We are witnessing a tremendous disconnect between perception and reality. So many people out there seem to be convinced that this war with Iran really isn’t that big of a deal and that it will be over quite soon. Meanwhile, the Iranians have completely shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. Navy just blasted an enormous hole in the side of an Iranian cargo ship, and Donald Trump is once again threatening to destroy the entire nation of Iran. But despite everything that has happened, a majority of those that participate in the online betting markets still believe that there will be some sort of a permanent peace deal by the end of next month…
I really don’t understand the blind optimism.
The Iranians aren’t just going to surrender and give Trump everything that he wants.
Ever since October 7th, 2023 we have been told that a permanent solution to the problems in the Middle East was right around the corner.
But it has been more than two and a half years and we are still waiting.
Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, there have been constant rumors about a potential peace deal with the Russians.
But after more than four years, we are still waiting.
At this stage, the war between Russia and Ukraine is nearly as long as World War I was.
And the U.S. was only involved in World War II for 3 years, 8 months and 26 days.
The vast majority of the population doesn’t realize this yet, but World War III is already here.
This conflict with Iran is the newest chapter in World War III, and it is one of the end times wars that I have been writing about all these years.
Sadly, this week we may go speeding past the last off ramp that we have before this war gets really crazy.
Donald Trump just told Fox News that if Iran does not agree to the deal that he is offering “the whole country is getting blown up”…
Donald Trump has issued a stark threat to Iran, warning the country will be “blown up” if they fail to agree a new deal. “If they don’t sign this deal, the whole country is getting blown up,” he told Fox News.
Trump followed that up with a post on Truth Social is which he threatened to blow up every single bridge and every single power plant in Iran…
We have never heard a president of the United States talk like this.
Many pundits are convinced that this sort of tough talk will work.
Other pundits are convinced that this sort of tough talk will seriously backfire.
So far, the Iranians do not seem intimidated at all.
In fact, it appears that they are feverishly rearming for the next phase of the war…
IRGC Aerospace Commander Maj. Gen. Majid Mousavi:
“During the pause in hostilities, we are upgrading and replenishing missile and drone launch platforms at a faster pace than before the war.
We assess the enemy cannot match this tempo and is forced to bring in munitions gradually from across the world.”
If fighting resumes this week, it is inevitable that major escalations will soon follow.
So let us hope that some sort of a deal can be made.
Trump is sending a team to negotiate with the Iranians in Islamabad, but so far the Iranians are indicating that they do not intend to participate…
US President Donald Trump promised a quick second round of US-Iran talks in Islamabad this week, while again threatening to strike all power plants and bridges in the country if the negotiations fail.
Iran was noncommittal about joining any talks, with the semi-official Tasnim news agency reporting the Islamic Republic would not attend as long as the US Navy blockade, which started last Monday outside the Strait of Hormuz, was in place. Tasnim said messages were still being passed through intermediaries.
Originally, Vice-President JD Vance was supposed to lead the U.S. negotiating team in Islamabad, but now we have learned that he has been pulled out of the delegation for “security reasons”…
Trump told The Weekend that Vance will not be attending the negotiations in Islamabad for “security reasons”. The delegation will instead be led by Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner.
The president told Fox News the delegation will be heading to Islamabad for meetings on Tuesday, which could stretch into Wednesday.
Trump also told the news channel that next week’s negotiations will be the “last chance” for Iran. “If Iran does not sign this deal, the whole country is getting blown up,” Trump said.
I think that the removal of Vance from the negotiating team is not a good sign.
And Trump’s use of the phrase “last chance” is not promising either.
On the other side, the Iranians seem extremely hesitant to sit down at the negotiating table with the U.S. at this point…
Iran has rejected taking part in the second round of talks with the United States, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Iran’s official state news agency, reported on Sunday.
IRNA’s report said “US excessive demands and unreasonable, unrealistic requests, repeated changes in positions, continued contradictory statements” had so far prevented progress in the negotiations.
It added that “the continuation of the so-called naval blockade, which is considered a violation of the ceasefire understanding, along with threatening rhetoric” had also hindered talks.
“Under these conditions, no clear prospect for productive talks is envisaged,” IRNA said.
I think that it will take a lot to get the Iranians to show up in Pakistan this week.
And even if that happens, the core positions of both sides still have not changed.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is insisting that there is no way that Iran’s enriched uranium will ever be handed over to the United States…
“Trump says Iran cannot make use of its nuclear rights but doesn’t say for what crime. Who is he to deprive a nation of its rights?” Reuters quoted Pezeshkian as saying via the Iranian Student News Agency.
In an interview with the Associated Press on Saturday on the margins of a diplomacy forum in Turkey, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said his country will not hand over its enriched uranium to the United States, rejecting claims made by Trump.
“I can tell you that no enriched material is going to be shipped to United States,” Khatibzadeh said. “This is non-starter and I can assure you that while we are ready to address any concerns that we do have, we’re not going to accept things that are nonstarters.”
That is going to be a huge sticking point.
And the Strait of Hormuz is another area where both sides are miles apart.
The Iranians want to control traffic through the Strait from now on, and that is completely unacceptable to the Trump administration.
But breaking Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait will not be easy, because the Iranians still possess vast numbers of drones and missiles…
Whereas just the prospect of sea mines is enough to scare off commercial shipping, Iran retains far more precise means of control: attack drones and short-range missiles. American military and intelligence officials estimate that, after weeks of war, Iran still has about 40 percent of its arsenal of attack drones and upward of 60 percent of its missile launchers — more than enough to hold shipping in the Strait of Hormuz hostage in the future.
A central goal of the U.S.-led military campaign in Iran is now reopening the strait, which was open when the war began. It is a precarious position for the United States, and its adversaries have taken notice.
The Iranians have been able to hold the entire global economy hostage for over a month, and they are willing to continue to do so for as long as it takes.
It would take a tremendous amount of diplomatic finesse to get the Iranians to agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz peacefully.
If that actually happens, we should all rejoice.
Of course if diplomacy fails, there will be more military conflict, and that won’t be good news for any of us.
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.