Iran names price to reopen Strait of Hormuz by 6ixStringJack

so....The Spice Must Flow...but who are the USA in those books?

they are bored with Trump, they will maybe go full jihad...as the Taliban have done they turned to jihadi islamist religion for guideance

Iranians, Arabs they follow a bunch of folklore, religion, fictional crap that you might find for example in Dune books

the sky blackens

like Jews and Christians they have Doom stories, a violent subhuman group called Gog and Magog, a tyrant spreading corruption and mischief called the Sufyani, but also a "messianic figure" there is an arrival of the Beast of the Earth an eschatological figure in Islam mentioned in Quran or Koran, maybe you can conmpared it to the movie the Omen or Anti-Christ story but there are also type of Armilus stories like Hebrew an anti-messiah figure in medieval Jewish texts, Dajjal, is an antagonistic figure in Islamic eschatology who will pretend to be the promised Messiah and later claim to be God, Trump himself has made AI tweets of himself as 'holy' posted Golden Statue crap

They see Trump as a type of Anti-Human a type of Arrival of Satan's servant speaker...not to mention the history of Arabs, Iranians various muslim factions and the Jews and the Iranians going back and forth killing each other adding more to their Doomsday Prophecy and 'signs'

the Shitte needed an Iranian to be killed to fulfill a prophecy, most of the jihad warlord leaders after Mohammad were Arabs...Trump gave their jihadist spirit islamist nonsense a Shiite story, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s killing plays into Shiite End Times prophecy

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:

Capisce?

Are you converting to that Scofield Magatard Evangelical stuff?

I dont think those Roman Catholic Italians are big fans of the Jew scammers

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Monday, August 10, 2026 8:31 AM

maybe they can all be characters in those books

I think some modern places like Portugal and Poland are less concerned about Empires, trying to maintain forgotten lines drawn across sandss in the Middle East

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Monday, August 10, 2026 8:34 AM

Herbert seem to have mocked religion and wanted people to think, hung around the hippie and Arab Iran India culture a while...raised Catholic but became Buddhist, he had a strong attitude of cynicism towards religion

Who is Dune For? - Yes, it’s (still) Orientalist

'Zako'

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Monday, August 10, 2026 8:36 AM

Trump is still Lost at Sea?

https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/an-angry-trump-struggles-
to-understand-defiant-leadership-of-iran-126080500118_1.html

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Monday, August 10, 2026 8:47 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:

Here's your counter offer, Satan...

You open that fucking strait right now and we don't put a crater so deep you that you aren't part of the fucking strait yourself.

Capisce?

Intimidating Iran by murdering millions of Iranians with A-bombs won't work politically for Trump. The population of Iran is 93.4 million. The government of Iran would be sanguine with Trump killing millions because the country is overrun with people. But the population of the United States would overthrow Trump if he murdered Iranians, especially with nukes, which he has to use since he doesn't have sufficient conventional weapons to do the job. The choice is either nuke Iran or give up because Trump doesn't have the guts to invade Iran to overthrow the government as Bush did in Iraq, capturing Saddam Hussein.

https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/iran-population/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, August 10, 2026 9:42 AM

The Iran war is dragging on, and dragging more nations in — As Donald Trump has swung between vowing to strike Iran “very hard” and hinting at peace “pretty soon”, the war in Iran has spread in new and dangerous ways

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-08/iran-war-spreading-diplomacy-te
eters/106990466

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Monday, August 10, 2026 11:49 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/iran-names-price-reopen-stra
it-094223936.html

Here's your counter offer, Satan...

You open that fucking strait right now and we don't put a crater so deep you that you aren't part of the fucking strait yourself.

Capisce?

Wow, that's so stupid. We don't have enough conventional weapons to do that. We ran out of all of our "spares" trying to eradicate Iran's leadership and weapons back in February, remember? So unless Trump is willing to use nukes, that's a toothless threat.

Quote:
Originally posted by SECOND

The choice is either nuke Iran or give up because Trump doesn't have the guts to invade Iran to overthrow the government as Bush did in Iraq, capturing Saddam Hussein.

Another stupidity. HOW would you invade successfully?

It's not lack of guts. Missiles and drones changed the nature of war. The adversary is prepared. We can't fly in and deliver "shock and awe" like before. Heck, we can't even approach Iran with our aircraft carriers for fear of them being sunk.
Invading would be all cost and no success.

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Monday, August 10, 2026 11:50 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by JAYNEZTOWN:
They see Trump as a type of Anti-Human a type of Arrival of Satan's servant speaker...

No "they" don't. Not the leaders who don't believe any of that superstitious bullshit and use it to control their people.

A bunch of dipshit cultists might believe it. Especially if their prices to live are skyrocketing while all of this is going on. Like Democratic voters here, they're easily led people. That's what happens when you're in a cult.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

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Monday, August 10, 2026 11:51 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:

Here's your counter offer, Satan...

You open that fucking strait right now and we don't put a crater so deep you that you aren't part of the fucking strait yourself.

Capisce?

Intimidating Iran by murdering millions of Iranians with A-bombs won't work politically for Trump.

That's why we don't threaten. We just start dropping nukes on them.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

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Monday, August 10, 2026 11:53 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/iran-names-price-reopen-stra
it-094223936.html

Here's your counter offer, Satan...

You open that fucking strait right now and we don't put a crater so deep you that you aren't part of the fucking strait yourself.

Capisce?

Wow, that's so stupid. We don't have enough conventional weapons to do that. We ran out of all of our "spares" trying to eradicate Iran's leadership and weapons back in February, remember? So unless Trump is willing to use nukes, that's a toothless threat.

I didn't say anything about conventional weapons.

And I don't believe one single report coming from anywhere saying that we're low on weapons. That's impossible and it's pure bullshit.

Drop the nukes. Yesterday.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

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Monday, August 10, 2026 12:05 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:

Here's your counter offer, Satan...

You open that fucking strait right now and we don't put a crater so deep you that you aren't part of the fucking strait yourself.

Capisce?

Intimidating Iran by murdering millions of Iranians with A-bombs won't work politically for Trump.

That's why we don't threaten. We just start dropping nukes on them.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

Are YOU prepared for nukes to be dropped on us?
That kind of stupid lack of thought is what's driving Iran to do the very thing that Trump says he's trying to prevent: build nukes if their own.

What happened to you, SIX? You used to be smart.

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Monday, August 10, 2026 12:10 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Are YOU prepared for nukes to be dropped on us?

Yup.

Start dropping them.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

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Monday, August 10, 2026 12:14 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/iran-names-price-reopen-stra
it-094223936.html

Here's your counter offer, Satan...

You open that fucking strait right now and we don't put a crater so deep you that you aren't part of the fucking strait yourself.

Capisce?

Wow, that's so stupid. We don't have enough conventional weapons to do that. We ran out of all of our "spares" trying to eradicate Iran's leadership and weapons back in February, remember? So unless Trump is willing to use nukes, that's a toothless threat.

I didn't say anything about conventional weapons.

And I don't believe one single report coming from anywhere saying that we're low on weapons. That's impossible and it's pure bullshit.

Drop the nukes. Yesterday.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

Yep, more pure stupidity from SIX. "Nobody ever died of Covid". "We can't be out of weapons"

When something really pushes your FEAR button ... AIDS, Covid, Muslims ... your brain fizzles and you go into denial. TRUMP knows the score. Believe your fearless leader. He'll bluster and froth but he won't do all-out war bc he can't.

He might push Israel to use nukes for us but that would be the end of Israel. And Israel might do it bc they're being run by a suicide cult.

YOU'RE in a suicide cult of one, SIX. You'd rather die than feel the fear. Well, go ahead then, but do it on your own.

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Monday, August 10, 2026 1:06 PM

Who's afraid?

I was ready to meet my maker back during the winter.

I'm not afraid of anything anymore.

Muslims need to die. All of them. Every last one.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

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Monday, August 10, 2026 1:39 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Who's afraid?

You are.

I've been ready to meet my maker too, SIX. But I have responsibilities to others, so I have to think rationally about the future.

You go ahead and flake out and be a big drama queen if you want. I don't have that luxury.

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Monday, August 10, 2026 3:37 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

It seems extremely unlikely that the Trump administration will be chastened by its failure in Iran. Shamelessness has been central to Trump’s business and political success, and his reaction to setbacks is to deny objective facts and construct fantasies of achievement. The rigors of war do not seem to have persuaded him of the need for a more coherent process of policy formulation and assessment; he continues to blurt out his every whim, and a cabinet of sycophants and amplifiers is unlikely to impose discipline on an undisciplined principal. Nor can the two parts of the government that have apparently provided solid strategic judgments—the CIA and the military—salvage the process. They are advisory bodies, not policy actors, and Trump repudiates or ignores their counsel whenever it conflicts with his claims or preferences.

~Kori Schake https://angrybearblog.com/2026/08/quote-of-the-day-25

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, August 10, 2026 4:18 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Who's afraid?

You are.

I've been ready to meet my maker too, SIX. But I have responsibilities to others, so I have to think rationally about the future.

What the fuck do you think I'm doing, Sigs?

It's dumbass white American women like you who have been fucking us over for generations.

Your opinion doesn't matter anymore. We're done with you.

You think what's happening in Iran is bad?

Wait until we start having witch trials again.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

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Monday, August 10, 2026 4:28 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Drama queen.

Sheesh!

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Monday, August 10, 2026 5:31 PM

stocks will crash?

Trump now a master of the English language meme tweets. Iran must be terrified.

Economic fury is what is going to hit??

Iran has completely ruled out any future negotiations with the Trump administration, declaring it will wait out Donald Trump's term until January 20, 2029, per Iranian outlets and Ghalibaf advisor's post.
https://x.com/HormuzReport/status/2086830379311538180

we cant really blame Trump for all this, what some of Reagan's team was doing was almost 'Traitor' like and Carter should have messed them up bad 50 years ago

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:

No "they" don't. Not the leaders who don't believe any of that superstitious bullshit and use it to control their people.

This Jihadi islamo 1400 year old political cult btw is one of the fastest growing religions in the USA btw
and because through activism, Free-Dumbs, rules of Law it is classed as a 'Religion' it gets a lot of protections

I believe the Founding Fathers would have seen it as Anti-Human maybe a Satanic belief system

John Adams even studied them as the Birth of the US Marines began and wars in North Africa were happening

quote
https://www.menofthewest.net/founding-fathers-islam/

This book is a long conference of God, the angels, and Mahomet, which that false prophet very grossly invented; sometimes he introduceth God, who speaketh to him, and teacheth him his law, then an angel, among the prophets, and frequently maketh God to speak in the plural. … Thou wilt wonder that such absurdities have infected the best part of the world, and wilt avouch, that the knowledge of what is contained in this book, will render that law contemptible

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Monday, August 10, 2026 5:52 PM

Trump’s Iran Exit Plan in Trouble? Tehran’s 6 New Demands Put Hormuz at Center Stage

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Monday, August 10, 2026 7:30 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Drama queen.

Sheesh!

*Nyah!*

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

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Monday, August 10, 2026 7:48 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Drama queen.

Sheesh!

*Nyah!*

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

None of Trump's Core Objectives in Iran have been reached, and he doesn't have enough force to get any of them. Perhaps if he had planned a few months ahead before attacking, instead of just making it up as he goes along, but that's really not Trump's style.

• Missile Capabilities: Destroying Iran's ballistic missile arsenal and halting its capacity to manufacture new offensive weapons.

• Naval Annihilation: Sinking and neutralizing Iranian naval assets and security infrastructure.

• Nuclear Prevention: Ensuring Iran never obtains or comes close to developing a nuclear weapon.

• Proxy Support: Cutting off the Iranian regime's ability to arm, fund, and direct proxy and militia groups outside its borders.

• Regime Change: Initially urging Iranian citizens to take over the government, though administration emphasis on this goal shifted over time.

• Reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but without Iran collecting fees for each ship.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, August 10, 2026 8:43 PM

Now you're just stealing Google AI results where there isn't any quotes and not bothering to tell people that you're posting Google AI chat results.

You're a real funny dude, Shit Golem.

A fucking joke.

I don't care how much you dial yourself in. We will always know you're a dumbass with a just a slightly less remedial grasp on writing than your dog Ted over there in the corner.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

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Tuesday, August 11, 2026 12:32 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that Trump had been laying the groundwork to declare victory if Iran fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz, even privately floating that he might walk away without a nuclear deal. Tehran’s response was to raise its price. Iran demanded billions of dollars in U.S. payments, removal of American troops from the region, an end to the U.S. naval blockade, and other concessions.

That is exactly what one would expect if Iran believes it has learned how badly Trump wants the game to end.

Last month, I argued in these pages that Iran was treating the confrontation over Hormuz as a repeated game: probe Washington, observe the response, adjust, and probe again. Every threat, pause, strike, concession, and deadline teaches the other side something. Tehran has not been trying to discover whether the United States is militarily stronger. That was never in doubt. It has been trying to discover how much pain Washington will tolerate before looking for an exit.

Bargaining theory is one branch of game theory: It asks what happens when players with different costs, alternatives, and deadlines negotiate over a settlement. Military strength and bargaining leverage are not always the same. Sometimes the player who can wait longer has the better hand.

The Washington Examiner reported in June that a veteran of Trump’s presidential campaigns described the problem with unusual clarity: “Iran knows [Trump is] on the clock, and he knows that they know,” referring to the political pressure to end the war before the midterm elections.

That clock has not disappeared. Iran does not have a November election. Tehran does not have to defeat the U.S. It has to convince Washington that another month of disrupted shipping, economic pressure, and inconclusive fighting costs Trump more than another month of pressure costs Iran.

Once Tehran believes that, American urgency becomes Iranian leverage.

The trap then feeds on itself. The more Trump signals that reopening Hormuz would allow him to declare victory, the more valuable reopening Hormuz becomes to Tehran. The more clearly Washington advertises its need for an off-ramp, the more Iran can charge for providing one.

In a repeated game, backing away from an announced consequence does more than lose one round. It teaches the opponent where the real boundary lies. A threat that is issued, tested, softened, and replaced with another threat is not deterrence.

It is information.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, August 11, 2026 1:12 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Prompted by an Iranian assassination threat, Donald Trump departed on a secret military flight from Turkey last month when the White House said he was flying aboard Air Force One, in an extraordinary ruse that involved hiding the president in an airport catering cart. He boarded Air Force One in view of television cameras, and then was secretly shuttled minutes later to a smaller plane via an airport catering truck typically used to load meals.

A credible threat to Trump involving Iran set the “deception operation” in motion.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/10/trump-secret-flight-na
to-return

The Iranians certainly got into Trump's head.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, August 11, 2026 2:19 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Oh goodie. A story that can't possibly be verified.

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Tuesday, August 11, 2026 2:43 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that Trump had been laying the groundwork to declare victory if Iran fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz, even privately floating that he might walk away without a nuclear deal. Tehran’s response was to raise its price. Iran demanded billions of dollars in U.S. payments, removal of American troops from the region, an end to the U.S. naval blockade, and other concessions.

That is exactly what one would expect if Iran believes it has learned how badly Trump wants the game to end.

Last month, I argued in these pages that Iran was treating the confrontation over Hormuz as a repeated game: probe Washington, observe the response, adjust, and probe again. Every threat, pause, strike, concession, and deadline teaches the other side something. Tehran has not been trying to discover whether the United States is militarily stronger. That was never in doubt. It has been trying to discover how much pain Washington will tolerate before looking for an exit.

Bargaining theory is one branch of game theory: It asks what happens when players with different costs, alternatives, and deadlines negotiate over a settlement. Military strength and bargaining leverage are not always the same. Sometimes the player who can wait longer has the better hand.

The Washington Examiner reported in June that a veteran of Trump’s presidential campaigns described the problem with unusual clarity: “Iran knows [Trump is] on the clock, and he knows that they know,” referring to the political pressure to end the war before the midterm elections.

That clock has not disappeared. Iran does not have a November election. Tehran does not have to defeat the U.S. It has to convince Washington that another month of disrupted shipping, economic pressure, and inconclusive fighting costs Trump more than another month of pressure costs Iran.

Once Tehran believes that, American urgency becomes Iranian leverage.

The trap then feeds on itself. The more Trump signals that reopening Hormuz would allow him to declare victory, the more valuable reopening Hormuz becomes to Tehran. The more clearly Washington advertises its need for an off-ramp, the more Iran can charge for providing one.

In a repeated game, backing away from an announced consequence does more than lose one round. It teaches the opponent where the real boundary lies. A threat that is issued, tested, softened, and replaced with another threat is not deterrence.

It is information.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Found the plagiarism, word for word: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4680598/iran-cracked-trump-t
ell-hormuz/

Archived to avoid paywall: https://archive.ph/TQF8S

Loser.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

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Tuesday, August 11, 2026 9:19 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:

Loser.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

You know how Trump could win the negotiations with Iran? He could threaten to kill himself. The Iranians would have to surrender, or else they would be responsible for the early death of the greatest President in history.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, August 11, 2026 9:20 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Iran's Endgame: The Economic War That Was Never About Winning Militarily

August 10, 2026

https://hormuzstraitmonitor.com/blog/irans-endgame-economic-war-hormuz/

CNN published an analysis this morning that contains the most clarifying sentence written about this conflict in 163 days: "Somehow he's maneuvered himself into a more vulnerable spot regarding Iran than any president since Jimmy Carter."

The Carter comparison is precise. In 1979-80, Iran exerted leverage over a US election by holding 52 American hostages in Tehran for 444 days. Forty-six years later, it is not people being held hostage — it is the Strait of Hormuz. The mechanism is different. The strategic logic is identical: apply sustained pressure on an American president ahead of a national election, and wait for the political cost to exceed the political will.

Understanding this is the key to understanding everything that has happened since February 28 — every ceasefire that collapsed, every false dawn, every "perimeters of a deal have been agreed" announcement that came to nothing. Iran has not been negotiating in bad faith. It has been negotiating on a different timeline. The war it is fighting was never primarily military. It is economic. And it is, by most measures, working.

The Strategy That Reuters Revealed

On August 3, Reuters published a report based on sources with direct insight into Iranian decision-making that is the clearest articulation of Tehran's strategy yet published. The core conclusion: Iran has concluded it cannot defeat the United States militarily, and has instead adopted a strategy of prolonged economic pressure designed to force Trump to make concessions before November's midterm elections.

The strategy has four elements. First, maintain maritime disruption and keep oil prices elevated. Second, expand pressure to multiple locations simultaneously — Red Sea, Suez approaches, Gulf state infrastructure — to raise the cost of the conflict beyond what US military action can contain. Third, wait for the economic damage to accumulate domestically in the United States: gas prices, inflation, bond market pressure, consumer sentiment. Fourth, bet that Trump's political exposure ahead of the midterms will eventually force him to offer more than he currently wants to.

"The Iranians believe that by widening the war and increasing the pressure, he will eventually give in," a Gulf source told Reuters.

This is not a new assessment. It has been visible in Iran's behaviour since at least April. But it is only now, as gas prices in the United States cross $4 a gallon for the first time since the crisis began and the midterm election is within striking distance on the calendar, that the strategy's logic has become undeniable.

The Numbers That Make the Strategy Work

The Al Jazeera analysis published this week contains data that makes Iran's position comprehensible in purely strategic terms.

In the seven days ending August 2, an average of only about four ships per day passed through the Strait of Hormuz, compared with approximately 90 during the corresponding week of 2025. Estimated transit volume fell from 3.5 million to approximately 143,000 metric tonnes per day — a decline of approximately 96 percent. This was not a temporary collapse in traffic. It is a sustained disruption entering its sixth month.

The economic consequences of that disruption are now measurable across multiple dimensions. US average gas prices crossed $4 a gallon this week — a 34 percent increase from pre-war levels. The Federal Reserve faces a stagflation scenario: energy-driven inflation on one side, slowing growth on the other, with its standard tools making each problem worse when deployed against the other. Bond markets have priced in a prolonged stalemate. US consumer confidence is falling.

Meanwhile, Iran's own economic pain, while significant, has not reached the breaking point its adversaries expected. Oil export revenue is constrained, but Chinese crude purchases — conducted in defiance of US sanctions — have continued throughout the conflict. Non-oil trade with China has deteriorated by approximately 75 percent since the start of the war, according to Chinese customs data, but Iran has managed to sustain basic domestic economic function.

Al Jazeera's analysis notes Iran's economic strategy has an expiry date — the longer the blockade continues, the more Kharg Island terminal idling and production constraints will compound. But that expiry date is measured in months, not weeks. And the midterm election is in November.

What Iran Wants From the Strait — and Why It's Different From What It Says

Iran's public negotiating position has been consistent throughout the conflict: end US aggression, lift the blockade, pay reparations, and the strait reopens. These demands are designed to be unacceptable to Washington, which makes them useful for domestic consumption without requiring Iran to actually offer concessions.

The private position, revealed through multiple leak channels over the past two weeks, is more specific and more achievable: permanent institutional recognition of Iranian management authority over the Strait of Hormuz.

This is what the two-route dispute is actually about. The Iran route — through Iranian territorial waters, requiring Iranian coordination — and the Oman-IMO route — hugging the Omani coastline without Iranian permission — are not simply different navigational paths. They represent two fundamentally different answers to the question of who controls the strait.

If the Iran route is recognised as the official transit corridor, then every commercial vessel that passes through Hormuz is implicitly acknowledging Iranian management authority. Iran can then formalise that acknowledgement into a fee structure — charging for "navigation services," "environmental protection," and "pilotage" under a legal framework that avoids the technically prohibited "toll" while achieving the same economic and political result.

If the Oman-IMO route is recognised, Iran loses this leverage entirely. Ships transit without Iranian coordination, the strait functions as international waters, and Iran's war aim — permanent institutional control over the waterway — goes unachieved.

The Oman proposal that is currently on the table as of this week reportedly introduces "voluntary user fees" and a joint management consortium. That formulation is Iran getting what it wants through diplomatic language rather than explicit sovereignty claims. The US position — no fees, no Iranian approval required for transit — is the direct opposite.

Whichever route is recognised determines who won the war. That is why this particular negotiation has taken six months and is not yet concluded.

The Carter Parallel — and Why It Is Not Perfectly Comforting to Tehran

The CNN analysis is right to draw the Carter parallel. But the parallel has limits that Iran's strategists are aware of.

Carter lost in November 1980 — in part because of Iran. The hostage crisis made him look weak and ineffectual in a way that Reagan exploited ruthlessly. The economic costs of the crisis — including an oil price shock — contributed to a recession that sealed Carter's fate.

Trump is not Carter. He has shown throughout this conflict that he is willing to escalate militarily in ways Carter never attempted — 140 strikes in one night, strikes on nuclear facility perimeters, threats to destroy civilian infrastructure. His domestic political brand is not built on multilateralism or restraint. A Trump who looks tough against Iran — even a Trump who cannot fully reopen the strait — may be more politically durable than Carter was.

Iran's strategists know this. The Gulf source quoted by Reuters described a belief that the IRGC commanders think "they can get more" — but the qualifier is important. They believe they can get more than Trump currently offers, not that they can hold out indefinitely. Iran's own economic position is deteriorating. The Kharg Island terminals have been idle for two weeks. Chinese crude purchases are constrained. The blockade is working.

The bet Iran is making is that the political cost to Trump of failing to reopen the strait before November exceeds the economic cost to Iran of sustaining the current standoff. That is a bet on relative pain tolerance — and it may be correct. But it is a bet, not a certainty.

Why Every False Dawn Has Been Rational

With this strategic context, the pattern of the past six months becomes coherent rather than chaotic.

Every ceasefire that collapsed did so because Iran accepted a framework it did not intend to implement fully — because the purpose of the ceasefire was to buy time and reduce military pressure, not to permanently reopen the strait on terms it hadn't secured.

Every "deal announcement" that was immediately disputed by Iranian state media followed the same logic. Tehran would allow its diplomats to advance a framework far enough to reduce the immediate threat of a major US strike, then the IRGC would find a pretext to maintain operational control of the waterway.

Every attack on a ship during a ceasefire — the shots fired within 24 hours of the April 17 "opening," the IRGC's drone strikes on the Ever Lovely within days of the MOU signing, the three tankers attacked on July 29 ending the brief August pause — followed the same institutional logic. The IRGC's control of the strait is its most powerful strategic asset. Surrendering it under diplomatic cover that the elected government has accepted is something the Guard's leadership will not permit.

This is why the two-route dispute is so intractable. It is not a negotiating position that can be split down the middle. It is a binary question about institutional power — and the IRGC will not accept an answer that diminishes its authority over the waterway it has spent five months establishing as sovereign Iranian territory.

What the Midterm Clock Means for the Next 90 Days

November's midterm elections are approximately 90 days away. That calendar is the most important single variable in the remaining diplomacy.

If Iran can maintain its current posture — controlling the strait operationally, sustaining gas prices above $4, preventing any deal that doesn't acknowledge Iranian management authority — through October, the political damage to Republican congressional candidates becomes significant. Trump has staked his second term on economic performance and dealmaking competence. A Hormuz still closed in October, gas still above $4, and a sixth month of failed deal announcements would test both claims severely.

If Trump can reopen the strait before October — even on terms that involve implicit Iranian management authority — he can claim the dealmaking win that would neutralise the midterm liability. That is why the US side has been willing to meet more and more of Iran's demands with each successive negotiating round. The Wednesday August 12 target for a deal announcement is the latest manifestation of this pressure.

Iran's endgame is simple: hold out long enough, and the US political calendar forces Trump to offer a deal that gives Iran what it needs. The IRGC commanders believe they can sustain the current pressure. The question is whether the economic pain accumulating on Iran's side — Kharg idle, Chinese trade down, blockade tightening — reaches a breaking point first.

The Gulf News analysis frames it correctly: "Things can go in any direction, every day. Pressure builds unevenly — but breaks suddenly."

The Bottom Line

Iran entered this conflict knowing it could not win militarily. What it calculated — correctly, so far — is that it didn't have to. Control of the Strait of Hormuz is leverage that doesn't require military victory to maintain. It only requires endurance.

Five months in, Iran controls the strait operationally. It has demonstrated that no Gulf export route is fully safe. It has kept oil prices elevated and gas prices politically painful. It has watched four planned US strikes be stood down by Gulf allies who fear the consequences of escalation more than they fear Iranian leverage. And it is now dictating the terms of the deal it will accept — terms that give it permanent institutional authority over the waterway it had no formal control over before February 28.

Trump told reporters this week that negotiations with Iran were "moving along very nicely." Tehran's Supreme National Security Council simultaneously declared the strait would not reopen until the US "corrects its behavior."

Both statements are true. That is what winning looks like when you are playing a different game than your opponent thinks you are.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, August 11, 2026 9:45 AM

'Freier' Trump is just another retarded Goyim that got played by them, a sucker

There was sympathy for a while with those stories
back then Hollyweird knocked with opportunities

yeah Iran not good guys...jihadists that take over your embassy, kidnap even...plant bombs... but the other tribes they got Hated by every US President both Left and Right?

A Terrible Ally

GDF

its becoming a comedy show now...so enjoy the comedy as it falls, the stage coallpses enjoy as the circus tent finally burns down

JD Vance Unloads on lsrael - And The Neocons Are FURIOUS!

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:

What happened to you, SIX? You used to be smart.

falls into a brain trap

the AI art gives you a mindmap

The Sunk Cost Fallacy That Kept the Vietnam War Going

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Tuesday, August 11, 2026 12:14 PM

Prof. John Mearsheimer : What Comes Next in Iran?

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Tuesday, August 11, 2026 1:16 PM

Another problem is Trump's media base and fan base

Sometimes he listens to others but mostly not
typically he's full of ego, sees himself as a King a Caesar, Donald Trump while being a little servant gimp for Israeli Jew crime family he can ignore his own wrongs and just thinks of historic greatness like a delusional person would, compares himself to a General or King, very narcissistic.

I dont think the 'Rightwing' media is terrible there were times I thought Newsmax isn't bad...because they offered different opinions to kissing the ass of those two idiots Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. However the rightwing media knows he's stuck now and they are starting to understand how Israel is also getting unpopular like those Muslim Arab countries are unpopular with voters.
Trump does watch media, he tweets about opinions of Fox, CNN etc he watches the stocks...the media fandom is dead. Its all Blackpilling.
NewsMax, FoxNews, American Spectator, European Conservative, Federalist, OANN, Gab, Bitchute, Odyssey, MegynKelly dot com, Zero Hedge, UNZ, thebulwark, Townhall, LifeSiteNews, Alex Jones the original Infowars, Breitbart....The Drudge Report used to be Conservative pro-Trump Libertarian but Drudge quit Trump a long time ago....if there was a 'Center' or Centrist party then Trump lost it, the whole scene has gone 'Black Pilled' now...Tucker yeah he can get it wrong but Tucker Carlson is amusing because he will annoy both Left and Right these days saying something 'taboo'

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Tuesday, August 11, 2026 4:57 PM

Tony Blair’s son sets up defence business
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/08/11/blairs-son-sets-up-def
ence-business/

568 days into Donald Trump's term: The president's net approval rating is -27, down 0.9 points since last week. 34% approve, 61% disapprove, 4% not sure
https://www.economist.com/interactive/trump-approval-tracker

The Billionaires in the Epstein Files and Their Ties to Israel
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/08/11/the-billionaires-in-the-epstei
n-files-and-their-ties-to-israel/

Trump Blames Biden For Firing the U.S.’s Missile Stockpile at Iran
https://newrepublic.com/post/214190/trump-biden-missile-weapons-stockp
ile-depleted

New Study Shows Heavy Alcohol Use Among U.S. Veterans Declining for First Time in Years
https://www.military.com/most-veterans-are-drinking-less-those-ages-35
-49-are-an-exception

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Wednesday, August 12, 2026 6:08 PM

Three Killed In a Strike In Bab el-Mandeb. Iran-Backed Houthis Are Suspected Of Conducting It.

https://www.ibtimes.com/three-killed-strike-bab-el-mandeb-iran-backed-
houthis-are-suspected-conducting-it-3806281

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Wednesday, August 12, 2026 6:26 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Trump’s 'schizophrenic' plan is 'guaranteed to fail': war historian

Nick Hilden | August 10, 2026 | 12:45PM ET

https://www.alternet.org/trump-iran-forever-war/

As President Donald Trump’s “unnecessary war with Iran” drags on, it’s become clear that not only does he have just “one approach” to solving the crisis, but that it is “guaranteed to fail.” This is according to conservative Washington Post columnist and military historian Max Boot, who on Monday detailed how Trump’s “schizophrenic” leadership “undermines his own threats and sabotages his own negotiations.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/08/10/trumps-iran-policy-
is-war-with-itself/

“There are many reasons for this quagmire,” writes Boot, “but a significant part of the explanation is President Donald Trump’s schizophrenic approach. He veers between conciliation and confrontation, alternatingly praising Iranian leaders as ‘very rational people’ and denouncing them as ‘scum’ — with metronomic regularity.” Such flip-flops have come to characterize the conflict.

“At least seven times since the start of the war, Trump has vowed to launch devastating attacks before announcing that he was instead giving talks another chance,” Boot explains. “Most recently, on Aug. 1, he wrote on social media that ‘the U.S.A. is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II,’ but that he would ‘hold off any attack’ because ‘the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.’ (Presumably he meant ‘parameters.’)”

According to Boot, Trump is “yo-yoing between dealmaking and warmaking in ways that undercut his chances of success in either endeavor. The Iranians no longer seem to fear him because he has made so many threats he has not carried out. Remember when on July 22 he vowed to ‘bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT’ for every cargo ship that Iran attacked in the Strait of Hormuz? At least three ships have been attacked since then without the U.S. retaliating.”

What’s more, asserts Boot, “While the Iranians don’t fear Trump, they also don’t trust him to make a deal, because he reverses himself so often — and not just on dealing with Tehran. On July 22, for example, the Trump administration announced a nuclear-power deal with Saudi Arabia, only to have Trump add major conditions the next day that Saudi negotiators had not agreed to. The president’s after-the-fact conditions appeared to be a reaction to criticism of the deal from Republican hawks. Likewise, every time Trump veers toward a deal with Iran, he pulls back because of criticism from the same set of hard-liners.”

With all this in mind, Boot asserts that “Trump is his own worst enemy,” arguing, “He needs to decide on a single approach — either confrontation or conciliation — and stick with it consistently for a few months. The conciliatory approach, which builds on the earlier memorandum of understanding, is the smarter option right now despite the difficulty of reaching a deal with Iran’s divided leadership. That would most likely involve a humiliating recognition of some degree of Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz.”

While Trump often defaults to confrontation, according to Boot, he “lacks the political support at home to escalate the war or to suffer the economic shocks from a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz and possibly the Bab el-Mandeb Strait too. A recent CNN poll found that only 28 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the Iran war. Imagine how much lower support would go if the U.S., which has already lost 18 service members, suffers more casualties. Moreover, the Defense Department is running critically short of the missiles it needs to fight Iran — or any other adversary.”

“The one approach that is guaranteed to fail is the one that Trump is now pursuing,” concludes Boot. “Zagging between war and peace, threats and negotiations, bombastic rhetoric and unctuous outreach. He may think it’s the ‘art of the deal,’ but in fact, as the past five months have shown, it’s simply a formula for an endless and inconclusive conflict — a ‘forever war.’”

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Thursday, August 13, 2026 6:56 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Midweek Update #23: Can He Keep It Going Through The Election?

The State Of The US Military Is Pretty Distressing

Phillips P. OBrien

Aug 13, 2026

https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/midweek-update-23-can-he-keep-i
t

Hello All,

Well, things are plodding along with Trump’s War, and in the end they will continue to do so based on a calculation that only Trump can make. This war long ago lost all strategic purpose for the USA. The Iranian regime was not overthrown (it has arguably been strengthened), US alliances in the region have been weakened, US forces have already been withdrawn from key military facilities, many of which have been so damaged that they might never be repaired.

In other words, the strategic results are pretty clear regardless of the text of any further MOU between the parties. However, that does not mean the war will end. That event will happen when Trump makes one major calculation—and so far he is not there.

Then there will be one other larger story about the state of the US military, which is worrying. A combination of great arrogance in its abilities and lately incompetence and corruption in how it has been run, has left the US military in the worst shape in its post-1945 existence. Considering the massive amounts of money that have been spent on it, the US military is arguably in its worst state ever. Sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln for instance, seem to be paying the price for the incompetence and strategic failure of the US government (see below).

More at https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/midweek-update-23-can-he-keep-i
t

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, August 16, 2026 3:29 AM

US pulls last aircraft carrier in Asia as Trump focuses on Iran and Western Hemisphere

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/world/20260816/us-pulls-last-aircraft-car
rier-in-asia-as-trump-focuses-on-iran-and-western-hemisphere

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Monday, August 17, 2026 6:00 AM

'Zero Aid to Israel,' Ro Khanna Declares at Democratic National Committee Meeting
https://www.commondreams.org/news/ro-khanna-aid-israel-dnc

so now Zion Donald wanted South Koreans to go to the Middle East and to waste all their missiles attacking Iran? otherwise he will support north Koreans??

Trump says US will reduce military exercises with South Korea, citing lack of help with Iran
https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/16/middleeast/trump-south-korea-military-e
xercises
“Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the US has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea.”

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Monday, August 17, 2026 8:38 AM

Iran strikes Hormuz deal with Oman, hits back at Trump over threat to make Strait a US territory

https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/world/iran-strikes-hormuz-deal-with-o
man-hits-back-at-trump-over-threat-to-make-strait-a-us-territory-2026-08-16-1051504

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Tuesday, August 18, 2026 2:38 PM