A Glamorous Swiss Resort Hosts Officials for U.S.-Iran Talks

Expert uncorks blunt advice for Trump on MS NOW as Iran deal slips away: 'Just shut up!'

A foreign-relations expert offered blunt advice to President Donald Trump as negotiations between his administration and the Iranian regime deteriorate. Joseph Cirincione, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, told MS NOW's Alex Witt on "Alex Witt Reports" that Trump appears to have a way to make a stronger deal with the Iranian regime, but the president is blind to it because of how much he is blustering about the state of the war. His comments come at a time when Trump's deal with Iran has become the "joke in Washington," according to Cirincione, and the Iranian regime seems to be backing away from an agreement struck between the two sides over continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi refused to shake hands with Vice President JD Vance when the two met for peace negotiations, which some observers described as a "humiliation" for Vance. While the two sides appear far apart on the war, Cirincione pointed out that Trump could still accomplish one of his major goals by preventing the Iranian regime from developing a nuclear weapon. "The Obama approach to negotiation worked. If Trump hadn't torn that up, we would have a fundamentally different relationship with Iran now, and Iran would still be many, many years away from the ability to build a bomb," Cirincione said. "So the only hope is to go back to negotiations and to hope that because Iran has emerged stronger from this war ... it doesn't really need a nuclear weapon as much as they thought they did." "They thought they needed it for defense," he continued. "Well, they have stronger deterrence right now." Cirincione said there is one catch that could make or break the talks. "I think they are willing to compromise on the program if Trump can just shut up and let the negotiators get to work and force the Israelis to stop their war in Lebanon; you could get a deal," he said. "You could still salvage this. But Trump has to act, not bluster."

Trump 'embarrassed' as his Iran deal becomes the 'joke in Washington': analyst

The deal President Donald Trump's administration struck with the Iranian regime has become a joke in Washington, D.C., and it's left the president embarrassed and flailing for an answer, according to one analyst. Last week, the Trump administration and the Iranian regime agreed to a deal that would immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that accounts for roughly 20% of the world's energy trade, and postpone more substantive talks until later in the week in Switzerland. Those talks were scheduled to take place on Friday, but were delayed until Saturday due to ongoing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Iranian regime also announced on Saturday that it was going to shut the Strait of Hormuz again.Joe Cirincione, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, told MS NOW's Alex Witt on "Alex Witt Reports" that the negotiations have soured to the point where Trump has resorted to his "Tony Soprano" negotiation tactics by threatening the Iranians with violence. That has only seemed to further deteriorate the talks, even though Trump is telling "This is what happens when he doesn't have any cards to play," Cirincione said. "He's in a weak position, and now he's embarrassed by this deal. His base is revolting against it. If he were to force this deal to be presented to the United States Congress, I don't think it would pass, and that's not something I would have said just a week ago.""So, he's frustrated. He's lashing out. He's acting irrationally, as he often does, and basically lying about what's going on," Cirincione added. "The joke in Washington, D.C., is that Trump told us this war was going to end with unconditional surrender. He didn't tell us it was going to be our unconditional surrender," he continued.

Senior official makes astonishing claim on 'doomed' war: 'We went in with no real mission'

A senior Trump administration official made a stunning claim Sunday regarding the U.S. war against Iran, telling Zeteo’s Asawin Suebsaeng that the conflict not only began without “real” direction, but that it may very well come back to bite the administration later this year.“It was doomed from the very start,” the senior Trump official told Zeteo, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “We went in with no real mission and we all knew that. Now we have to spend the next five months hoping voters don’t b----slap us for it.”Launched in late February, Trump’s war against Iran began with a number of different objectives. Trump explicitly called for regime change just moments after launching his surprise attack on Iran. He’s also claimed the top war objective has been to ensure Iran does not have the capability to create a nuclear weapon.And yet, despite Trump’s list of war objectives, his top officials – at least, according to the senior Trump official who spoke with Zeteo – were largely directionless in the early days of the war. Another U.S. official told Zeteo that they and their colleagues knew almost immediately that the war would end in failure.“It made me say: We lost. That’s it. And the war had only just begun,” the official told Zeteo, also speaking on the condition of anonymity. “I don’t care if you were for or against this thing, if you’re the commander-in-chief, if you go to war, you can’t start thinking about cutting and running that early.”

Minnesota AG Keith Ellison erupts after being asked about state’s fraud scandal: ‘Done talking to you’

Vice President Vance threatened to press the Justice Department to investigate Ellison's alleged knowledge of the scheme.

Trump's Energy Win: Oil Under $80 Despite Iran Conflict

‘You Close It And You Won’t Have A Country’: Trump Reportedly Says US Could Become ‘Guardian Angel’ Of Strait Of Hormuz

'You Close It And You Won't Have A Country': Trump Reportedly Says US Could Become 'Guardian Angel' Of Strait Of Hormuz

Sen. Lindsey Graham predicts Iran peace talks will fail — and Trump will take Strait of Hormuz ‘by force’

GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Sunday that he thinks the US peace talks with Iran are going to fail -- and that President Trump is going to seize the Strait of Hormuz "by force."

Trump threatens Hormuz takeover to collect tolls and 20% of oil if Iran deal fails

President Donald Trump on Sunday said the United States will take control of the Strait of Hormuz, collecting tolls and 20% of the oil that flows through the waterway if negotiations between Washington and Tehran in Switzerland fall through. Vice President JD Vance is meeting with Iranian officials on Sunday to finalize the terms of […]