From TFA:
> U.S. officials have said Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz permanently without tolls, while Tehran said the agreement is to allow free passage for the next 60 days during another period of negotiations led by Vance.
> When asked about the confusion during a Monday appearance on CNBC, Vance said “Well, our expectation is that the strait is gonna be opened in a toll-free way for the long term, and that’s the sort of thing that we’re gonna figure out in these technical negotiations.”
Iran has said the Strait will be open without tolls as well.
But they’ve said they will charge fees for “services they provide”, where the possible service they will provide is not shooting down any ship that pays them the “fee”.
Literal reparations:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_reparations
> War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war.
Another war lost by the USA, despite its infinite military supremacy. Weird.
One observation that comes to mind is that a lot of people in the world realize that the interests of the US and of Israel are not aligned, but American policy makers keep pretending they're one and the same. This was completely self-inflicted and it's not the first time. (The Iraq war cost what, trillions?) It's quite incredible.
And the worlds shortest memories. They literally re-hashed a conspiracy from 2008 at the fight....
Democrats can't even remember a Republican scandal from 2 weeks ago
and now they do
(Or, act to show - roots and consequences - that this should be the proper procedure.)
-- it does not seem that those who had to bear the collateral damages of the whole action (e.g. economic loss, diplomatic loss) will be paid;
-- there have been hints that some not involved in the action (hit by the retaliation) also paid (to appease the retaliator).
That's the law. But Congress is abdicating much of it's power. The SCotUS defers to the WhiteHouse (ex:sides with the admin 90% of the time). The mechanisms that foster ethics in the 3 branches are being intentionally sabotaged by the majority in power.
It’s not like congress can very feasibly reject this deal in the end, Iran would just extort the gulf countries and it’d be even harder to sell an intervention.
There is no winning move -which is why this never should have been started. Congress absolutely can and should reject the deal. I thought we were worried about the deficit? Or is that just when the next guy is in charge?
The way Tom Cotton did to Iran over Obama? And then Trump did when he tore up the JCPOA?
America has straight up broken treaties before. Most countries have. You negotiate with who you have at the table in geopolitics. Diplomats who refuse to negotiate with someone have short, useless careers.
No way congress passes that appropriation. They wouldn't pass the first JCPOA which is why Trump could shred it so easily.
This is the kind of thing you say when the deal is ready to be signed Friday.
1. An MoU has been signed by both sides extending the ceasefire for another 60 days.
2. US Naval blockade will be lifted. The US expects the Strait to be toll-free, while Iranians claim it will not charge anything only during the 60 days ceasefire period. Iran claims it does plan to introduce some "maritime service fees", along with Oman, for the usage of the Strait, in the future.
3. Trump claims Iran will have no weapon grade nuclear material and will hand over all its enriched nuclear material. Iran claims it has only agreed to dilute the existing stockpile of 60% enriched uranium to "civilian grade" levels. It will not hand it over to anyone. And while it will also retain its existing enrichment facilities there will no "0% enrichment" policy as the US administration demands. Iran however will restrict itself from enriching uranium for military use as per the NPT.
4. The agreement also demands that Israel will have to end all military operations in Lebanon too, and withdraw from all the Lebanese territories occupied by it so far. Israel has however said it will not withdraw from the territories it has captured. Iran says it is up to Trump and the US to bring Israel to heel and enforce the agreement.
5. "Denuclearisation" and complete cessation of hostilities in Lebanon is supposed to be further negotiated within this 60 days period. During this process, US has offered to lift some sanctions if progress is made on the nuclear "deal".
- MoU reached. Peace? Not sure. - https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/527364/MoU-reached-Peace-No...
- Iran and US agree peace deal roadmap: What is and isn’t known - https://www.rt.com/news/641641-iran-us-peace-deal/
- Scoop: CIA director doubts Iran's intentions on deal, sources say - https://www.axios.com/2026/06/15/us-iran-deal-cia-director-r...
Personally, I wouldn't hold my breath for this ceasefire to last beyond 60 days. Netanyahu needs some war, some where to continue till elections in Israel are over. Peace in the Lebanon front upsets that. The US has made clear it wants the enriched nuclear pile removed. So Iran will have to deliberate on how much of all this nuclear negotiations can be trusted to not be an "intelligence gathering" exercise (to figure out where the stockpile is currently - dilution of the enriched pile will need on the ground inspection).
Israel and Russia completely own MAGA. Every decision they make re: foreign policy looks like it is straight out of Foundations of Geopolitics or Netanyahu's fever dreams.
Edit: and more than that, towards the defense of alternative political and geopolitical models. (Actual examples redacted to keep a calmer water surface.) (Already 'alternative' seems so preposterous a term for the context - as if "rape" vs "invite to dinner" could be covered by the term.)
The taxpayer and future generations are footing the bill. Trump and friends are rich forever.
And I don't think the left would have gone this far. But who knows.
It’s been this way for almost my entire life and I’ll be collecting SS soon.
Congress can only sabotage deals like this at an immense cost to the US’s future ability to negotiate anything with anyone, and it certainly can’t sabotage it’s way into a more favourable deal.
Everyone already knows, any deal with the US does not bind the US, only the other party. But it still might be preferrable to the alternative of no deal at all.
I know people on both sides of the political spectrum and there’s pain and confusion across society. Perhaps one side has more power in this moment and more harmful impact but making sweeping claims, "it’s all racism" is what makes a group feel unheard and angry.
It is because of racism. People were told about the invasion coming over the border, and that Trump would stop it, and they voted for Trump.
No way congress passes an appropriation you just invented, which even the most optimistic Iranian propagandists are not claiming to be happening?
I mean yeah. Most random things you can come up with are likely to be things that congress will never pass.
Having been skeptical of the racism explanation for quite some time, I've come around to it. Of course racism isn't the only thing that remains (there is also religious fundamentalism, spite, grift, etc), but it is a large chunk of what remains. I find the analogy of how communities destroyed their own public swimming pools as a response to desegregation an apt comparison.