Trump lost Iran 2026

Obama achieved an agreement in 2015 JCPOA

2015 JCPOA why did Obama use cash? Cash was used for a $400M payment to Iran - which settled a decades-old, pre-1979 military trust fund dispute - because US sanctions prohibited direct wire transfers and barred Iran from using the US financial system. The US gov used foreign cash (euros and Swiss francs) flown in on an airplane to bypass these banking restrictions and guarantee immediate payment.

this specific cash transfer was separate from the general ecomomic relief provided by the 2015 JCPOA. The broader agreement involved unfreezing billions in Iranian assets held in foreign central banks, which were eventually returned via standard banking methods once the sanctions were lifted.

Trump tore up Obama's JCPOA

08 May 2018 the US under the first Trump admin withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal / JCPOA Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that Pres Obama and Sec State Kerry negotiated in 2015.

Trump lost

Trump lost his war of choice in Iran, military failure, foreign policy blunder. Messaging has changed dramatically. Kindergarten MOU to end the war.

Sat 28 Feb 2026 US pres attacked Iran. Massive bombing campaign. No Congress. US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran, triggering Iranian retaliation across the region. This is a war of choice, to distract from the Epstein crimes.

Iran attacked as a reciprocal action consistent with legitimate defense. Subsequently Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz to end international oil shipping.

a year earlier

Sun 22 Jun 2025 2:10 am in Iran US bombed Iran. US credibility has been damaged both as a country and as a particpant in any international negotiations.

the United States Air Force and Navy attacked three Iranian nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, in an operation called "Midnight Hammer". Seven B-2 bombers of the 509th Bomb Wing departed Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, with each carrying two GBU-57A/B MOP bombs.

it appears Iran moved nuclear material before the attack. Trump couldn't bust a bunker with a bunker buster.

tactically it was a success; the strike package was delivered. the consequences of the attack are uncertain. Iran is thinking about what they will do. Our goal should be to get the Iranians to agree to a more restrictive nuclear accord. We will see what are the third-order consequences are.

we still don't know where Iran's stores of enriched uranium are and how quickly its leaders could reconstitute a nuclear program, should they choose to.

China's Foreign Ministry has criticized the US attack on Iran as a serious violation of the United Nations Charter

The Israel-Iran war escalated rapidly following the United States' bombing of Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend, a move China framed as a blow to America's global reputation.

China is likely to earn more diplomatic goodwill in the wake of the US military attack on Iran's nuclear sites.

China has long portrayed the US as a destabilizing force, while framing itself as a responsible advocate for peace and stability.

$3.5 billion US military ordnance

bunker buster is a term to describe bombs that are designed to penetrate deep below the surface before exploding. The US used 7 B-2 bombers to deliver 14 bunker busters. The massive ordnance penetrator (MOP) is a $500 million, 30,000 pound bomb.