{"id":131174,"date":"2026-06-10T17:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T15:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=131174"},"modified":"2026-06-07T07:22:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T05:22:28","slug":"10-05-122","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=131174","title":{"rendered":"Renewing Military Strikes Against Iran Is the Only Way to End Its Nuclear Ambitions"},"content":{"rendered":"<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/images\/gatestone-logo-1000.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"50%\" \/><\/a><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #000080;\"><span><strong><a style=\"color: #000080; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/22578\/renewing-military-strikes-against-iran\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Renewing Military Strikes Against Iran Is the Only Way to End Its Nuclear Ambitions<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Con Coughlin<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<hr style=\"height: 15px; background: #d0e6fa; width: 100%;\" \/>\n<ul class=\"content_preface_bullets\">\n<li><strong>American military historian Victor Davis Hanson&#8230; suggested that Iran&#8217;s excuses might actually be an ever-extending &#8220;good cop-bad cop&#8221; routine, whereby the good cops, the negotiators, make acceptable proposals &#8212; to be shot down immediately by the bad cops, General Ahmad Vahidi and other members of Iran&#8217;s ruling Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Above all, Hanson stressed, the current rulers appear determined to remain in power at any &#8220;level&#8221; to be able to claim victory over Trump and the American &#8220;Great Satan.&#8221;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>[T]he intransigence of Iranian leaders could ultimately persuade him that, in order to ensure the Iranians have no chance of resuming their nuclear and ballistic missile programme, he has no alternative but to resume military action against the regime.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/5710.jpg\" width=\"100%\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><em>American military historian Victor Davis Hanson&#8230; suggested that Iran&#8217;s excuses might actually be an ever-extending &#8220;good cop-bad cop&#8221; routine, whereby the good cops, the negotiators, make acceptable proposals &#8212; to be shot down immediately by the bad cops, General Ahmad Vahidi and other members of Iran&#8217;s ruling Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Pictured: Vahidi on October 27, 2020. (Photo by Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">In the seemingly endless to and fro over the Trump administration&#8217;s attempts to negotiate a peace deal with Tehran, the one red line upon which there can be no hint of compromise is US President Donald J. Trump&#8217;s insistence that the ayatollahs will never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">While speculation continues to mount that a deal to end the three-month conflict between Iran and the US is in the offing, it is clear that Iran is still resisting demands that it surrender the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2026\/05\/29\/politics\/iran-war-nuclear-stockpile-explained\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">estimated<\/a>\u00a0970 pounds of enriched uranium &#8212; whose main utility is for the production of nuclear warheads.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Trump&#8217;s insistence that he would not sign any deal that enabled Tehran to continue work on its nuclear programme was very much in evidence following a meeting of senior administration officials in the Situation Room last week to discuss the draft Memorandum of Understanding that has been\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/30\/us\/politics\/trump-iran-peace-framework.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">drawn up<\/a>\u00a0between Washington and Tehran.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Claims that the final stages of a deal are being negotiated have already prompted the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/finance\/commodities-futures\/oil-falls-on-optimism-over-potential-u-s-iran-deal-fe2baf3d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">price of oil<\/a>\u00a0to fall below $100 a barrel in recent days, amid hopes that the months-long closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has adversely impacted the global economy, is coming to an end.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Despite the mounting optimism a deal could soon be concluded, it is clear that Trump still remains sceptical about the deal, and remains concerned that the Iranians are indulging in their long-established custom of playing for time in the hope that they can secure a better deal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">In a sign of Trump&#8217;s deepening\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2026\/05\/24\/world\/iran-war-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">frustration<\/a>\u00a0with the process to sign a deal, whereby the two sides would observe a 60-day ceasefire while other issues, such as the nuclear programme, are finalised, the president took to social media to reaffirm his key red lines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">In a post on Truth Social, Trump had said Iran &#8220;must&#8221; open the Strait of Hormuz, agree they will never have a nuclear weapon and that Tehran&#8217;s stockpile of highly enriched uranium should be &#8220;DESTROYED&#8221;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">A White House official confirmed the president&#8217;s determination to hold for a deal that ends Iran&#8217;s nuclear ambitions once and for all, commenting that Trump &#8220;will only make a deal that is good for America, satisfies his red lines, and makes sure Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.c-span.org\/clip\/white-house-event\/treasury-secretary-bessent-says-president-trump-wont-take-bad-deal-to-end-iran-war\/5200935\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">insisted<\/a>\u00a0that Trump would not agree to any deal unless Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz, gives up highly enriched uranium and agrees not to pursue a nuclear weapon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">As he considers his next steps, Trump will also need to take into account the recent warning made by General Jack Keane (ret.) during a recent\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/video\/6396706806112\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">interview<\/a>\u00a0with Fox News that Iran has a history of making deals and then not abiding by them, as happened after Tehran signed then US President Barack Obama&#8217;s flawed JCPOA &#8220;nuclear deal&#8221; in 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Despite agreeing to freeze its nuclear programme, the regime\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/07\/07\/738902822\/irans-uranium-enrichment-breaks-nuclear-deal-limit-here-s-what-that-means\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">continued<\/a>\u00a0to conduct research on producing weapons-grade enriched uranium.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">To ensure Iran cannot engage in similar tactics in the event of a new deal being signed with the Trump administration, the president has asked his negotiating team to make a number of important changes to the clauses regarding Iran&#8217;s nuclear programme.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">In its current form, the Memorandum of Understanding merely includes a vague commitment from Iran that it will not pursue a nuclear weapon, an undertaking that hardly inspires confidence that Iran is serious about ending its nuclear ambitions for good.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">A senior Trump administration official told Axios that Trump had asked his team to amend the timetable of the nuclear talks, in which the US seeks to remove about 10 warheads&#8217; worth of highly enriched uranium that Iran has amassed. Trump wants &#8220;more specifics about how the US gets the material and the timing,&#8221; the official was\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/trump-said-seeking-changes-to-iran-deal-focused-on-fate-of-uranium-stockpile\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">quoted<\/a>\u00a0as saying.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The material is thought to have been buried after the US hit key Iranian nuclear sites during the June 2025 Israel-Iran war.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/irans-strongest-card-nuclear-talks-its-highly-enriched-uranium-2026-05-29\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">According<\/a>\u00a0to the official, the Iranians would need about three days to get back to Trump because &#8220;they&#8217;re literally in caves and they&#8217;re not using email.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Washington is &#8220;willing to wait so the president gets what he asks for,&#8221; the official said. &#8220;It could be a week. It could be less. It could be more. At the turn of the week, we hope to have something.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">American military historian Victor Davis Hanson, however, regretting that the US has already lost two months,\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/video\/6397093508112\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">suggested<\/a>\u00a0that Iran&#8217;s excuses might actually be an ever-extending &#8220;good cop-bad cop&#8221; routine, whereby the good cops, the negotiators, make acceptable proposals &#8212; to be shot down immediately by the bad cops, General Ahmad Vahidi and other members of Iran&#8217;s ruling Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Above all, Hanson stressed, the current rulers appear determined to remain in power at any &#8220;level&#8221; to be able to claim victory over Trump and the American &#8220;Great Satan.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Other issues that are said to be holding up the negotiations are disputes over Iranian attempts to control shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as Tehran&#8217;s insistence that a ceasefire in Lebanon be included in any deal to end the Iran war.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The prospects of any deal being concluded quickly, though, remain open to question in view of statements made by Iranian officials, who insist that the Memorandum of Understanding contains no demands for Tehran to make nuclear concessions, nor a commitment for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">With the American president continuing to insist he is under no pressure to reach a deal with Tehran, the intransigence of Iranian leaders could ultimately persuade him that, in order to ensure the Iranians have no chance of resuming their nuclear and ballistic missile programme, he has no alternative but to resume military action against the regime.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><i><strong>Con Coughlin<\/strong> is the<\/i>\u00a0Telegraph<i>&#8216;s Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<hr style=\"height: 15px; background: #d0e6fa; width: 100%;\" \/>\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"content-alignment\">\n<div id=\"watch-description\" class=\"yt-uix-button-panel\">\n<div id=\"watch-description-text\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p><em>Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion&#8217;68,<\/em><em><br \/>\nani te\u017c webmastera Blogu Reunion&#8217;68, chyba ze jest to wyra\u017anie zaznaczone.<br \/>\nTwoje uwagi, linki, w\u0142asne artyku\u0142y lub wiadomo\u015bci prze\u015blij na adres:<br \/>\n<\/em><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><em><a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"mailto:webmaster@reunion68.com\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">webmaster@reunion68.com<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr style=\"width: 100%;\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Renewing Military Strikes Against Iran Is the Only Way to End Its Nuclear Ambitions Con Coughlin American military historian Victor Davis Hanson&#8230; suggested that Iran&#8217;s excuses might actually be an ever-extending &#8220;good cop-bad cop&#8221; routine, whereby the good cops, the negotiators, make acceptable proposals &#8212; to be shot down immediately by the bad cops, General [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[33,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131174"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=131174"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131195,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131174\/revisions\/131195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=131174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=131174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=131174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}