On Monday, Hot Air posted an article about the Iran negotiations.

The article reports:

In a move that shocks precisely nobody, Iran has done a 180 and denied that the regime has agreed to IAEA inspections any time soon, if ever. 

They made the announcement within minutes of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant announcing that the United States has lifted all sanctions on Iranian oil, which can now be legally traded, in dollars no less, and be sold anywhere within the world without restrictions at market prices. 

…Vice President Vance had highlighted Iran’s concession to allow IAEA inspectors into the country as a major achievement—something many had already disputed, given that IAEA inspectors had been allowed into Iran up until the 2025 Midnight Hammer operation. Without knowing how freely the inspectors could roam in Iran and whether the disputed sites would be included, it’s hard to say whether this was a breakthrough or just a baby step toward getting back to pre-2025 levels of cooperation.

…It seems obvious that Iran is saying one thing behind the scenes and another in front of the cameras. Its claim to have walked away from negotiations yesterday proved half true—its top officials refused to sit down or even meet with Vice President Vance’s team, but its lower-level negotiators remained in talks with our lower-level folks. 

First of all, do the people negotiating for Iran actually have power in their country’s government? Second of all, it is remotely possible that Iran is simply saying anything to get the sanctions lifted and the attacks on Hezbollah stopped? This is taqiyya at work.

Taqiyya (Arabic:  romanized: taqiyya; lit. ‘prudence’ or ‘fear’) is a doctrinal principle in Islamic jurisprudence permitting the dissimulation or concealment of one’s religious beliefs, practices, or affiliations when facing persecution, mortal danger, or severe harm to oneself, family, or community. Originating from Quranic verses such as Ali Imran 3:28, which instructs believers to avoid close alliances with disbelievers unless fearing them while harboring true faith inwardly, and supported by prophetic hadiths, taqiyya emerged as a pragmatic response to early Muslim vulnerabilities under hostile regimes. (source here)

We do not want Iran to have the money to continue funding terrorism around the world. They have to be totally defeated and new leadership put in place. Damn the torpedoes–full steam ahead! Nothing else is going to work.