Reprinted from John’s Substack:
On 5 February 2026, I was on “Judging Freedom” talking with the Judge about the negotiations in Oman between the Trump administration and Iran and the likelihood that the US will attack Iran. I emphasized that it is hard to believe that these negotiations can lead to any meaningful agreement. After all, it all boils down to whether Iran is willing to give up its nuclear enrichment capability, which Trump has been insisting on since he walked away from the JCPOA in May 2018, and which the Iranians absolutely refuse to do.
How can you reconcile those opposing views? You cannot. This is why negotiations between Iran and the US routinely lead to nowhere and make one wonder why the two sides keep talking. It all looks like Kabuki theater to me, just like the US negotiations with Russia, which never come close to fashioning an agreement. Maybe a miracle will happen and Iran will reach an agreement with the US. But does anyone serious believe that this will cause Israel to take its gunsights off Iran, which Israel is determined to wreck? And of course that means the US will continue to target Iran — even if there is an agreement.
