I dont want a war. No sane person does. Americans are exhausted by endless conflict in the , and our allies are equally weary of instability, terrorism, energy shocks and perpetual brinkmanship. Gulf nations want investment and commerce, not drones and missiles targeting infrastructure. Israel would obviously prefer lasting security to another generation spent in shelters. Even ordinary Iranians, trapped between economic misery and ideological extremism, would likely choose prosperity over permanent confrontation with the West.
But we are also at a historic inflection point, and pretending otherwise is dangerous.
President deserves credit for understanding something many Western leaders never fully grasp: diplomacy without leverage is just performance art. The only reason Iran is seriously negotiating today is because the regime believes the United States and its allies are finally prepared to impose overwhelming consequences if diplomacy fails. Military pressure and diplomacy are not contradictory tools. In situations like this, military leverage is what makes diplomacy possible.
That is why I was encouraged to see the president pause “Operation Freedom” and give negotiations additional time. Responsible leaders should always test whether peace can be achieved before conflict escalates further. But anyone who believes Tehrans leadership suddenly transformed into a has not been paying attention for the last forty years.
We have seen this movie repeatedly. The international community negotiates elaborate frameworks with Tehran, celebrates diplomatic “breakthroughs” and convinces itself that moderation has prevailed inside the Iranian regime. Then the agreement begins unraveling almost immediately. One Iranian faction claims the deal means one thing, another says the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps never approved it, while hardliners insist Western officials misunderstood the terms entirely. Before long, Tehran is effectively denying what color the paper was printed on.
Meanwhile, the centrifuges continue spinning, the proxy militias continue operating and the missiles continue flying.
Irans fragmented power structure is uniquely designed for this kind of rope-a-dope diplomacy. Civilian negotiators can reassure Western diplomats while the IRGC quietly signals escalation. “Moderates” can promise compliance while hardliners sabotage implementation from within. The regime preserves plausible deniability at every stage while buying time and protecting its strategic capabilities.
That is why this moment requires clarity rather than wishful thinking.
If there is going to be an agreement â and there should be if it genuinely eliminates the threat â it cannot resemble the . It cannot be another diplomatic framework built around delayed inspections, technical loopholes and competing interpretations negotiated differently in Tehran, Brussels and Washington. And most importantly, the pressure cannot be lifted before the core objectives are physically and verifiably achieved.
The military assets currently assembled in the region should remain exactly where they are. The carrier groups should stay. Air superiority should remain intact. Those assets are not obstacles to peace; they are the reason serious negotiations are occurring in the first place.
The leverage comes from overwhelming military power and the unmistakable willingness to use it if necessary. This is ultimately a , and President Trump appears to understand that better than most Western leaders.
The must remain fully open and effectively secured under international protection. The world economy cannot continue functioning under the permanent threat that Iran or one of its proxies can disrupt a critical energy corridor whenever negotiations become inconvenient or internal politics require escalation.
Likewise, cannot merely be “paused” under ambiguous verification standards. The uranium must be ph
