The US now seems to be abandoning the demand that the Strait of Hormuz be opened somewhat, thereby indicating that Iran has effectively won the war. Are we going to escalate now, or will Trump back down?

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Iran and the US are not talking to each other right now. They will have to make a choice: maintain the ceasefire, or take up arms again and continue a senseless war.

I write senseless war, because taking up arms will not change the situation. It will only result in more deaths, more wounded, and more economic damage. But the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, no matter how long they fight.

The only way out of this is to talk.

But to talk, you also have to listen.

The Americans, in particular, still haven't done that. The Americans have merely indicated what Iran must do; they completely fail to understand what Iran really wants. The Americans have offered nothing; they have only made demands.

This is despite the fact that, militarily speaking, the Americans have done everything they possibly could and have not broken Iran in the process. Militarily speaking, the Americans cannot do much more, because China is still there as well. If they fire everything at Iran, then China will have free rein in the Far East.

So, Trump will now have to choose. The question now is... Is this man still capable of making strategic decisions? Or are we dealing here with literally a madman, an old, demented, and mentally broken, embittered man who has nothing left to lose and, at the end of his life, is burning his bridges and plunging the world into an economic and military disaster?

How much confidence do American politicians still have in their failing president?

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