Full Text:

The Laurel and Hardy negotiating team of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, coupled with Trump’s appalling ignorance of world affairs and megalomania, seem set to push the U.S. into yet another debacle in the Middle East, one the Congress has not approved, and the public does not want.

The demands imposed on Iran by the Trump White House are no more acceptable to the regime in Tehran than those imposed on Hamas in Gaza under Trump’s sham peace plan.

Trump’s demand that Iran shut down its nuclear program and give up its missile capabilities in return for no new sanctions is as tone deaf as calling on Hamas to disarm in Gaza. But since we have long dispensed with diplomats, who are linguistically, politically and culturally literate, who can step into the shoes of their adversaries, we are being led to another war in the Middle East by our newest coterie of buffoons. The U.S. and Israel foolishly believe they can bomb their way to decapitating the Iranian government and installing a client regime. That this non-reality-based belief system failed in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya eludes them.

The promise of no new sanctions will not incentivize Iran to broker an agreement. Iran is already crippled by onerous sanctions that have gutted its economy. This will do nothing to break the economic stranglehold. Iran will not give up its nuclear program, which has the potential to be weaponized, or its ballistic missile program, which Israel said it would target in an air attack. Israel’s reputed nuclear arsenal of some 300 warheads is a powerful incentive for Iran to retain the capacity to build a nuclear arsenal of its own. Iran, like Hamas, is never going to render itself defenseless against those seeking its annihilation.

Pre-order my book, "Requiem for Gaza"

An aerial attack on Iran will not be like the 12-day assault last June against Iran’s nuclear facilities and state and security facilities. Then Iran calibrated its response with symbolic strikes on Al Udeid air base in Qatar in the hopes that it would not lead to a wider, protracted conflict. If an aerial assault is launched, Iran will have nothing to lose. It will understand that appeasing its adversaries is impossible.

Iran is not Iraq. Iran is not Afghanistan. Iran is not Lebanon. Iran is not Libya. Iran is not Syria. Iran is not Yemen. Iran is the seventeenth largest country in the world, with a land mass equivalent to the size of Western Europe. It has a population of almost 90 million — 10 times greater than Israel — and its military resources, as well as alliances with China and Russia, make it a formidable opponent.

Despite Iran’s relative military weakness, when set against the combined forces of the U.S. and Israel, it can inflict a lot of damage. It will do this as swiftly as possible. Hundreds of American troops will likely be killed. Iran will certainly shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil chokepoint that facilitates the passage of 20 percent of the world’s oil supply. This will double or triple the price of oil and devastate the global economy. It will target oil installations along with U.S. ships and military bases in the region.

Mounting losses and a huge spike in oil prices will provide the fodder for Trump, and his vile counterpart in Israel, to ignite a sustained regional war.

This is the cost of being governed by imbeciles. God help us.

Thanks for reading The Chris Hedges Report! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Leaders Gather For ‘Coalition Of The Willing’ Meeting In France

PARIS, FRANCE - JANUARY 6: (L-R) Steve Witkoff US Special Envoy and Jared Kushner attend a Press Conference during the ‘Coalition Of The Willing’ meeting at Elysee Palace on January 6, 2026 in Paris, France. Leaders from around 30 countries are gathering in Paris to discuss military support for Ukraine, amid ongoing negotiations on a US-brokered peace plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. (Photo by Tom Nicholson/Getty Images)

TOPSHOT-ISRAEL-US-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY

TOPSHOT - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the press at the port of Ashdod in southern Israel on May 1, 2024. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP) (Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Business Leaders Speak At FII Institute’s Annual FII Priority Conference

MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 20: Jared Kushner, Founder & CEO, Affinity Partners, speaks during the second day of the FII PRIORITY Summit held at the Faena Hotel on February 20, 2025 in Miami Beach, Florida. The summit brings together global leaders with a special focus on the Global South to develop strategies to address pressing international issues in areas including healthcare, education, sustainability and AI. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

President And Mrs Trump Watch FIFA Club World Cup Final

TETERBORO, NEW JERSEY - JULY 13: Businessman and former Senior Advisor to the President Doanld Trump Jared Kushner (L) and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff chat on the tarmac on before First lady Melania Trump and U.S. President Donald Trump on July 13, 2025 in Teterboro, New Jersey, They will join FIFA President Gianni Infantino and other guests while watching the final match of the FIFA Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium. This is the first time in the history of the FIFA CWC that the United States has hosted the competition, one year before the U.S., Mexico, and Canada are scheduled to host the World Cup in 2026. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

TOPSHOT-IRAN-ISRAEL-CONFLICT

TOPSHOT - Smoke billows following an explosion in central Tehran on June 15, 2025. Iranian media said an Israeli strike hit the Tehran police headquarters in the city centre on June 15, as the two foes exchanged fire for a third day. (Photo by Atta KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Burning Oil Wells

View of burning oil wells, Kuwait, 1991. (Photo by Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Images)

Iran conducts drill at Great Salt Desert in the middle of the Iranian Plateau

UNSPECIFIED, IRAN. - JANUARY 15: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY MANDATORY CREDIT - “SEPAHNEWS/ HANDOUT” - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps conduct a military drill with ballistic missiles and unmanned air vehicles at Great Salt Desert, in the middle of the Iranian Plateau, on January 15, 2021 in Iran. (Photo by Sepahnews/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Iran launches missile attack on Israel

HEBRON, WEST BANK - OCTOBER 01: Many rockets, fired from Iran, are seen over Jerusalem from Hebron, West Bank on October 01, 2024. The Israeli army announced that missiles were fired from Iran towards Israel and sirens were heard across the country, especially in Tel Aviv. (Photo by Wisam Hashlamoun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Tehran Residents Celebrate As Iran Launches Attack On Israel

TEHRAN, IRAN - APRIL 14: People gather in support of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ attack on ...