For some veterans, the Iran war has a silver lining
The widespread opposition and mobilization against the Iran war offers hope

The latest Iranian Ayatollah is in hiding with little access to the outside world. The post Nobody Knows Where Iran’s Disfigured Supreme Leader Khamenei Is Hiding – appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
The widespread opposition and mobilization against the Iran war offers hope
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) delivered a scathing assessment of Donald Trump's Iran ceasefire Sunday, welcoming the end of the war while warning that the deal represents a humiliating capitulation to Tehran that leaves the United States weaker than when the conflict began."If this deal with Iran is real, I will welcome it because every day this insane war goes on, America gets weaker," Murphy wrote in a detailed thread on X. "But make no mistake: these are Iran's terms. Our nation emerges humiliated."Murphy laid out his case methodically. The deal, as he understands it, gives Iran billions of dollars to return to essentially the same position it was in before the war started — while reports suggest it may also codify Iran's right to control the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway that has remained at the centerpiece of the violent conflict."What a disaster this whole thing was," Murphy wrote.On the nuclear question — the issue Trump cited most prominently as justification for the war — Murphy was equally dismissive. The one reported concession from Iran, a promise to ship out enriched uranium, was already part of Barack Obama's 2015 nuclear deal. And by dropping sanctions now, Murphy argued, the United States has surrendered the leverage it would need to extract further concessions in future negotiations.Meanwhile, Murphy noted, Trump has failed to achieve a single one of his stated goals. Iran's ballistic missile and drone program remains intact. Its navy retains the ability to close the Strait. The hardline regime is still in power."They took our best shot and beat us," Murphy wrote. "Iran emerges more powerful."The Connecticut senator was careful to separate his opposition to the war from opposition to ending it. Thousands of innocent people have been killed, he noted, and the American economy has been badly damaged by the conflict. But he argued that silence about the incompetence that produced the war would be its own kind of failure."That doesn't mean we should be silent on how incompetent Trump is and how insane this war was from the start," Murphy wrote.
President Trump called for countries in the Middle East to join the Abraham Accords as part of a peace deal with Iran. Analysts say it is unlikely.
Despite publicly appearing defiant about Iran peace negotiations, President Donald Trump is allegedly backing away from a deal with Iran under extreme internal pressure from Israel and its domestic allies, according to Israeli-American academic Shaiel Ben-Ephraim. Ben-Ephraim cited sources indicating Trump is reconsidering the agreement, describing it as a "terrifying turn of events." Washington and Tehran have already agreed in principle on a deal to end the U.S. war against Iran, though finalization remains pending, The New York Times reports. But prominent right-wing figures including former CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Trump ally Laura Loomer have urged Trump to abandon negotiations. Loomer claimed there is "no such thing as peace with Muslims" and urged bombing Iran's regime on X.Bloomberg reported Trump faces both internal and external pressure, specifically from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and media mogul Rupert Murdoch. On Saturday, Trump said there's a "50/50" chance of authorizing military strikes, according to reports by Axios.Watch the video below. Your browser does not support the video tag.
This Memorial Day, thousands more U.S. servicemen and -women than usual are stationed in the Middle East due to the ongoing tensions with Iran, even as recent developments suggest a peace agreement may be near.In late March, the New York Times reported that 50,000 U.S. troops were in the Middle East, an increase of about 10,000 from the 40,000 troops who are typically in the region. Many of those troops were stationed "at sea," the outlet noted.At the time, an additional 2,500 Marines, 2,500 sailors, and 2,000 Army soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division had just arrived. While the exact location of the Army paratroopers was not made public, they would be "within striking distance of Iran," the Times reported.It seems that little has changed in the weeks since. The Times reported on May 6 that the 50,000-strong U.S. forces remain "on standby in the region" as the delicate ceasefire with Iran hangs in the balance.As recently as May 11, Trump said the ceasefire is on "life support" after Iranian officials sent a proposal that Trump called a "piece of garbage."RELATED: Trump administration establishes ‘red, white, and blue dome’ to allow safe passage through Strait of Hormuz U.S. Navy/Getty ImagesWhen reached for comment, the War Department referred Blaze News to U.S. Central Command. A source familiar with the matter told Blaze News that for safety reasons, CENTCOM does not comment on troop movements or schedules.The four-to-six-week timetable President Donald Trump initially gave for the attacks on Iran has long since expired, but the president does not seem as focused on the protracted process as he is on the results.And his patience may be paying off.Over Memorial Day weekend, news of a possible peace deal began spreading online. While Trump has not divulged many details, he wrote on Sunday that "negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner" and that America's "relationship with Iran is becoming a much more professional and productive one." Trump even teased that should a deal be reached, Iran may someday join the "Nations of the historic Abraham Accords." Still, he cautioned that the U.S. would not "rush into a deal in that time is on our side."Above all, Trump pledged that Iran will never have nuclear weapons and that any agreement he reaches with Iranian officials will be "THE EXACT OPPOSITE" of the "pallets of cash" deal former President Barack Obama made in 2016, quipping, "Unlike those before me who should have solved this problem many years ago, I don’t make bad deals!"Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Donald Trump on Monday shared a post on Truth Social blaming former President Barack Obama for the United States' ongoing war with Iran, amplifying a meme that depicted Obama next to a pallet of cash with the caption: "Don't forget the one who funded Iran and caused this war to happen. OBAMA!"The image is a reference to a $400 million cash payment the Obama administration made to Iran in January 2016, which the White House at the time said was a longstanding legal dispute over a failed arms deal predating the Islamic Revolution. Critics, including Trump, have long characterized the payment as a ransom — a characterization the Obama administration denied.The post came from a pro-Trump account called WomenForTrump and was reshared by the president without comment.The timing is notable. Trump is currently engaged in active ceasefire negotiations with Iran and has spent the weekend praising what he called a "professional and productive" relationship with Tehran — a striking contrast to the inflammatory framing of the post he chose to amplify on Monday morning.It also comes just days after Trump's own Truth Social base revolted against his Iran diplomacy, with supporters accusing him of repeating Obama's mistakes and demanding military action rather than negotiation.
In a late May video with liberal journalist Molly Jong-Fast, The Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson — a Never Trump conservative and former GOP strategist — argued that President Donald Trump is so desperate to get the United States out of its war with Iran that he's willing accept a bad deal with the Iranian regime in Tehran. But according to i Paper reporter Simon Marks, doing so could alienate hawkish Republicans who supported Trump's military strikes against Iran."Hell hath no fury like a Republican scorned, and this weekend, even before the ink is dry on Donald Trump's partial peace deal with Iran, the anger and visceral was already piling up," Marks explains in the UK-based i Paper. "Many of Trump's backers fear the U.S. president is surrendering to Tehran's interests. Trump was already on the receiving end of Republican lawmakers' fury over last week's hastily proposed 'weaponization' fund that could see taxpayer money paid to convicted-then-pardoned rioters who ransacked the Capitol on 6 January 2021. His announcement that peace could soon be at hand with Iran sent many of them into overdrive."Republicans who are voicing their concerns about a possible Iran deal include Sens. Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham.In a May 23 post on X, Cruz wrote, "I am deeply concerned about what we are hearing about an Iran 'deal'…. If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime — still run by Islamists who chant 'death to America' — now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake…. President Trump believes in peace through strength, and his strong leadership has already made America much safer. He should continue to hold the line, defend America & enforce the red lines he has repeatedly drawn."Graham, on X, wrote that if the war leaves the Iranian regime even stronger, "we will have poured gasoline on the conflicts in Lebanon and Iraq." Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served in the first Trump Administration, is urging Trump to "open the damned Strait" of Hormuz, "deny Iran access to money," and "take out enough Iranian capability so it cannot threaten our allies in the region."But White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung attacked Pompeo in a snarky response, saying, "Mike Pompeo has no idea what the f–– he's talking about. He should shut his stupid mouth and leave the real work to the professionals."
Benjamin Netanyahu's hawkish associates are scrambling to pressure the Israeli prime minister into derailing Donald Trump's looming peace deal with Tehran as the agreement nears finalization.