success is in terms of prolonged military conflict in the Middle East. The only thing that has me remotely optimistic is the work going into bypassing Hormuz. There are mentions of pipelines and other oil transport methods so that Hormuz isn't as critical as it is today. This whole debacle has also spurred renewed interest in EVs and other alternative energy sources. I don't want to tangent to beating THAT dead horse, but I do think the country moving in a direction that has us less dependent on oil is a positive that few would argue (definitely arguments to be made regarding the how, though).

Trump threatens to bomb bridges and power plants unless Iran resumes talks

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy0608wy8pro

Thank goodness we've been instructed to ignore what he says by the MAGA faithful. It's not like he ever follows thru with his crazy talk ... oh hang on that was only in the first term.

Snippet from the article.

-- UN human rights chief Volker Türk responded at the time by saying: "Under international law, deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime."

The 1949 Geneva Conventions on humanitarian conduct in war prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians.

"I'll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we'll hit energy targets," Trump said in an interview on Special Report with Bret Baier that aired on Tuesday night.

He said US negotiators had conveyed to their Iranian counterparts on Tuesday evening that they "'better make a deal, or you're not going to have anything left'". --

I think our goals would have been met. Iran agreed because one of two things happened. Either it was signed knowing full well it wouldn't be followed, or the people who signed it don't have as full a grasp of power as they thought. I think most of the hardliners are the military and not the folks with some degree of sensibility. The military and the political component to the nation may not be working together at best and at odds at worst.

People ask where is McConnell. I ask where is Khamenei? Is that guy even alive? Has that guy even been seen since his reported injury? I think we are negotiating with a phantom regime when the militay has taken control. A coup if you will.

https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-hormuz-strait-war-july-18-2026-5adfef67554652580963684d9a663af2



US military says 2 troops are dead and 1 is missing after Iran attacks a base in Jordan



By JON GAMBRELL, TOQA EZZIDIN and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN
Updated 2:06 PM EDT, July 18, 2026
Leer en español
Comments 491
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military on Saturday announced its first troop deaths due to direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war, saying two were killed and another was missing in an attack on a base in Jordan.

They were killed Friday as the U.S. and partner forces defended against ballistic missile and drone attacks, a statement said. Four other service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals and later discharged. The dead were not identified.

Since the war began, 16 U.S. service members have been killed and over 430 wounded.

Minutes earlier, Iran’s supreme leader warned of “unforgettable lessons” if the U.S. keeps attacking the Islamic Republic. The remarks read out on state TV and attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei, still unseen since the war began, also called President Donald Trump’s signature “worthless and invalid.”

The comments came hours after a negotiator said Tehran was suspending its commitments to the interim deal signed about a month ago and aimed at permanently ending the fighting.


Tehran’s declarations snapped another fragile thread as the war shows no end in sight. Now Khamenei warns of “lessons” not only from Iran but its armed proxies in the region, calling them the “Axis of Resistance.”

The battle over the Strait of Hormuz has intensified in a conflict increasingly focused on control of the essential waterway that previously carried a fifth of the world’s crude oil. The strikes threaten civilians and infrastructure, including desalination plants for drinking water, while the global economy again is on alert.


The U.S. has violated its commitments under the deal that was signed about a month ago and now Iran is “no longer implementing them,” Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, told state TV.

There was no new word on mediation efforts.

Kuwait sees the most striking damage
The most significant damage from Iranian strikes on Saturday occurred in Kuwait, where a water desalination plant and an oil facility were hit, according to the Kuwait authorities and the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. Both declined to provide locations.

The strikes injured several people at the oil facility and caused a fire at the desalination plant, forcing several power generation units offline. It was the second attack against a desalination plant in two days in the tiny desert nation that depends on desalination for 90% of its drinking water.


Several firefighters and a worker were injured while battling two other blazes sparked by Iranian strikes, according to the Kuwait Fire Force. Kuwait briefly closed its airspace due to missile threats, and Kuwait Airways said it was rescheduling most flights to and from the capital.

Meanwhile, Iraq said it shot down attack drones over the city of Irbil. Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency said the kingdom’s air defense systems had downed Iranian missiles, while air sirens sounded multiple times in Bahrain throughout the day and in Saudi Arabia in the morning, according to their governments.

The secretary general of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, accused Iran of war crimes for strikes on infrastructure and civilian facilities.



US strikes hit infrastructure in Iran
The U.S. Central Command said early Saturday that its seventh straight night of strikes hit “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities.”

U.S. airstrikes hit an electricity and desalination plant in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, Iranian state TV reported. IRNA said the Bonji desalination plant was destroyed, cutting off water supplies to about 10,000 people, and that a desalination plant on strategic Qeshm Island inside the strait was damaged.

Overnight strikes damaged two tunnels and a bridge, disrupting one of the main highways toward Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port that sits near the narrowest part of the strait, according to Iran’s state-run news agency. IRNA said three bridges were hit Saturday, including one on a route to Bandar Abbas.


Iran acknowledged “attacks on power infrastructure” during the U.S. airstrikes for the first time Friday when its Energy Ministry issued a call for people to use less power in southern provinces “experiencing extreme heat.” It did not specify what was hit.

Iranian authorities said at least 50 people have been killed and more than 500 wounded in U.S. strikes in the past three weeks, including eight killed in a strike on a bridge Friday.



Iran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic after the war started with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. That sent the price of oil soaring and has given Tehran significant leverage in negotiations.

Iran has said the strait must be under its sole control and that vessels should pay fees to Tehran, even though the world for decades has considered it an international waterway. It fired on ships on recent days. Crossings through the strait fell to a three-week low, according to an international shipping tracker.

Trump has resumed threats to target power stations and bridges to try to compel Iran to loosen its hold. The U.S. in the past week reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to halt its shipments of crude oil.


A growing amount of the region’s energy is being shipped through pipelines, but not nearly enough to offset the decline in shipping.

Before the war began, the U.S. had been in talks with Iran over its nuclear program. Trump now faces political pressure to end the war and avoid the kind of prolonged Middle East conflict he had campaigned against.

$37 Billion and counting.

Money well spent eh - prices up, Iran emboldened, economies around the globe stagnated. Whoop Whoop ! MURICA !

“You, sir, are the failure, not the men and women who are on that front line, not the men and women who hold up their honor with distinction,” Peters told Hegseth.
link

Senator Peters was 100% correct...it was the civilian leadership that failed to design and execute a winning strategy to win the Iranian War.

The military executed the plan that civilian leadership gave them.

This isn't directly about the Iran war but is about nuclear weapons in the region so rather than start a new thread I thought I would just add this here........

Trump places new condition on signed Saudi nuclear deal, says country must join Abraham Accords

President Donald Trump has placed a new condition on a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia a day after formally approving it, saying the country now must join the Abraham Accords.

Trump wrote in a post on social media Thursday that the deal, which has already been signed, “will be approved,” but added, that it “is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.”

The president also emphasized in the post that there would be “no enrichment” even though the agreement could lead to the country enriching its own fuel for civilian reactors.

On Wednesday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart signed the agreement, which provides Saudi Arabia with a civilian nuclear program.

The deal has already sparked criticism from Israeli officials and is expected to draw scrutiny on Capitol Hill.

CNN previously reported that before uranium enrichment could begin, a joint US-Saudi team would explore whether it is warranted and commercially viable, and Americans would build the facility without transferring the sensitive technology to Saudi Arabia.

The agreement also includes limits on what inspections might be carried out on the Saudi program, according to US officials and sources.

The kingdom is notably not required to sign a standard agreement called the Additional Protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency, like the United Arab Emirates did in 2009 when it signed a “gold standard” nuclear cooperation deal with the US, an official said.

Saudi Arabia has previously been resistant to efforts to join the Abraham Accords, an effort started during Trump’s first term and expanded during his second to establish diplomatic ties between Israel and its neighbors in the Middle East.

Diplomatic normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel has historically been a condition of Washington agreeing to nuclear cooperation with Riyadh, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. The condition stood as recently as the Biden administration, said the source, who requested anonymity to discuss diplomatic discussions.

But that changed when Israel’s response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack made normalization “untenable” for the Saudis, the source said. That led Biden-era negotiators to seek “less-for-less” from the prospective nuclear deal.

It is unclear what impact Trump’s social media missive will have on the signed agreement.

CNN has reached out to the Saudi embassy for comment and to the White House about whether the deal is paused until Saudi Arabia signs on to the Abraham Accords.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office applauded Trump’s latest post. “As President Trump has said, Saudi Arabia’s joining of the Abraham Accords would be an historic leap forward for peace in the Middle East.”

https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/23/politics/saudi-arabia-nuclear-deal-trump

If trump has proven anything, it's that any deal made with the U.S. isn't worth the paper it's written on. And here he has proven it yet again. This is why the world can no longer trust the U.S. Anything our government has agreed to can be done away with by a single election. In this case an agreement can be broken and changed overnight. What makes him think anyone would treat him any differently than he treats others? And why should they?

Paris Climate Agreement: The U.S. formally exited this UN framework for combating global warming.

Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA): Trump abandoned this international agreement, which was designed to limit Iran's nuclear program, and re-imposed heavy sanctions.

NAFTA: Trump replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), fulfilling his pledge to renegotiate what he considered a "bad deal".

INF Treaty: The U.S. withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia, a foundational Cold War-era arms control agreement.

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): Shortly after taking office, Trump withdrew the U.S. from this sweeping proposed trade deal with 11 Asia-Pacific nations.