At the conclusion of the discussions in Switzerland, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spent time emphasizing the two groups attained a very important objective. Putting all other issues aside, they had formally mapped out a communication strategy for deconfliction between U.S. and Iranian leadership.

Meaning, if everything starts to go sideways both the USA and Iran agreed to the mechanism for immediate talks.  Even if fighting and hostile action was taking place, the deconfliction agreement laid out the process to keep both sides in direct communication.  This is not like the “red phone” approach toward nuclear deconfliction, even if both sides were in the midst of red zone brutality against each other.

This urgent deconfliction assembly is exactly what appears to have been triggered, when earlier today President Trump announced via Truth Social that U.S. and Iran delegations were going to meet in Doha.

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Both President Trump and Secretary Rubio well understand that as long as a direct communication process is in place, all of the various regional escalations can be managed safely.

Some element within Iran attacks a ship; the USA retaliates and takes out critical infrastructure. The conflicted point does not disrupt the communication process.  This is the optimal solution approach.

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Perhaps one of the most consequential voices in all of the Middle-East is Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.  Egypt is the intellectual hub of modern Islam, and a very pragmatic President Sisi has been the major opposition to radical Islam for the past decade.

President Sisi walks a careful position balancing his opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood with pragmatic perspective toward Israel and the friction therein.  Egypt has been stable under the leadership of Sisi, but extremist elements have continued to use the Siani region to create instability.  President Trump and President Sisi are in alignment on the cause for peace and stability.  WATCH:

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President Trump delivers remarks during a bilateral discussion with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani the Emir of Qatar. As previously noted, the G7 is no longer an assembly of the industrial nations. The G7 has morphed into a meeting of multiple nations unattached to the original intent.

The primary discussion surrounded the current deal with Iran for a cessation of hostilities.

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The Gulf Arab allies had been negotiating through Pakistan with Iran.

Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are now joined by Turkey in the construction of the agreement, which is important because Turkey now represents the figurative center of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The GCC and President Trump are not going to end Iranian Islamic extremism without the umbrella political organization of the Brotherhood accepting terms.

[VIA TRUTH SOCIAL] – “I am in the Oval Office at the White House where we just had a very good call with President Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, of The United Arab Emirates, Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, and Minister Ali al-Thawadi, of Qatar, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah, of Pakistan, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, of Türkiye, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, of Egypt, King Abdullah II, of Jordan, and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, of Bahrain, concerning the Islamic Republic of Iran, and all things related to a Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE. An Agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries, as listed. Separately, I had a call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, which, likewise, went very well. Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly. In addition to many other elements of the Agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

~ President DONALD J. TRUMP

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President Trump announced on Truth Social that he is delaying further strikes against Iran pending current negotiations with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.  According to the announcement the Gulf States are negotiating a ‘zero nuclear’ position.

This is an interesting development as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were previously the ones urging President Trump not to halt the military pressure campaign.

PRESIDENT TRUMP – “I have been asked by the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow, in that serious negotiations are now taking place, and that, in their opinion, as Great Leaders and Allies, a Deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as all Countries in the Middle East, and beyond. This Deal will include, importantly, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN! Based on my respect for the above mentioned Leaders, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, The Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Daniel Caine, and The United States Military, that we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

~ President DONALD J. TRUMP

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In recent developments President Trump’s ‘project freedom’ operation to open the Strait of Hormuz for captured shipping interests has been paused following Saudi Arabia’s withdrawal of support and their revocation of Saudi air bases for U.S. operations.

The issue behind the Saudi decision is not that complicated if you understand the longer-term background.  However, the issue behind the Saudi decision also highlights a key ¹flaw in the Promethean analysis of the relationship (and the reason I caution everyone to sip slowly from this information source).

The cliff notes version is that Saudi Arabia and many of the Gulf States look at the negotiations between President Trump and Iranian interests with skepticism.  The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) wants a complete and final elimination of the threat Iran represents. They do not believe Iran can be negotiated out of that threat.  The GCC view negotiations as an Iranian delay tactic.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salmon, the main voice in the GCC position, has clear eyes and a long historic view on the threat Iran represents. They accept the people in control of the Iran regime will do and say anything to pause or remove the military confrontation; but they will never stop building the arsenal for war. There is zero, absolutely zero trust in anything the Iranians say on this matter.

As a consequence, Saudi Arabia understands the intent of President Trump’s request to support ‘project freedom’, however Saudi Arabia is not going to accept continued missile attacks from Iran during this ‘humanitarian’ effort to reopen the Strait. [Remember, this is also a Muslim Brotherhood issue.  The Brotherhood is the political network behind extremist Islam.]

President Trump is asking Saudi Arabia and the GCC states to view the continued Iranian attacks as small slights, small provocations, while he diplomatically tries to negotiate with the Iranian regime.  MbS and the GCC are unwilling to take this position, to accept these continued attacks against their nations, simply to give President Trump the political benefit of his policy.

Again, the Saudi’s and GCC have been dealing with this extremist threat for decades. They are unwilling to compromise in order to give space for negotiations they view as futile.  The U.S. can use all Saudi support venues to confront Iran militarily, but they are not going to support the political and diplomatic effort behind ‘project freedom’ while they are simultaneously expected to accept continued attacks from Iran.

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I am going to outline a contextual background for the Iranian conflict and my opinion of the current situation in detail. In short, I stand with President Trump’s position, but many of the influential aspects are being missed.

The anti-interventionist podcasters and the Israel-first advocates are both wrong. An honest and pragmatic review of the entire regional dynamic is needed.  Which includes the big picture question that no one is asking.

In the interim, here is the statement from President Trump describing the current status, against the backdrop of Vice President JD Vance’s earnest efforts to negotiate a resolution:

[VIA TRUTH SOCIAL] – “Iran promised to open the Strait of Hormuz, and they knowingly failed to do so. This caused anxiety, dislocation, and pain to many people and Countries throughout the World.

They say they put mines in the water, even though all of their Navy, and most of their “mine droppers,” have been completely blown up. They may have done so, but what ship owner would want to take the chance?

There is great dishonor and permanent harm to the reputation of Iran, and what’s left of their “Leaders,” but we are beyond all of that. As they promised, they better begin the process of getting this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST! Every Law in the book is being violated by them.

I have been fully debriefed by Vice President JD Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, on the meeting that took place in Islamabad through the kind and very competent leadership of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan. They are very extraordinary men, and continuously thank me for saving 30 to 50 million lives in what would have been a horrendous War with India. I always appreciate hearing that — The amount of Humanity spoken of is incomprehensible.

The meeting with Iran began early in the morning and lasted throughout the night — Close to 20 hours. I could go into great detail, and talk about much that has been gotten but, there is only one thing that matters — IRAN IS UNWILLING TO GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR AMBITIONS!

In many ways, the points that were agreed to are better than us continuing our Military Operations to conclusion, but all of those points don’t matter compared to allowing Nuclear Power to be in the hands of such volatile, difficult, unpredictable people.

My three Representatives, as all of this time went by, became, not surprisingly, very friendly and respectful of Iran’s Representatives, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, Abbas Araghchi, and Ali Bagheri, but that doesn’t matter because they were very unyielding as to the single most important issue and, as I have always said, right from the beginning, and many years ago, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!

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Al Jazeera is essentially the state run media outlet of Qatar.  Secretary of State Rubio sat down for a lengthy interview with Al Jazeera that will be shared throughout the Arab world.

“In an exclusive Al Jazeera interview, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that President Trump always prefers diplomacy, with messages and indirect talks ongoing between the US and figures inside Iran. Rubio demanded that Iran abandon all nuclear weapons ambitions, end its missile and drone programmes, and stop sponsoring terrorism across the region. He rejected Iran’s conditions for ending the war — including sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and financial compensation — calling the strait demand illegal and a dangerous global precedent. Rubio declared that the strait “will be open one way or another” after US military objectives are achieved, whether through Iranian compliance or an international coalition.”

“He outlined those objectives as the destruction of Iran’s air force (achieved), navy (largely achieved), missile launchers, and weapons factories — all to be completed in weeks, not months. Rubio expressed disappointment with NATO allies like Spain for denying basing rights and airspace, warning that the US would re-examine its NATO commitment. He confirmed the US would welcome regime change in Iran but insisted it was not the official objective of the current military operation. The interview also covered post-Maduro stabilisation in Venezuela and called for serious economic and political reforms in Cuba.” 

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In the next few days, much more about the overall investigative review underway in Florida will begin to surface.  The review has been led by USAO Jason A. Reding Quiñones, a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Florida.

As with all investigations containing multiple players and actors, the first investigative information is extracted from testimony by those furthest away from the principals, yet closest to the granular details of the events being reviewed.  The questioning then goes upstream, using information collected to assemble more specific questions as the principal players are approached.

The widest concentric circles are questioned first. Then, using the responses and investigative information from that circle, the questioning and inquiry goes to the next inner circle of participants.  The information is assembled, and more pointed questions are then targeted to the next inner circle; the process continues until the core is questioned.

Beginning with the end in mind, the biggest challenge is knowing what the correct questions are to ask of those who were closest to the corrupt activity (the outer circle). Background research is critical – CTH of value. From those pointed questions you get answers.  Then, next level of more specific questions get focus, and so on, and so on.

FLORIDA – Former FBI Director James Comey has been subpoenaed in connection with a wide-ranging investigation being run by a Trump-appointed federal prosecutor in Florida, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News on Thursday.

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The South Pars/North Dome field is a natural-gas condensate field located in the Persian Gulf. It is by far the world’s largest natural gas field, with ownership of the field shared between Iran and Qatar. According to the International Energy Agency, the field holds an estimated 1,800 trillion cubic feet of in-site natural gas.

President Trump is not happy about Israel’s unilateral decision to strike at the Pars gas field; however, pay attention to what Trump diplomatically describes as the motive:

[TRUTH SOCIAL] – “Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility known as South Pars Gas Field in Iran. A relatively small section of the whole has been hit. The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen.

Unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack, and unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar’s LNG Gas facility.”

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