Details Of Initial US Peace Deal With Iran Revealed, And, Once Again It Looks Like Trump Caved

It appears that an initial agreement by the United States and Iran to halt this costly, absurdly senseless war in the Middle East has been reached, and, well — look, I’m not going to lie, it just looks like President Donald Trump caved to Iran in order to end this stupid war he started.

According to CBS News, on Wednesday, senior U.S. officials dictated the 14 points of the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran to reporters over the phone, and on Thursday, the Iranian government released a text of the same agreement U.S. officials read aloud.

Here are the key points, according to CBS:

• Both sides agreed to “the immediate and permanent end to military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
• Iran can begin exporting oil as soon as the MOU is signed.
• Iran “will make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa.”
• The U.S. and regional partners will develop a reconstruction plan for Iran worth at least $300 billion.
• Iran affirms that it “shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons.”
• The two sides “have agreed to resolve the disposition of stockpiled enriched material.”
• U.S. sanctions on Iran will be lifted on schedule as a part of a final deal, linked to nuclear compliance. 
• There will be 60 days to sign a final agreement, which the two sides can agree to extend.

Now, before we get to the item about the U.S. sending upwards of $300 billion to Iran — after MAGA rubes spent weeks harping on $1.7 billion in unfrozen Iranian funds by the Obama administration, some of which that former President Barack Obama reportedly airlifted to the region — let’s take a closer look at the supposed deal that Iran won’t develop a nuclear weapon, which Trump has often claimed was the main goal of the war, despite claiming numerous times that he “obliterated” the nation’s nuclear capability last year.

Here’s the exact language that U.S. officials read aloud.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran have agreed to resolve the disposition of stockpiled enriched material, pursuant to a mechanism that will be mutually agreed upon in accordance with the schedule mentioned in paragraph seven, with the minimum methodology to be down-blending on site under the supervision of the IAEA. The two parties also agreed to discuss the issue of enrichment and other mutually agreed matters related to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear needs, based on a satisfactory framework being agreed upon in the final deal. The final deal will confirm the provisions of this paragraph. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran acknowledge the critical importance of the nuclear issues above mentioned, and express their intention to immediately address these issues in the negotiations in order to achieve mutual agreement on them.”

So, basically, we have a tentative agreement that Iran won’t develop a nuclear weapon — which, so far, seems about as binding as a pinky swear — as opposed to what we had with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015, when Obama “joined China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany and the European Union (EU) in reaching an agreement with Iran, which had agreed to dismantle much of its nuclear program and open its facilities to more extensive international inspections,” as we previously reported.

Mind you, point 2 of Trump’s deal states, “The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran commit to negotiating and achieving the final deal in a maximum of 60 days, extendable with mutual consent,” which means this agreement is really just a roughly 2-month placeholder agreement, promising that the two governments will negotiate a possible permanent deal at a later date.

OK, but to be fair, the Trump administration has also stated eliminating Iran’s ballistic missiles capability as a goal in this war. I’m sure we got that much out of this deal, right? RIGHT???

*sigh*

From Reuters:

PARIS, June 17 (Reuters) – U.S. ​President Donald Trump said ‌on Wednesday that it would be unfair for Iran not to ​have ballistic missiles if ​other countries have them.

“I’m saying that ⁠if other countries have ​them, it’s a little bit ​unfair for them not to have some,” Trump told reporters in Paris.

“If ​Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and ​they all have some, I would ‌say ⁠in relative proportion, I think it’s okay.”

Now, let’s get back to that 300 bill on the table, because — what are we even getting for it?

“The United States of America undertakes with regional partners to develop a definitive mutually agreed plan with at least USD $300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the MOU states, according to what U.S. officials read over the phone. “The mechanism for the implementation of this plan will be finalized as part of the final deal within 60 days. All required licenses, waivers and permissions needed for the relevant financial transactions will be granted by the United States of America.”

So, just to recap: if the MOU is signed, the bombing stops, the sanctions against Iran are lifted, the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before the war, will be open once again (while still largely under Iranian control, no less), Iran will immediately resume exporting oil, and it will eventually be $300 billion richer as long as it offers a temporary promise to not develop a nuclear weapon. It can still keep its missiles, though.

And this is the deal that is supposed to be better than the no-good deal that Obama made? No wonder Trump lashed out at Iran for reportedly leaking details of the deal last week.

By the way, despite what was read aloud by U.S. officials Wednesday, Trump is out here claiming the $300 billion pay out is “FAKE NEWS” and “Dumocrat propaganda,” and something about the stock market that he totally hasn’t been manipulating for months now.

Look, the fact is that this war has helped to make Trump the most unpopular president since presidential polling began, and the war itself is so unpopular that the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution to force Trump to end it one way or another earlier this month, and four House Republicans joined Democrats in the vote. Also, the midterms are fast approaching.

Trump needs this war to end, and maybe that’s why it just seems like he’s doing, by far, the most compromising.

Sad.

SEE ALSO:

Once Again, Trump Lashes Out At Iran For Leaking Details Of Peace Deal

Iran War Update: Alleged Peace Talks, US Missile Launch, And ‘Ceasefire’