Free Republic

It's time to release the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran. Speculation is running rampant about what's in it, and leaks from the administration are making Trump's allies very nervous because they all seem to suggest that Iran's propaganda about what's in it is largely accurate. Vice President Vance is spinning like a top that it's really a great deal, and all the great benefits Iran claims it will get depend on performance, but unless we know what is in the MOU, we don't know what "performance" really means. (snip) One thing we do know is that...

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that America will not invest money in Iran after a Memorandum of Understanding was agreed with Tehran. “We are not investing any money in Iran, by the way, and with that rumor got out there yesterday was ridiculous,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian, France. “We have the right to go in some day and do, if I want to do something, or if somebody wants to do something, but we are not investing any money.” (snip) He appeared to be referring to reports that the terms of...

CIA Director John Ratcliffe told President Trump and other senior officials that evidence gathered by U.S. intelligence agencies raises serious doubts about Iran's willingness to make the nuclear concessions the U.S. is seeking in any final deal, according to three sources familiar with those discussions. Friction point: Ratcliffe isn't the only skeptic in Trump's top team. In internal discussions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth both expressed concerns and raised questions about the memorandum of understanding (MOU) announced Sunday, while Vice President Vance and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner advocated for it, according...

President Donald Trump declared an end to his campaign against Iran’s leaders with an exhortation on Sunday: “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” With the Iranian regime still in place, he was celebrating a resumption of the way the world was on Feb. 27, the day before the United States and Israel attacked Iran. A return to a version of the status quo was a far cry from the original aims of a war effort that kicked off with a vow to come to the aid of the Iranian protesters who had taken to their...

This Great Deal will bring Peace and Security to the whole Region. Many presidents have tried to make Peace with Iran, and all have failed before me. The Leaders of the Region have, for the first time, found a President who can help them achieve real Peace. With the opening of the Strait upon the signing of the Deal on Friday, for purposes of mine removal, oil will flow on both ends again for the Region, and the World! President DONALD J. TRUMP

On Sunday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) took to X to announce that a senior Hezbollah commander, one Ali Mussa Daqduq, has had his birth certificate permanently revoked. The planet is now a safer, cleaner place without this guy walking around. The post reads: ELIMINATED: Ali Musa Daqduq, a senior Hezbollah commander who held a series of 5 senior positions within Hezbollah. Daqduq played a central role in advancing terrorist attacks and combat operations against Israel and IDF soldiers. In 2007, he orchestrated the kidnapping and murder of 5 American soldiers.

The U.S. and Iran, together with Pakistani and Qatari mediators, are expected to hold a virtual meeting on Sunday and electronically sign a memorandum of understanding that will extend the ceasefire by 60 days, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and launch negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. (snip) What they're saying: "We are closer to a peace deal than ever before. With finalization likely expected in the next 24 hours, Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the peace deal immediately after, followed by technical level talks next week," Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on X on Saturday. Shortly...

The United Arab Emirates has agreed to unlock billions of dollars for Iran, four sources ​said, in a tactical shift after weeks of Iranian attacks on the wealthy Gulf Arab state during the U.S.-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic. (snip) Two regional sources told Reuters the UAE had agreed to release a total of $10 billion, more than $3 billion of which had already been delivered. Two other sources with knowledge of the arrangement put the total funds involved at $20 billion, adding that the move had been agreed in return for a ​halt to Iranian attacks on the UAE....

The U.S. and Iran could reportedly sign a peace deal as soon as Sunday, after Iranian state media said the draft deal included a commitment from the U.S. to lift oil sanctions and a pledge from Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days. The 14-point document dictates that final negotiations will not begin until the release of half of Iran’s frozen funds, the suspension of Iran’s oil sanctions and the lifting of the naval blockade, the Mehr News Agency reported. All American forces would need to withdraw from Iran, and the U.S. and its allies would need...

An Iranian state news outlet said Friday that an agreement with the U.S., which President Trump touted the previous day as a "great settlement of the war," includes the U.S. releasing $24 billion of frozen Iranian financial assets. Iran's semi-official Mehr News agency published what it said was a draft of the 14-point agreement Friday. It includes a stipulation that Iran's assets will be released during a 60-day extension of the current ceasefire, which would begin as soon as the deal comes into effect. Iran's Foreign Ministry cautioned earlier that the regime had yet to fully commit to the agreement....

A U.S. official says the U.S. military shot down two Iranian drones that were trying to strike commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz tonight. “It appears Iran has attempted to strike commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz tonight. U.S. forces shot down two Iranian one-way attack drones. Traffic flow through the Strait continues,” the official said. The attack occurred after Trump spoke about being close to a deal with Iran this afternoon.

President Trump announced that he canceled planned strikes against Iran on Thursday and claimed Iran's leadership "approved" a draft agreement that would extend the ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and launch 60 days of negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. (snip)The sources said the gaps were narrowed on three key issues: The mechanism for releasing Iran's frozen assets — the most important issue for the Iranians.Arrangements for reopening the Strait of Hormuz during the 60-day ceasefire period.How negotiations over Iran's nuclear program would be conducted during the 60-day ceasefire period.

US Vice President JD Vance says the United States and Israel “have a lot of shared interests, but we also have some situations where our interests diverge,” as Fox News host Jesse Waters begins an interview by asking him how “concerned are you about Israel spying on the United States and freelancing in Lebanon?” “I think where the president has been very clear here is that while Israel obviously has some objectives that it has, the United States’ main objective in Iran is to ensure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon,” Vance says, without actually addressing the questions...

Sixty years ago, I first gazed out on the Strait of Hormuz from the Musandam peninsula of Oman. I was there as private secretary to my godfather, Selwyn Lloyd, who had been Britain’s foreign secretary during the Suez Crisis. The previous evening our host, Sultan Said bin Taimur, the ruler of Oman for nearly 40 years, commented gloomily: ‘When two fish are fighting in these waters, the British are behind it.’ I estimate that I must have made at least 250 visits to the Gulf states in the intervening six decades. The key question which would surely now be asked...

More than half of Americans say there’s no chance of them voting for former President Donald Trump to return to the White House in 2024, according to a national poll released Wednesday. With Trump, 77, the clear front-runner in the Republican primary, 53% of Americans told the AP-NORC Center survey they would “definitely not” support him next November – with another 11% saying they would “probably not” pull the lever for the 45th president.That leaves just 36% who say that they would “probably” or “definitely” support Trump in his third consecutive bid for the presidency. But Trump’s high disapproval rating...

During last night's Republican presidential debate, the Wall Street Journal's Gerard Baker made a critical mistake: He tried to pin Donald Trump down on policy specifics. In this case, it was about trade policy, a subject about which Trump evidently knows very little. Baker asked the billionaire "which particular parts" of the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal he objected to. If he were familiar with the deal, Trump could have raised any of several issues. Instead, he continued with the same word salad about China that he has been issuing forth since long before the TPP had been negotiated...

".....The reform-minded Trump of decades past is a far more attractive figure than his current incarnation, at least in the eyes of the pro-legalization advocates of today. “Well, I certainly think he had it right in 1990, and what he said then actually seemed to understand the situation,” David Boaz, executive vice president of the libertarian Cato Institute, told The Daily Beast. “My sense is that looking for consistent philosophy or even policies in Donald Trump’s statements is a pretty fruitless exercise.” Boaz also pointed out that Trump recently voiced his support for medical marijuana, and that when asked about...