By Joe Montero
Donald Trump taunted Iran on Monday with threats to become the “guardian angel” of the Strait of Hormuz and impose a toll for safe passage through the waterway as the conflict between the warring nations reignited.
This is the latest instalment in the breach of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Iran. In this there was general agreement on the 15 points put be Iran, a stop of hostilities, and ongoing discussions.
Party of the agreement was recognition that Iran would be in control of the Straight of Hormuz, that Iran would be paid reparations for damage caused by the United Sates and Israeli attack, and that the nuclear issue would be one of the matters left for later discussion.
Within days Trump announced that the United States would control the strait of Hormuz. The rhetoric has been stepped up since, and the US Navy tried to force through entry by escorting ships under protection to break through. It failed. Iran retaliated for the breech of the agreement. Same of the ships were hit. They all turned around and out of the strait.
Trump ordered a limited strike on Iranian soil, and Iran retaliated by hitting targets in Bahrain and Kuwait. Although Iran’s political leadership is taking the position that talks won’t be entered into until the United Sates and its President show good faith and can be trusted to keep to their word, there remains a preference to carry on talking.
Washington now faces the challenge of convincing that its word can be accepted. No easy task, given a history of proving the opposite. It doesn’t look good when Trump continues to post messages threatening destruction once again. There are even hints of sending in ground troops. This would be a stupid thing for the United Sates to do. A mountainous country, bigger than Germany and France, and where there is proven national unity, sending in ground troops would be a disaster, sending a mountain of body bags back to the States.
The American population has no appetite for it. Polls show that most Americans are against involvement in Iran, and the Mid-Term Congress elections are on in a couple of months. Two sudden deaths in recent hours leaves the Republicans with a minority in the Senate. The timing is wrong anyway.
The fallout from continuing war against Iran will be enormous. The actions of the United States lacks legitimacy in the eyes of the world. Knee jerk approval by certain European leaders does not equate with public opinion and the opinion of most governments. They had to approve form a distance and did not dare become directly involved in military action themselves.
The longer it Takes Donald Trump, Washing, and the big media cheer squad, the heavier will be the fall. Washington has lost this war. Continuing will deepen this loss. This will spur on others to stand up against the bully. This is a bonus for Palestinians fighting against attempted extermination. Lebanon will eventually rid itself of the Israeli proxy army. Venezuela and Cuba will gain better opportunity to turn around the threat against themselves. Other countries are likely to follow suit.
It was once said that they lift a rock only to drop it on their own feet.