Iran War: Trump Strikes Again, Threatens Continued Bombing, Kharg Island Seizure, Then Touts Plan to Sign Unfinished Iran Memo; More on Oil and Metals Squeeze, Plus SpaceX, AI Tidbits
It’s annoying that you keep looking at Trump’s epic flip-flops. But that was done by design. This is how Trump wants to end the opposition. So let’s soldier on and not fall prey to Trump’s antics. Oil traders got it right yesterday by not responding to Trump’s latest threat to bomb Iran. Perhaps they worked out that Trump would not jeopardize the SpaceX IPO, scheduled for Friday, by upsetting Mr. Market.
The short version is that Trump loudly and quickly, even by his standards, cycled from violence to diplomacy, from “We’ll hit Iran if they don’t agree,” to “They agreed, we’ll sign next week.” Markets rallied strongly, investors not paying attention to the fact that Iran’s stores and officials were quick to say that nothing was agreed by the top leadership and to say that they have never tolerated that.
We’ll take that out a bit, and then turn to the new administration scandal, that of the investigation of the State Department of the Founder of Responsible Statecraft Trita Parsi, and look again at the future power and the goods, and the development of the Worst in the front of AI that the touts can still talk about the past.
First on the Trump bluster
Wall Street Journal Trump Says US Will Strike Iran Tonight, Threatens to Seize Energy Markets
Shortly after the post, Trump told Fox News on Thursday morning that the US could make a fortune by seizing the island of Kharg and controlling the sale of Iranian oil, but that the American people probably have no desire for military action and would like to see US troops brought home…
Now, Trump appears to be relying on a more sinister tool: raw military pressure to force Iran to submit. But Tehran, which remains skeptical of terms offered by Washington, may back off the pressure instead of giving in. If so, Trump risks re-engaging himself in an escalating conflict in the Middle East without any assurance that the escalation will bring a decisive result.
Then his retreat:
Note in particular the construction “brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approval”. Tasnim immediately sent a denial of Media Claims about the conclusion of the Iran-US False Understanding document
British media say that the draft agreement between Iran and the US has been finalized.
However, the claim is incorrect because no such document has been completed.
It is as US President Donald Trump has suggested that a deal with Iran is within reach, a claim rejected by Iranian officials.
Trump alleges that Iranian officials contacted him directly and asked for a halt to the military strikes. He also warned that military options will remain in place if Tehran refuses to accept the deal proposed by Washington.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has denied the claim.
In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC’s public relations office said the US president’s claim was “a defense to avoid war.”
Earlier, some local news outlets also denied the claim, citing security sources.
The sources called the claim a “complete lie” and said Iran would give a “severe response” to the latest act of aggression by the US military against Iran.
It is surprising that Tasnim made the false claim to the media and not to Trump himself. Some Iranian outlets have been oblivious:
Every hour, he lies and brags.
— IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) (@iribnews_irib) June 11, 2026
A special story in Politico says that the Gulf states have successfully intervened. Since after Trump threatened to attack Iran, the criminal to stop him:
Shortly after President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday morning that he would hit Iran “HARD OVERNIGHT,” leaders from the Gulf and South Asian countries called the president in a last-ditch effort to change his mind. They assured him that a preliminary agreement paving the way for more detailed negotiations was imminent.
The calls, which have not been reported before, came from Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Pakistan’s defense chief Asim Munir, according to two administration officials and a diplomat briefed on the calls. Both have not been named to discuss sensitive official discussions…
The message from Iran was different. Iranian media reported that Esmaeil Baghaei, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that although large parts of the negotiation document have been finalized, Iran will not compromise on its red lines, Reuters reported.
However, the fact that Trump backed down so quickly is evidence of an internal panic, a panic that Robert Barnes described at length in interviews we featured this week. Janta Ka’s new segment documents the Trump flip-flop, and instructively includes a piece by John Mearsheimer, in which the University of Chicago says it sees signs of Trump’s depression in his behavior:
Larry Johnson’s new post, however, explains how Trump’s expansion isn’t bringing the decision any closer. From Donald “Whiplash” Trump Tacos Again:
Remember that the above pattern of negotiation has a procedural problem over the lack of pre-existing trust and yawning barriers between the two parties.
We have said that “a deal is imminent” and it has come from journalists contacting the negotiating team and/or the relevant governments where it seems unlikely that either side can provide sufficient reason for that to be remote. Indeed, Trump seemed to be working hard on his usual combative statements to hold himself in the war.
