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Iran quite flagrantly calling Trump's bluff.

Iran's foreign ministry denies Tehran-Washington talks
published at 13:08
Iran's foreign ministry has issued a statement, saying: "We deny what US President Donald Trump said regarding negotiations taking place between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Quoted by CBS News, the BBC's US partner, the foreign ministry adds: "The Islamic Republic of Iran adheres to its position rejecting any type of negotiations before achieving Iran's goals from the war.”

Don't bluff. If you say you're going to do something, follow through with it. America can and should follow through, but it is led by a fool.

Trump has a history of following through.

BREAKING

I can report that Whitstable is rather charming, in the mild spring sunshine. In a gritty, authentic English coastal way

We holidayed there in 2022. Had a bad oyster.

Well, I’ve just ordered nine rocks and natives at the Royal Whitstable Oyster Company, so I’m hoping you’re wrong!

It’s a really pleasant gaff, like a really good oyster bar in Brittany mixed with a Cornish gastropub. But in Kent

I might come to Whitstable more often

Aren't you the last person in London to have discovered Whitstable?

Yes. But I rather like the fact I can still unearth HIDDEN GEMS in my own backyard. There are always new places to explore. Even in Kent

Next week our global travel correspondent continues his series of "BACKYARD HIDDEN GEMS" with the surprise realisation that Tower Bridge is an extraordinary bridge, which even lifts up, just IMAGINE!

The following week our global travel correspondent discovers a hidden Palace in Westminster with, get this, a big CLOCK TOWER.

(((Dan Hodges)))
@DPJHodges
·
39m
Trump gave the Iranians an ultimatum. They called his bluff. He's backed down. That's it. No "3-D Chess". No masterful deployment of "The Mad Man Strategy". Trump has caved.

https://x.com/DPJHodges?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

See my prior remark. The fact is Dan has no idea if this is true. The only people that do are in the White House and at the top of the Iranian regime

Given that both sides have a penchant and a motivation for lying we will likely never find out

Some people are far more interested in Trump being seen to be defeated than they are the Iranian regime.

Like, duh. Both are utterly vile but little doubt as to which poses the bigger long term threat to global peace and security, IMHO.

Fascinatingly, I genuinely don’t know which of the two belligerents you mean

For me, the Iranians are obviously the greater threat (and the greater evil). If they get very close to nukes, without regime change, we will have nuclear war, for sure. Israel will attempt a First Strike

But given your politics perhaps you mean the USA

(((Dan Hodges)))
@DPJHodges
·
39m
Trump gave the Iranians an ultimatum. They called his bluff. He's backed down. That's it. No "3-D Chess". No masterful deployment of "The Mad Man Strategy". Trump has caved.

https://x.com/DPJHodges?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

See my prior remark. The fact is Dan has no idea if this is true. The only people that do are in the White House and at the top of the Iranian regime

Given that both sides have a penchant and a motivation for lying we will likely never find out

Some people are far more interested in Trump being seen to be defeated than they are the Iranian regime.

Yes. It’s another symptom of Trump Derangement Syndrome. Trump must always be lying therefore in this case the Iranians - the fecking Iranians! - MUST be telling the truth

Both the Iranians and Trump talk Shi’ite.

I think is a terrible outcome as I feared this will embolden the Iranian regime to crush the revolt at home.

A lot more innocents are going to die.

Trouble is, there are no good options from here, or even mediocre ones.

Which is why smarter leaders than Trump and Bibi wouldn't have started this whole thing.

(If you want the Jesus line about a king weighing up forces before attacking, I'm sure you can find it yourself.)

Every single coastal town in the UK should have a version of The Royal Whitstable Oyster Company. A breezy airy lovely old seaside gastropubby restaurant, where you can reliably get good oysters (and everything else seafood)

Britain has some of the very best seafood on the planet. It’s mad that it’s so hard to get, in Britain

I remember some years ago having absolutely delicious crustaceans fresh off the BBQ in Portugal and, I noticed on the boxes, fresh off the boat from Oban in Scotland where they had been harvested. If you found them for sale in this country at all they were some rare delicacy at multiple times the price. It was more than a bit frustrating. Its got a bit better, there are more seafood restaurants than there were but we could still do a lot better.

When I stay on Barra, there is a sizeable processing plant there with many of the wagons heading on the ferry to Oban with Spanish plates.

(((Dan Hodges)))
@DPJHodges
·
39m
Trump gave the Iranians an ultimatum. They called his bluff. He's backed down. That's it. No "3-D Chess". No masterful deployment of "The Mad Man Strategy". Trump has caved.

https://x.com/DPJHodges?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

See my prior remark. The fact is Dan has no idea if this is true. The only people that do are in the White House and at the top of the Iranian regime

Given that both sides have a penchant and a motivation for lying we will likely never find out

Some people are far more interested in Trump being seen to be defeated than they are the Iranian regime.

I forgot to bookmark the post I saw yesterday, that basically said that the coverage of the Iran war is massively distorted by the fact that almost the entire American Establishment and media want to see the Americans lose because they hate Trump.

Edit: one from last week.
https://x.com/k_aminthaabet/status/2033872949107728656
The hatred for Trump is so strong in mainstream U.S. media that war reporting is bring given a pro-Iran spin, with all U.S. success being muted almost entirely. It’s scandalous, actually.

You can’t justify how Trump started this war, you can’t justify how Trump is conducting this war, so you have to fall back on blaming the media and some new flavour of claiming Trump Derangement Syndrome.