Looks like progress and a signing about to occur with Iran.

What is Trump expecting? He wants peace with Iran, but negotiating with the Iranian regime — as I outlined in my recent posts “Negotiating with Iran” — is incredibly difficult. Peace is not in the jihadi vocabulary. No signature on any treaty or agreement from the current leadership can be trusted. They will lie without hesitation (Taqiyya), because their Allah, their prophet, their Ayatollah, and their scriptures tell them it is acceptable — even required — to advance their cause. Diplomacy is not working. What ever they might accept or agree to, it will be reluctantly, and just another poison pill as swallowed after the Iran-Iraq experience. Verification is a must. And being a skeptic toward Islam doubts arise that Iran will fully comply. Time will tell.

As Peter Cordi noted in the Washington Examiner on June 10, 2026: “Trump’s having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that some conflicts can’t be ended with diplomacy, especially when you’re dealing with a jihadi regime willing to be ‘martyred’ in the fight against the ‘Great Satan’ and the ‘Little Satan.’” But he is trying.

Iran has been badly damaged militarily, but its decision-makers still want more conflict. Either Trump is getting bad advice, or he believes his strategy can work despite the reality: for this Shia regime, survival itself counts as victory. Prosperity for the average citizen means little to them. The elites — from the Ayatollah to the IRGC commanders — already enjoy all the wealth they need. They control large parts of the economy, pay no taxes, and are never audited.

Very little of that wealth reaches the Iranian people, including the Persian majority (50-60%), Azerbaijani Turks (15-20%), Arabs (2-3 million), Kurds, and Baluchis. The smaller the group, the more invisible and oppressed they become. Dissent is silenced. Things are already bad for ordinary Iranians, and the regime’s ideology ensures they will only get worse. Beyond the theocracy, this is really about raw power, control, and wealth — with religion as the curtain. If war and stubbornness don’t destroy Iran’s future, running out of water might.

The IRGC recognized the water problem and built dams, awarding the contracts to their own companies. But instead of helping agriculture, most of the water was diverted to industries they also control. Iran is drying up. Perhaps when the elites finally see that their lavish lifestyle cannot continue in a parched country — except for the oil — they will flee to the foreign accounts they have filled for decades.

Back to the subject of “peace.” Israelis understand that real peace only comes when this regime is gone and replaced by something more secular and free. The Mahsa Amini protests and the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement — which had strong Kurdish roots — showed the way. Iran’s youth have tasted what freedom means. One thing the regime did right was educate the population. Female literacy now exceeds 95%, adult literacy is over 85%, and youth literacy approaches 98%. With Iran’s natural resources, educated people, and strategic location, it should be prosperous and influential.

Instead, the country has suffered a massive brain drain. Thanks to the internet and global communications, young Iranians see what success and opportunity look like elsewhere. They want that life too — and they know it’s possible, just not under the current Islamic regime and its Shia police-state tactics.

Trump’s goals differ from Israel’s, which creates tension between him and Netanyahu. Trump wants no nuclear weapons and the Strait of Hormuz open. I wish he would also press harder on ballistic missiles, terrorist proxies, and human rights. It also seems Trump wants to restrain Israel. When Iran attacked Israel and Netanyahu responded with airstrikes, Trump was reportedly upset. Yet when the regime used a drone to shoot down a U.S. Apache helicopter (the pilots survived), Trump hit back. So what’s the difference, Mr. President?

When Iran’s oil wells and water supplies run dry, its proxies will shrink too. That is what Israel wants more than anything — to be left alone instead of living under constant threat. Trump may also discover that the well-heeled elites have already abandoned ship, leaving government offices empty. Then the Iranian people, especially the Persians, can reclaim power and rebuild their country as they have done in the past. They may need to trade oil for water or desalinate the Caspian Sea, but in a free society, investment will return, jobs will be created, and the bonyad foundations will finally serve the people instead of the regime.

No more Basij religious police. No more forced hijabs. There could be singing and dancing in the streets again.

Trump should let Israel defend itself — even occupy key areas where it has achieved military success — to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, especially after the Oslo Accords. Israel needs America, and America needs Israel. Israel has the intelligence networks inside Iran that we lost after 1979. We bring the military technology and power. Together we can reach victory, but only if the current theocratic mindset is broken.

An agreement was electronically signed on Trump’s 80th birthday (6/14/20), to be officially signed in Geneva on 6/19, ending an 111 day war. But then there will be 60 days haggling over the nuclear dust. But be on alert, the Islamic Regime will remain, major players eliminated, but new ones aboard to enjoy the largesse. So they open the Strait, but then what. They rebuild, not a society, but a military attack machine focused on improved defensive measures, and more prepared for a future counter offensive. They will still be the nation that supports terrorism, proxies and hates the Big and Little Satan. Maybe Trump should also take over the oil and insure its use for good. Let the people of Iran benefit. Rebuild the Country. Do not allow it to be used anew for terrorism or line the autocrats pockets. The 60 day clock is ticking.

If what worked this time is, “If we bomb them, they will sign,” then that approach must become the policy to be applied towards Iran as we proceed. All while continuing to seek a total regime change and making our friend Israel happier. The proxies gotta go.

Bridgett Gabriel recently posted on X, “Trump underestimated one thing: a regime that welcomes destruction can’t be bombed into submission. Iran’s ideology isn’t political, it’s apocalyptic. They don’t negotiate to make peace. They negotiate to buy time, destabilize the Middle East, and hold the global economy hostage through the Strait of Hormuz.” Iran is now buying time. But Trump says if they do not abide, he will initiate military action anew.

Grace and Peace.

• Thanks to AI co-pilot for help with the Image.