“They’d better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!”

– Donald J. Trump, May 17, 2026

So said Trump about Iran on Sunday, as he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the Times of Israel. [Ella Kipling, BBC, May 18, 2026.]

On Monday, after Iran said it had responded to the most recent U.S. proposal and that talks were continuing through Pakistani mediators, Trump did another of his dizzying U-turns and said that he would “hold off” on his plan to attack Iran on Tuesday, in accordance with a request from the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. [Kit Maher, Kevin Liptak and Kaitlan Collins, CNN, May 18, 2026.]

Adding that negotiations were becoming more “serious,” he nevertheless posted that he has instructed his leadership “to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice” if a deal isn’t reached . . . and that “This Deal will include, importantly, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN.” [Id.]

He later told reporters:

“It’s a very positive development, but we’ll see whether or not it amounts to anything.” Referring to other occasions when he thought a deal was close, he added, “but this is a little bit different. We were getting ready to do a very major attack tomorrow. I put it off for a little while — hopefully, maybe, forever — but possibly for a little while, because we’ve had very big discussions with Iran, and we’ll see what they amount to. I was asked by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, and some others if we could put it off for two or three days, a short period of time, because they think that they are getting very close to making a deal. . . . If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I’d be very happy.” [Id.]

So tomorrow (now today, Tuesday) was supposed to be Doomsday. But then it wasn’t. Although it might be just around the corner. Or not. He really doesn’t want to annihilate Iran. But he will gladly do it if they don’t meet his demands . . . whatever they might be. But definitely NO NUKES.

But hey — what ever happened to regime change? Has that already taken place, or did I imagine that it was ever an issue? And there was the little matter of opening the Strait of Hormuz . . . which, the last I heard, we (the U.S.) were still blocking. Though it was open before he tore up the prior agreement, thus giving Iran carte blanche to go ahead and develop the nukes they didn’t have before this all started.

The whole ugly mess is more than confusing; it’s downright vertiginous. Is he trying to scare the Iranians to death? Or does he really not know what the f*ck he’s doing? Maybe he’s just getting bored with this war, and is ready to move on to Cuba.

Seriously . . . who the hell knows anything anymore?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
5/19/26