Rod D. Martin and Kevin Hogan go in-depth on the state of the talks, the public "leaks", how Trump's Kharg Island threat moved the needle, and the wedges being driven between the BRICS nations.
You don't buy from your enemy instead of your "ally" unless you think it benefits you.
Xi has calculated that Trump wants our trade deficit reduced, that China has to increase exports to keep its own economy out of the ditch, and that the pipeline would antagonize the U.S. at a crucial moment without actually reducing Chinese dependence on the Strait of Malacca for several years.
We interrupt this program to report that President Trump has more or less announced peace for our time on Truth Social: “The deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow.” Below is a screeshot of Trump’s text posted to Truth Social.
Will there be a peace deal? I hope so! But it must be under the terms Donald Trump has demanded. I think Trump constantly contradicting himself is to keep the different factions in Iran guessing as to what his intentions are. Trump’s threat on Kharg Island convinced Tehran to come back to the peace table. If Iran does surrender, the terms must be as follows: The IRGC leadership and the Mullahs will go into exile on the French Rivera and never return to Iran, the IRGC will be dissolved, all their terrorist proxies will be defunded of every penny they’ve got, their ballistic missile program will end, they will never again pursue the bomb, women will be immediately emancipated and suffrage will be extended to them, Iranian technocrats will run the country until such time as elections can be held, Iran will cut all ties with Russia and China, Islam will no longer be Iran’s official religion, and Iran will join the Abraham Accords. BRICS is teetering on the brink of collapse. India has aligned with the West, Russia is bogged down in Ukraine, China is in serious economic and demographic trouble, Iran has been severely weakened, and South Africa is a failed state geocoding its white population.
So excuse me if I’m not exactly quaking in my boots over them. Russia and China hate other, their marriage is one of convenience and nothing more. Putin came to Beijing and left empty handed. Iran went to Beijing and got laughed out of there. Trump is doing an amazing job taking down BRICS from within! But let’s face it, they’re helping him. The United States and Israel were right to attack Iran. This was the time, and this was the place to do it. Iran’s people were being slaughtered in the streets. The Islamic Republic needed to be taken out and quickly! For Israel, for the Kurds, for the Gulf States, for the West, and for the American people, we needed to do this! A democratic Iran will mean a whole new Middle East and a powerful new ally for the United States. Iran will be the best investment opportunity of the century for folks around the world. Iran attacking Jordan is most unusual and shows how unhinged their leaders are. I hope millions of Iranians will become Christians and Zoroastrians! I hope Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis will dissolve once victory over Iran is achieved!
I can’t pass up this opportunity to remind everyone about America 250 and how important it is! Here are some books I would recommend for the 250th birthday of our glorious republic:
* 1812: The War That Forged a Nation by Walter R. Borneman
* The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West by David McCullough
* Dreams of El Dorado: A History of the American West by H.W. Brands
* Deadwood: Gold, Guns, and Greed in the American West by Peter Cozzens
* The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild by Bryan Burrough
* Ride the Devil's Herd: Wyatt Earp's Epic Battle Against the West's Biggest Outlaw Gang by John Boessenecker
* The Last Gunfight: The Real Story of the Shootout at the O.K. Corral-And How It Changed the American West by Jeff Guinn
* The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck
* Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen E. Ambrose
* Nothing Like It In the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869 by Stephen E. Ambrose
* The Civil War: An Infinitely Readable Account of Battles, Politics, and the Conflict that Divided America by Bruce Catton
* America in the Gilded Age: Third Edition by Sean Dennis Cashman
* Grant and Twain: The Story of an American Friendship by Mark Perry
* To Rescue the Republic: Ulysses S. Grant, the Fragile Union, and the Crisis of 1876 by Bret Baier & Catherine Whitney
* Teddy and Booker T.: How Two American Icons Blazed a Path for Racial Equality by Brian Kilmeade
* Three Days at the Brink: FDR's Daring Gamble to Win World War II by Bret Baier & Catherine Whitney
Thank you very much for this update. You have a very wise perception and analysis. I firmly believe Trump knows exactly what he’s doing. He knows Iran is never going to honor whatever they sign. I believe we need to finish the job and make it so they cannot function. President Trump has a plan and it’s not going to be revealed to anyone except his small circle and it’s playing out every single day. I do not care if he keeps saying every three days or every two weeks that we’re getting closer to an agreement because he has a game plan and that I am sure of. What about that drone boat? Badass!!!
Very surprising news about that proposed Russian pipeline..
I'm scratching my head on that one ???
You don't buy from your enemy instead of your "ally" unless you think it benefits you.
Xi has calculated that Trump wants our trade deficit reduced, that China has to increase exports to keep its own economy out of the ditch, and that the pipeline would antagonize the U.S. at a crucial moment without actually reducing Chinese dependence on the Strait of Malacca for several years.
Among several other things.
Peace for our time
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/06/peace-for-our-time.php
We interrupt this program to report that President Trump has more or less announced peace for our time on Truth Social: “The deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow.” Below is a screeshot of Trump’s text posted to Truth Social.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HKtfSpJaMAA6cyO.png
(Snip)
Pardon me if I express a certain cynicism.
US and Iran set to sign MOU virtually tomorrow, rather than in person; Trump said to have told Netanyahu, it’s an ‘excellent deal’; PM didn’t argue
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/us-and-iran-set-to-sign-mou-virtually-tomorrow-rather-than-in-person-trump-said-to-have-told-netanyahu-its-an-excellent-deal-pm-didnt-argue/
We'll see. I don't doubt that Trump will hold out for a good deal. I do doubt that it will get signed.
Even if it is signed, with the IRGC in power, it will mean...nothing.
Trump won't sign a deal he doesn't think he can enforce. But enforcement will be...interesting.
My sentiments exactly. Free Iran!
Will there be a peace deal? I hope so! But it must be under the terms Donald Trump has demanded. I think Trump constantly contradicting himself is to keep the different factions in Iran guessing as to what his intentions are. Trump’s threat on Kharg Island convinced Tehran to come back to the peace table. If Iran does surrender, the terms must be as follows: The IRGC leadership and the Mullahs will go into exile on the French Rivera and never return to Iran, the IRGC will be dissolved, all their terrorist proxies will be defunded of every penny they’ve got, their ballistic missile program will end, they will never again pursue the bomb, women will be immediately emancipated and suffrage will be extended to them, Iranian technocrats will run the country until such time as elections can be held, Iran will cut all ties with Russia and China, Islam will no longer be Iran’s official religion, and Iran will join the Abraham Accords. BRICS is teetering on the brink of collapse. India has aligned with the West, Russia is bogged down in Ukraine, China is in serious economic and demographic trouble, Iran has been severely weakened, and South Africa is a failed state geocoding its white population.
So excuse me if I’m not exactly quaking in my boots over them. Russia and China hate other, their marriage is one of convenience and nothing more. Putin came to Beijing and left empty handed. Iran went to Beijing and got laughed out of there. Trump is doing an amazing job taking down BRICS from within! But let’s face it, they’re helping him. The United States and Israel were right to attack Iran. This was the time, and this was the place to do it. Iran’s people were being slaughtered in the streets. The Islamic Republic needed to be taken out and quickly! For Israel, for the Kurds, for the Gulf States, for the West, and for the American people, we needed to do this! A democratic Iran will mean a whole new Middle East and a powerful new ally for the United States. Iran will be the best investment opportunity of the century for folks around the world. Iran attacking Jordan is most unusual and shows how unhinged their leaders are. I hope millions of Iranians will become Christians and Zoroastrians! I hope Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis will dissolve once victory over Iran is achieved!
I can’t pass up this opportunity to remind everyone about America 250 and how important it is! Here are some books I would recommend for the 250th birthday of our glorious republic:
* 1812: The War That Forged a Nation by Walter R. Borneman
* The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West by David McCullough
* Dreams of El Dorado: A History of the American West by H.W. Brands
* Deadwood: Gold, Guns, and Greed in the American West by Peter Cozzens
* The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild by Bryan Burrough
* Ride the Devil's Herd: Wyatt Earp's Epic Battle Against the West's Biggest Outlaw Gang by John Boessenecker
* The Last Gunfight: The Real Story of the Shootout at the O.K. Corral-And How It Changed the American West by Jeff Guinn
* The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck
* Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen E. Ambrose
* Nothing Like It In the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869 by Stephen E. Ambrose
* The Civil War: An Infinitely Readable Account of Battles, Politics, and the Conflict that Divided America by Bruce Catton
* America in the Gilded Age: Third Edition by Sean Dennis Cashman
* Grant and Twain: The Story of an American Friendship by Mark Perry
* To Rescue the Republic: Ulysses S. Grant, the Fragile Union, and the Crisis of 1876 by Bret Baier & Catherine Whitney
* Teddy and Booker T.: How Two American Icons Blazed a Path for Racial Equality by Brian Kilmeade
* Three Days at the Brink: FDR's Daring Gamble to Win World War II by Bret Baier & Catherine Whitney
Thank you very much for this update. You have a very wise perception and analysis. I firmly believe Trump knows exactly what he’s doing. He knows Iran is never going to honor whatever they sign. I believe we need to finish the job and make it so they cannot function. President Trump has a plan and it’s not going to be revealed to anyone except his small circle and it’s playing out every single day. I do not care if he keeps saying every three days or every two weeks that we’re getting closer to an agreement because he has a game plan and that I am sure of. What about that drone boat? Badass!!!