Tipsheet

Here Are Trump's Options Now That Peace Talks With Iran Have Collapsed

Vice President JD Vance, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner negotiated with the Iranians for 21 hours. No deal ever materialized. Vance left shortly after no agreement was reached, paving the way for the United States to resume bombing the country. Trump’s threat to annihilate the country before the Pakistanis agreed to host the two countries in Islamabad was another insufferable episode of liberals melting down; they thought Trump would use nukes. It was extreme language meant to bring Tehran to the table. It did that, and this was the last chance for peace. 

Here were our red lines for the Iranians:

Trump announced that the Strait of Hormuz would be blockaded starting at 10 AM today. But what about the rest of the country? He’s considering limited airstrikes, though he doesn’t want the war to drag on. His administration has already said that the military objectives of Epic Fury have been achieved. Maybe the blockade will pressure the Iranians to come back to the negotiating table, but how many rounds are we going to go with a people that are fundamentally unserious and a bunch of terrorists (via WSJ):

President Trump and his advisers are looking at resuming limited military strikes in Iran in addition to the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as a way to break a stalemate in peace talks, according to officials and people familiar with the situation. 

That is among the options that Trump was considering Sunday, hours after negotiations collapsed in Pakistan, the officials said. Trump could also resume a full-fledged bombing campaign, though officials said that was less likely given the prospect of further destabilizing the region and the president’s aversion to prolonged military conflicts. He could also seek a more temporary blockade while he pressures allies to take responsibility for a prolonged military escort mission through the strait in the future. 

After the collapse of U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan, Trump spent much of Sunday at his resort in the Miami suburb of Doral, Fla., calling in to a Fox News show, golfing and talking with advisers. He remains open to a diplomatic solution, aides said, even as he promised the blockade and threatened again to target Iran’s infrastructure. 

“I would hate to do it, but it’s their water, their desalinization plants, their electric-generating plants, which are very easy to hit,” Trump said on Fox News. 

A White House spokeswoman declined to discuss Trump’s specific options. 

Reset and wait and see. Let this president cook and ignore the liberal media noise. But brace yourself for some bumpy days on Wall Street.