The Iranians are very harshly telling President Trump that he is not going to get what he wants. Over the weekend, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told ABC News that Iran will not be allowed to enrich uranium, and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday that “we are 100% committed to that red line”. Of course the Iranians were never going to agree to that, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei just made that exceedingly clear. The Iranians apparently believe that Trump was bluffing about taking military action against Iran, and so now we will see if Trump was bluffing or not. Meanwhile, CNN is reporting that Israel “is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities”…
The US has obtained new intelligence suggesting that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, even as the Trump administration has been pursuing a diplomatic deal with Tehran, multiple US officials familiar with the latest intelligence told CNN.
Such a strike would be a brazen break with President Donald Trump, US officials said. It could also risk tipping off a broader regional conflict in the Middle East — something the US has sought to avoid since the war in Gaza inflamed tensions beginning in 2023.
Wow.
This is really happening.
Apparently U.S. officials have come to this conclusion based on “intercepted Israeli communications and observations of Israeli military movements”…
The heightened worries stem not only from public and private messaging from senior Israeli officials that it is considering such a move, but also from intercepted Israeli communications and observations of Israeli military movements that could suggest an imminent strike, multiple sources familiar with the intelligence said.
Among the military preparations the US has observed are the movement of air munitions and the completion of an air exercise, two of the sources said.
I don’t think that a military strike is imminent.
But one way or another, Israel is determined to put an end to Iran’s nuclear program.
Of course the Trump administration wants to do the exact same thing, but President Trump wanted to do it peacefully.
Perhaps that was never a realistic goal.
The Iranians were never going to agree to stop enriching uranium, and the White House is telling the world that it simply will not accept anything less than that…
The Trump administration is “100% committed” to ensuring that any nuclear agreement struck with Iran ensures Tehran cannot enrich uranium at any level, the White House said Monday, Anadolu reports.
“We are 100% committed to that red line,” spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “The president’s Special Envoy (Steve) Witkoff, Secretary (of State Marco) Rubio, have made that incredibly clear, not just to the American public, but also in those discussions that Special Envoy Witkoff has had directly with the Iranians.”
During an interview with ABC News, Witkoff said Sunday that uranium enrichment is “a very clear red line” in any potential agreement.
“We cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability,” he said. “We’ve delivered a proposal to the Iranians that we think addresses some of this without disrespecting them.”
It certainly appears that we have reached an unresolvable impasse.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister is warning that Iran will never agree to stop enriching uranium…
Nuclear talks between Iran and the United States “will lead nowhere” if Washington insists that Tehran drop its uranium enrichment activity to zero, state media quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi on Monday as saying.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff reiterated Washington’s stance on Sunday that any new deal between the US and Iran must include an agreement not to enrich uranium, a possible pathway to developing nuclear bombs.
“Our position on enrichment is clear and we have repeatedly stated that it is a national achievement from which we will not back down,” Takht-Ravanchi said.
And Ayatollah Ali Khamenei just directed some very harsh remarks at the Trump administration…
After several days of back-and-forth public criticisms and US declarations of a “red line” – Iran’s Supreme Leader has finally weighed in definitively on where things stand from Tehran’s perspective.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the latest US demands that Iranian enrichment be taken down to zero “excessive and outrageous,” according to state media. He further expressed doubts that current nuclear talks with the Trump administration will actually lead anywhere.
“I don’t think nuclear talks with the U.S. will bring results. I don’t know what will happen,” Khamenei said. He further called on Washington to cease making over-the-top demands in nuclear talks. Tehran officials have of late also called the Trump administration’s stance “contradictory” – after President Trump attempted overtures, sprinkled with direct threats, in his Iran-related rhetoric while in the Gulf last week.
“The American side in these indirect talks should avoid nonsensical remarks,” the country’s top religious cleric and highest authority continued. “Saying they will not allow Iran to enrich is a big mistake. No-one waits for their permission.”
So this is it.
If Trump wasn’t bluffing, there will be war.
And even if Trump was bluffing and decides not to attack Iran, Israel will go in alone.
Sadly, once the missiles start flying there will be no going back.
As I have repeatedly warned, if we go to war with Iran any hope for a peace deal with Russia will be dead.
On Monday, President Trump sounded optimistic after a two hour phone call with Vladimir Putin…
After a two-hour phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on May 19, US president Donald Trump took to social media to declare that Russia and Ukraine will “immediately start negotiations” towards a ceasefire and an end to the war. He did, however, add that the conditions for peace “will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be”.
With the Vatican, according to Trump, “very interested in hosting the negotiations” and European leaders duly informed, it seems clear that the US has effectively abandoned its stalled mediation efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
But after their conversation, Putin sent over 100 drones into Ukraine…
Russia launched more than 100 drones into Ukraine following the conclusion of a phone call between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, Ukraine’s air force said, and as the world waited for what Trump said would be an immediate resumption of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
I just wish that both sides would back down for a bit and give peace talks a chance.
The Europeans definitely do not want peace, and they are quite eager to see President Trump hit Russia with a new round of very harsh sanctions…
Donald Trump has been urged to put pressure on Russia with sanctions, after Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky warned Vladimir Putin is “trying to buy time” to continue his war.
The US president insisted progress had been made after his two-hour call with the Russian president on Monday.
But despite Mr Trump saying negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow would begin “immediately”, the Kremlin quickly poured cold water on the US president’s optimistic statements, saying “there are no deadlines and there can’t be any”.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said Russia’s failure to negotiate in good faith should trigger threatened US sanctions.
I would love to see the Ukrainians and the Russians get serious about peace.
But the Ukrainians are in absolutely no mood to make the necessary compromises, and the Russians feel like time is on their side because their forces continue to advance in eastern Ukraine…
Over the past two days, the situation on the front line from Romanovka to Novaya Poltavka (South-Konstantinovskoye direction) has sharply worsened, as a result of which the advanced units of the “South” and “Center” groups of the Russian Armed Forces have achieved a tactical breakthrough through joint efforts.
The Russians may feel like they have the upper hand for now, but the truth is that they should quit while they are ahead.
If both sides come to the conclusion that a peace deal is not possible, they will both greatly escalate matters in a desperate attempt to win the war.
Needless to say, every time either side escalates matters it brings us even closer to nuclear conflict.
For the good of humanity, we must end this madness now.
Unfortunately, I have a feeling that the madness is just beginning.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.