The Trump administration is rumored to be planning for another round of peace talks with Iran after curb-stomping them for three weeks. According to Axios, even though no contacts have been made between the U.S. and Iran, unnamed officials in unnamed agencies are planning for the terms to be demanded.
Between the lines: "Our view is we've stunted Iran's growth," said one U.S. official who believes the Iranians will come to the table. The official said the U.S. wants Iran to make six commitments:
- No missile program for five years.
- Zero uranium enrichment.
- Decommissioning the Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow nuclear facilities that the U.S. and Israel bombed last year.
- Strict outside observation protocols around the creation and use of centrifuges and related machinery that could advance a nuclear weapons program.
- Arms control treaties with regional countries that include a missile cap no higher than 1,000.
- No financing for proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen or Hamas in Gaza.
Naturally, the left has launched a completely untruthful attack (I would say disingenuous, but there is no evidence the people making the attack believe it) on the administration, claiming that these conditions were already guaranteed by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the JCPOA, foisted upon the nation by Barack Obama in 2015. Here is former South Carolina Democrat congressman and failed lieutenant governor candidate Bakari Sellers as an example, though he is by far not the stupidest or most dishonest.
Obama literally did this. https://t.co/7nxwZbrKSW
— Bakari Sellers (@Bakari_Sellers) March 22, 2026
Let's review the bidding.
The proposed deal has "no missile program for five years." I have no idea how that could be enforced outside an army of occupation, but the JCPOA did not prohibit Iran's missile program. In fact, the JCPOA removed UN sanctions on Iran's missile program, and the IRGC commander announced that Iran would not negotiate on ballistic missiles; see UN Security Council lifts ballistic missile embargo on Iran – RedState.
The proposed deal allows zero uranium enrichment. The JCPOA capped U-235 at 3.67% for 15 years and limited their enriched uranium stockpile to 300 kg of uranium enriched to 3.67% for 15 years. This limit was shamelessly violated by Iran, which boasted to Trump's chief negotiator, Steve Witkoff, that it had about 450 kilograms of 60% material. That 60% material could be converted into 90% weapons grade material in about a week of processing; see How Iran Trying to Punk President Trump on a Deal Went Terribly Wrong, and Why No One Should Try It – RedState.
According to Axios, the Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow nuclear facilities would all be decommissioned. The JCPOA allowed all these facilities to continue in use and enrichment to continue at Natanz.
Just as the JCPOA required outside monitoring, so too does the proposed agreement. And, just like with the JCPOA, we can expect egregious cheating by the Iranians unless the monitoring is carried out under the threat of military strikes.
The JCPOA did not require arms control treaties with regional countries or a cap on existing missile stockpiles, and limiting terror funding was not mentioned.
While I'd view any agreement with Iran after Trump's vow of "unconditional surrender" to be something of both a loss and a betrayal (see Trump Outlines Iran’s Only Option to End the Relentless Onslaught: ‘Unconditional Surrender’ – RedState), and I don't see how it is possible to enforce any part of this agreement better than the JCPOA was enforced, to claim we had this deal already is the height of dishonesty.
For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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