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We do not need to dig too deeply into how Trump ended up in this mess. He is simply stupid, and he surrounds himself with people who do not seem to notice it much either.

Suddenly there seemed to be hope for peace in the Middle East, or at least largely so, after Trump claimed that he had reached an agreement with Iran. In reality, of course, it was the Iranians who had held the advantage all along and who offered him the “way out” he so desperately needed.

The constant threats, with the most recent message containing crude language mocking Islam, all indicated that the American president was losing his mind, tormented by the feeling that no one was listening to him, like a child in the corner forced to be naughty in order to get the attention of adults.

But there was a moment in recent days — perhaps the social media post containing the word “fuck” — when it became clear that he had lost all control, that his threats were empty, and that Iran held all the cards. And so a preliminary agreement was reached, one that simply accepted a list of Iran’s demands as the basis for negotiations.

This was probably the greatest military defeat in modern times that an American president has ever had to absorb, and the humiliation for Trump is self-evident. What a fall. From constantly playing the role of the winner in front of the cameras, as if everything were under control, to actually being on the losing side, willing to do almost anything for a ceasefire.

The recent military operation to seize uranium, involving special units and Hercules aircraft, went terribly wrong when the mission failed and then the rescue operation failed as well. That was the final slap in the face for Trump, who must at that moment have realized that all the military briefings he had received were wrong, and that most of the people around him advising him had no real military experience and were not up to the task.

But it is even worse than that.

In recent days, it has become clear that what we initially thought had pushed Trump into the war — an uncontrolled obsession with bombing Iran regardless of whatever deal was on offer, encouraged by Israel — was in fact incorrect. Credible reports are now circulating claiming that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff misunderstood the Iranian negotiations over an agreement — an agreement that was much better than what Obama had been offered and that could have allowed Trump to emerge from the negotiations as the winner. Many analysts were shocked at the time by Trump’s decision to bomb Iran, because they believed Iran had made a credible offer too early and that Trump’s team was not interested in peace, putting themselves in an awkward position and making themselves look like frauds.

In reality, as now appears, they simply did not understand what was being offered to them; such was the weakness of their competence and their poor command of the English language. The Iranians are all highly educated and speak remarkably good English, and yet it seems that the two sides were divided by the nuances of English. The two lackeys Trump sent were simply not smart enough to see the forest for the trees, and as a result the United States has now lost the Strait of Hormuz to Iran, the petrodollar is in decline, there is indeed a new regime in power (but one that now advocates a nuclear deterrent), relations with the GCC countries have been irreparably damaged, and a new, powerful Iran has risen from the ashes in the region.

Trump’s sheer stupidity and his unique style of presidency, in which he uses friends and sycophants as advisers, have placed him in a position where even Sky News is speaking of a “huge strategic defeat” for the United States. The ten-point plan now includes not only reparations, but also the withdrawal of all American troops from the region and the lifting of all sanctions on Iran.

In order to lift the sanctions, Congress would have to agree, which is unlikely, although some observers say they may well do so purely to spite Trump. In reality, it will be the UN sanctions that need to disappear, but the real blow to the United States is that the petrodollar has been extinguished and that American influence in the region has been taken over by Iran. Tehran is the new regional power, all thanks to the sensational stupidity of Trump and his brainless lackeys.

But there is more stupidity to come.

Barely a few hours after Trump approved the plan, it emerged that the Americans believed the ceasefire did not include Lebanon. J.D. Vance told journalists that this was probably due to an “honest misunderstanding by the Iranians,” even though it was clearly stated in one of the points: “end of all hostilities in the region.”

Lebanon, and what Netanyahu is doing there — deliberately creating an endless war with Hezbollah so that he can stay in power and avoid corruption charges — is now the main component, if not the Achilles’ heel, of the deal. What are we to make of J.D. Vance’s explanation? Is it a trick to deceive the Iranians so that Israel can rearm? Does Trump simply need a pause of a few weeks before he thinks he can come up with an even more insane plan to “invade” Iran? It is unclear, although critical observers are beginning to realize just how incompetent and incapable the Americans are, and are using the “idiot” argument to explain most of these grey areas.
As one former CIA director succinctly put it on television, Trump was described as “a pathological liar, corrupt and incompetent,” whose dependence on sycophants who only tell him what he wants to hear has led him into the current mess. Trump’s blunders in Iran have made Tehran richer and more powerful than ever before, while ensuring that the country can still process uranium. Trump had been playing an escalation game with the Iranians all along, but they were much smarter and always one step ahead, and in the end they turned that same game back against him. Tiny Lebanon is now in the spotlight.

Source: Martin Jay