Trump Reconciles with Iran

WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, 21 Apr 2025

Sakai Tanaka – TRANSCEND Media Service

12 Apr 2025 – US Pres. Trump is moving towards a nuclear deal and reconciliation with Iran. Today, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi began negotiations in Oman, a Middle Eastern country that is friendly with Iran.  Witkoff is a Jewish real estate mogul (a fellow Trump businessman) who is close to Netanyahu, and is the go-between for Trump and Israel. In other words, Israel is also deeply involved in the current US-Iran negotiations. The reconciliation between the US and Iran will lead to the reconciliation between Israel and Iran and stability in the Middle East. （Russia Praises US-Iran Nuclear Talks Scheduled For Oman）

2. While Witkoff is in charge of the negotiations with Iran, he is also in charge of the dialogue between the US and Russia. Before the US-Iran negotiations in Oman, a US-Russia dialogue was held in Istanbul, with Witkoff as the US representative. Trump is speculated to be negotiating with Russia and Iran on the proposed deal in which (1) the non-US sides would support Iran, in which (2) Russia would supply Iran with medical isotopes and in which (3) Russia and China would build Iran’s oil and gas pipelines and other infrastructure necessary for Iran’s prosperity. （White House Demands Iran Give Up Entire Nuclear Program, Including Civilian Enrichment）
3. It was announced that the main topic of the US-Russia talks in Istanbul was the ceasefire in Ukraine, but this is probably just a diversion. Ukraine has openly continued to violate the partial ceasefire agreement with Russia that banned attacks on the energy facilities, which was initiated through the US mediation, and the ceasefire plan has collapsed. However, that was also Russia’s [hidden] wish. （Russia & US Reveal Details Of Latest Talks In Istanbul）
4. Just before Trump began the negotiations with Iran in mid-March 2025, China invited the deputy foreign ministers of Iran and Russia to Beijing to discuss strengthening the ties between the three countries. China, Russia, and Iran are also conducting joint military exercises in response to Trump’s military threats. （China, Russia, Iran To Hold Nuclear Talks In Beijing After Tehran Snubbed Trump Offer）
5. Russia has decided to conclude a wide-ranging 20-year strategic agreement with Iran covering everything from the military security to energy, transportation, and science and technology. Iran will develop in the future with the support of China and Russia. Not only the United States, but also China and Russia will cooperate with Israel (tacitly accepting the erasure of Palestine) so that Israel can reconcile with Iran without any dissatisfaction. The path is being laid for Trump, China, and Russia to stabilize the Middle East. （Russian Duma Ratifies 20-Year Defense, Energy Pact With Iran）
6. Trump is also mediating the reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Israel through the Abraham Accords. Iran and Saudi Arabia are already on good terms, though they try not to draw attention to themselves. When Trump threatened to bomb Iran, the governments of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait forbade the US from attacking Iran through or using their airspace or territory. The GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia, value their relationship with Iran. （Gulf States Refuse To Let US Use Bases, Airspace For Iran Attack）[Iran-GCC Ties and Its Relevance for the Middle East and Beyond]
7. Iran has been developing nuclear power technologies, such as those on enriching uranium, for a long time, but that is not for military purposes (i.e. not nuclear weapons development), but for civilian purposes such as the production of medical isotopes. The IAEA and the Trump administration (Intelligence Director Gabbard) have acknowledged that Iran is not developing nuclear weapons. （US Intelligence Says Iran Is ‘Not Building a Nuclear Weapon’） [US intelligence assessment says Iran not currently developing nuclear weapons]     [Details of Iran’s nuclear demands revealed]    [Analysis of IAEA Iran Verification and Monitoring Report — February 2025]
8. However, the US, Europe and Israel, having claimed that Iran has been developing “nuclear weapons”, have long threatened to impose economic sanctions on Iran and bomb related nuclear facilities of that country. They have viewed Iran, one of the major Middle Eastern powers and major oil-producing countries, as a threat and have tried to destroy it by falsely accusing it of being a threat over the years. Meanwhile, Iran has strengthened its ties with those non-US countries such as China and Russia.  In addition, Iran has built economic relations with these countries. By doing so, Iran has overcome the sanctions. (Nevertheless, the Iranian economy has continued to collapse.) The more the US imposed the sanctions on Iran, the more Iran relied on the non-US countries and united with China and Russia, and also joined BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. (The Iranian nuclear issue continues to be distorted/歪曲続くイラン核問題） (Will non-US alliances save Iran?/ 非米同盟がイランを救う？）   [US said to oppose IAEA resolution condemning Iran’s ‘unprecedented’ nuclear breaches]    [Timeline of nuclear tensions between Iran and US]    [U.S. Complicity in War Spans from Syria to Gaza]
9. The US’s hostility towards Iran had the effect of uniting the non-US sides and making the world multipolar and non-US side, like the “hidden multipolarism”. The Obama administration from 2009 to 2017 tried to rebuild the US hegemony by eliminating the hidden multipolarism that was embedded in the US hegemony strategy during the previous Bush administration. As part of this, Obama concluded the agreement (JCPOA) in 2015 in which the United States and Europe lifted sanctions on Iran and restored the trade relations in exchange for Iran proving that its nuclear (atomic) development was for civilian purposes only through the IAEA inspections and monitoring. Iran, then, was invited to join the US side. (Multi polarization through the Iran Nuclear Agreement/イラン核協定で多極化） [What to know about tensions between Iran and the US]    [Are Trump’s nuclear talks Obama Iran Deal 2.0?]
10. However, after taking office of his first term in 2017, Trump (who is a hegemony renegade and hidden multipolarist) withdrew from the JCPOA, and resumed the hostility towards Iran. On the other hand, he allowed the non-US countries such as China, Russia and India to strengthen their relations with Iran, and tacitly allowed and left them to support Iran and strengthen their unity. (Trump and Iran continue to pretend to go to war/ 戦争するふりを続けるトランプとイラン） [US not interested in dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, US envoy says]      [Iran–United States relations]
11. Trump, who returned to the US Presidency this year, further advanced his hidden multipolar global strategy. Trump responded to Yemen’s attacks on Israel under the control of Iran by deploying a US aircraft carrier off the coast of Yemen to bomb the country, threatening to attack Iran, the mastermind behind the attacks. Behind such belligerent blinders, Trump called on Iran and achieved the negotiations in Oman. He continues to issue the blinding threats that he will have Israel bomb Iran if the negotiations are not concluded within two months. （Trump Letter To Iran Gave 2-Month Deadline For Fresh Nuclear Deal）[‘CIA, U.S…’: Jeffrey Sachs ‘UNCOVERS’ Jaw-Dropping Israeli-American Plot Against Iran, Arab World]
12. Trump’s Middle East strategy aims to resolve all conflicts in the Middle East. He will reduce open war to diplomatic conflict and economic rivalry. That is not so much pacifism. Rather, it is a kind of “liberation measure” for the United States from the hegemonic system that has made the United States take care of the Middle East and the rest of the world [over the decades]. (Note that Trump has also declared his policy of the high tariffs to be a liberation measure.)  Up until now, the countries that have clung to the United States (i.e. the US Intelligence Community in charge of the US hegemony management) and have been allowed to dominate the world for their own benefit are the UK and Israel. Now, however, Trump left the Ukraine War to the UK (and those countries under the British Umbrella, which are actually the EU countries overall).  Then, the US itself reconciled with Russia and withdrew from the Ukraine War.  This move of the US is now leading the UK not only to being unable to control the US, but also to self-destructing of the UK in the Ukraine War, which is sure for the UK and the EU to become the losers of the War.  By doing as such, the US is eliminating the UK.  (A strategy to make only the UK and Europe view Russia as an enemy/ 英欧だけに露敵視させる策略）[Understanding the U.S. Intelligence Community: Who They Are and What They Do]
13. Regarding Israel, Trump allowed Israel (i) to neutralize and expel suitable forces such as Palestine, Hezbollah and Syria, (ii) to expand its territory and sphere of influence as it pleases, and then (iii) to reconcile and resolve the hostilities with Saudi Arabia and Iran, allowing Israel to become the regional hegemon in the stabilized Middle East. In return, Trump asked Israel to stop its previous strategy, in which (a) Israel clang to the US Intelligence Community, and in which (b) Israel led the US to the domination over the Middle East in order to make Israel safe.  Based on that deal, Israel has done as follows: (a) Israel has begun the Gaza War to eliminate Palestine, (b) Israel crushed Hezbollah with the precision strikes, and (c) using its puppet Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Israel overthrew the Syrian government.  Considering all those mentioned above, one could reckon that the current US-Iran nuclear negotiations may be viewed as a part of Trump’s Middle East strategy.    [Who’s been funding the HTS rebels now in control of Syria?]     [“Israel has for years given weapons and other forms of support to extremist ‘rebels’ in Syria, including Al-Qaeda…The main armed group that conquered Syria is called Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which emerged out of the country’s Al-Qaeda affiliate…”]       [What Trump 2.0’s Grand Strategy for the Middle East Could Look Like]    [Jeffrey Sachs ‘UNCOVERS’ jaw-dropping Israeli-American plot against Iran, Arab World]    [U.S. Complicity in War Spans from Syria to Gaza]    [Jeffrey Sachs on Syria: How it happened & what’s next; American economist exposes US, Israel role] 

Notes:

1. The hyperlinks with the parentheses ( ) at the end of some paragraphs were added by the original author. Those hyperlinks in the paragraphs and those with brackets [ ], with the italic letters at the end of some paragraphs were added by the translator for the convenience of the reader. In addition, the numbers, such as (1), (2), (3), (i), (ii), (iii) or (a), (b), (c), and bold and/or italic letters were also used in the translation by the translator for the same reason.
2. The paragraph number was added to the head of each paragraph (except to that of the first paragraph) by the translator for the convenience of the reader.
3. The views and/or opinions in those hyperlinks added by the translator do not necessarily reflect those of his. In addition, it is either impossible or unavailable for the translator to verify the genuineness of the information in those links. He does not take any responsibility for the contents in those relevant links at all.
4. The views and/or opinions expressed in the above-mentioned article are those of Sakai Tanaka, who is the original author. His views and/or opinions do not necessarily reflect those of TMS or those of the translator. Therefore, the reader is kindly requested to understand, interpret or judge those views and/or opinions at his or her own responsibility.
5. The original article in Japanese was published more than a few days or a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, the situations and/or conditions mentioned in the article might have been changed. This also means that the author’s argument expressed and/or the information provided in the article might have become inadequate or less or least adequate, obsolete, out of date or no longer valid by the time the TMS reader reads the same article in English.

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After graduating from university, Sakai Tanaka started working at the Kyodo News  Agency in 1986. From 1997 he joined Microsoft Network (MSN) and in 1999, due to change of policy at Microsoft, he became an independent journalist. Tanaka has published more than twenty books on international affairs, some translated and published in China, South Korea and Taiwan. He studied at Harvard University from 2000 to 2001 and in 2005 was invited to serve as a senior researcher at the Royal Faisal Institute in Saudi Arabia. Website: tanakanews.com

Satoshi Ashikaga is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment. Having worked as researcher, development program/project officer, legal protection/humanitarian assistance officer, human rights monitor-negotiator, managing-editor, and more, he prefers a peaceful and prudent life.  His previous work experiences, including those in war zones and war-torn zones, constantly remind him of the invaluableness of peace.

Translation: Satoshi Ashikaga – Google Translate

Original in Japanese:  イランと和解するトランプ

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 21 Apr 2025.

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