Political Commentator Scott Jennings Explains Trump’s Patient Iran Strategy

PJ Media ^ | 05/24/2026 | David Manney

[SeekAndFind]

Political commentator Scott Jennings gave the Iran debate a much-needed dose of plain English after he received a briefing from a senior Trump administration official.

Jennings' central point was simple: President Donald Trump used force when force became necessary, then paused further strikes when diplomacy had a chance to save lives.

Trump's critics have spent years calling him reckless, impulsive, and incapable of restraint. Now he's showing patience, and many of those same voices still can't bring themselves to admit what sits in front of them.

Trump has said talks with Iran remain active, but he has also warned his team not to rush into a weak agreement. The U.S. blockade tied to the Strait of Hormuz remains in place until an agreement gets reached, certified, and signed.

🚨After receiving a briefing from a Senior TRUMP Administration Official on the status of the Iran negotiations (someone in the know & not just speculating), I can tell you the following:

-USA IS NOT GIVING IRANIANS MONEY FOR NOTHING. All speculation and propaganda to the…— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) May 24, 2026

The emerging framework centers on opening the strait, extending the ceasefire, addressing Iran's enriched uranium, and keeping pressure on Tehran until final terms exist on paper. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said significant progress has been made, but final progress hasn't arrived yet.

Jennings framed the moment around restraint, not weakness. Trump isn't giving Iran a free pass, nor is he pretending Tehran suddenly became trustworthy; he's testing whether Iran will accept terms that reduce the chance of a wider war while protecting American interests.

The alternative comes from the old familiar crowd: keep bombing, escalating, and calling every pause surrender...

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TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Iran; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: armchairadmirals; armchairgeneralsoffr; freeptardation; habitualcomplainers; habitualcomplaining; hormuz; iran; negotiations; nukes

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X Post From Scott Jennings

Scott Jennings
@ScottJenningsKY

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🚨After receiving a briefing from a Senior TRUMP Administration Official on the status of the Iran negotiations (someone in the know & not just speculating), I can tell you the following:

-USA IS NOT GIVING IRANIANS MONEY FOR NOTHING. All speculation and propaganda to the contrary is false. Some hardline elements of Iran’s govt (IRGC) have pushed fake stories & propaganda to try to kill this negotiation.

-Iran deal is NOT done (95%, but still haggling over some language). No deal being signed today. May be a few more days before this is done.

-Iran will NOT get any money or sanctions relief up front.

-Iran must turn over nuclear stockpile to get anything. USA position is that failure to meet deal commitments means Iran gets nothing.

-Long term USA objective is preventing Iran from having nuclear weapon.

-Initial deal point is to re-establish free flow of commerce by reopening Strait of Hormuz.

Deal should have 2 phases:

Step 1 - Open Strait of Hormuz. Give world economy breathing room. Iran agrees to give up enriched uranium.

Step 2 - Get the nuclear material turned over. Only then can Iran get sanctions relief.

Bottom line: goal is to make a deal that lowers costs for Americans, calms world energy markets, and guarantees that Iranians cannot have a nuclear weapon over the long term. We aren’t there yet. Iran takes forever to get you a response on even small things. But we are close although it still could be a few days.

“If we get what we are demanding, this is going to be a historic deal,” SAO says.

SAO sounds prepared to do no deal at all if all Iran will do is a “bad deal.” SAO admits deal could fall apart yet. But if a deal is reached, SAO expects very senior USA admin officials to take part in a signing ceremony of some sort.

Iran has agreed in principle to the framework but there are still a couple points USA isn’t satisfied with. 95% done. But literally changing words sometimes requires days in Iran’s system. Haggling over language. But USA feels like we have a commitment on nuclear stockpile and on opening Strait of Hormuz.

If IRAN doesn’t deliver on commitments, they get nothing.

“Iran’s ability to project power is a lot more limited than it was two months ago,” SAO says. “Their industrial base for building ballistic missiles has been substantially destroyed.”

[rktman]

Killer DonJon.

[SeekAndFind]

Scott Jennings’ point deserves attention because it cuts through the theater. Trump’s critics demanded maturity, patience, and caution. After he showed all three, they moved the goalposts and found new reasons to complain. Some wanted more bombs; others wanted to blame him before the ink dried.

Meanwhile, the president appears focused on fewer dead Americans, fewer dead civilians, safer shipping, and an Iran policy that doesn’t begin with panic or end with another generation of U.S. troops stuck in the region.

Trump can’t win with people who made up their verdict before the evidence arrived. Jennings gave people a clearer read: the administration sees a chance to turn military leverage into a negotiated result, and Trump isn’t rushing simply to quiet critics.

Sometimes, real leadership means striking hard, then refusing to let momentum become appetite. If the deal fails, Trump can tighten pressure again. If the deal works, lives get spared, shipping lanes reopen, and Iran faces limits without dragging America into another endless fight.

[Terry L Smith]

It’s called a rope.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

[Sicon]

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has pushed a harder line on Iran, including attacks on Iranian energy sites and the total elimination of Tehran's enrichment program.

If you look up “chicken hawk” in the dictionary, you should find a picture of this little turd.

[sopo]

He doesn’t like to kill people. He denied strikes in first term bevause too many would be killed. His main motivation in trying to end Ukraine War is death of so many soldiers. He was happy to take out the mass murdering Iranain leadership, nut not happy to kill citizens or see more killed in fruitless uprising.

[allendale]

After failing to replace the mullah regime, securing the enriched uranium or even seizing and controlling the Strait of Hormuz, the spin cycle is being turned up high.

[af_vet_1981]

Step 1 - Open Strait of Hormuz. Give world economy breathing room. Iran agrees to give up enriched uranium.

He neglected to mention that the terrorist regime would be able to sell oil and import weapons and technology.

Why omit that salient point from Step One ?

[af_vet_1981]

Neither did Neville Chamberlain and how many millions died in that peace?

AI overview:

An estimated 70 to 85 million people died during World War II. This staggering total includes approximately 15 to 20 million military personnel and 40 to 55 million civilians.Casualties by Major NationThe distribution of fatalities varied widely, with the majority occurring on the Allied side:

[chickenlips]

“-Iran must turn over nuclear stockpile to get anything. USA position is that failure to meet deal commitments means Iran gets nothing.”

I found the first problem with this deal. If Iran fails to meet the deal they get “nothing” is no deterrent to the mad mullahs. What it should say is if Iran fails to turn over their nuclear stockpile in short order they get bombed unmercifully into the stone age.

[Adder]

USA IS NOT GIVING IRANIANS MONEY FOR NOTHING.

YES WE ARE! You cannot negotiate honestly with liars. We need to finish the job we started. A safe Iran is one without the IRGC and the mullahs.
This is beginning to look like weak kneed capitulation, especially by PAYING the basturds.

Finish it!

[BB62]

FAIL.

At no point has Trump made regime change a goal of military action.

[libertylover]

Jennings' central point was simple: President Donald Trump used force when force became necessary, then paused further strikes when diplomacy had a chance to save lives.

Yes, Trump is a peace-monger at heart, and I think he'll make a deal that's in the best interest of the United States.

[sopo]

What if Neville Chamberlain had taken out Hitler?

[bigbob]

Blowing the country all to hell accomplishes nothing and would only drive the enemy deeper into hiding and steel their reserve to fight “the great satan” to the death. And the political blowback from images of dead children and civilians would end midterm and likely 2028 chances, politically.

Trump knows what he’s doing and he is receiving sound and trusted advice. The only downside to patience is paying higher gas prices due to the price manipulation that is going on. Boo hoo, wake up and smell the roses - Trump is changing history and higher gas prices are a temporary inconvenience, unlike under Biden when it was for nothing.