Blogger G.F. Brandenburg is upset about Trump’s disastrous deal with Iran. All the sanctions on this rogue state will be lifted, and Iran agreed to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for only 60 days. After 60 days, Iran and Oman will decide about the management of that vital body of water, through which moves about 20% of the world’s oil.
Brandenburg calculates how much money these two nations will haul in if they require ships to pay a toll. Annually, we are talking of revenues worth billions.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is a set up for arbitrary war 2, the return to conflict
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Roy – They have 60 days to let ships go through, but after that, there will be some sort of payment required. Apparently, they didnt know they had such control. Although the rest of the world knew, tRump never even considered what would happen. I am still wondering why Marco – who should know better – didnt inform Hegseth and tRump of the consequences. Or maybe he did but was just one voice, easy to dismiss.
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Maybe those were things that USrael should have thought about before they launched an unprovoked war.
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Obviously, one would think. History, however, brims with hubris.
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Could the toll be considered a form of reparations for overthrowing Iran’s democracy in 1953 and for launching a military attack against the country during negotiations?
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Wouldn’t be like paying reparations to Hitler for our firebombing of Dresden and destruction of other cities?
If there had been regime change and Iranians were free to choose their own government, I’d be happy with the reparations. Not for these thugs.
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No, it would be like Germany paying reparations for invading Austria. Iran’s government is not our business and it was never our place to invade them and try to regime change them.
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I felt badly for the thousands of young people slaughtered by the mullahs and their goons. I wish we had been able to free the people. But nothing we did helped them or us. The war was a win-win for the revolutionary zealots.
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The point is mute. Our bombing campaign to bring about regime change failed and Iran has won.
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Agreed. Big victory for Iran.
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The best thing we can do for the people of Iran is to stay out of their business. The more the U.S. throws its weight around acting like it cares about the Iranian people (it doesn’t, anymore than cared about the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Indonesia, Vietnam or all the other countries we’ve destroyed), the more Iran’s leaders crack down to maintain Iran’s sovereignty. There are plenty of forces within Iran that are trying to work for better democracy – our interventions set them back.
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You must have a secret source in the Iranian underground. The Revolutionary Guards are said to have murdered tens of thousands of mostly young people who hate the regime.
The opposition is not in good shape. I hope they did not take seriously Trump’s lie that “hope is on the way.”
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OMG, you believe the “tens of thousands” number? LOL. You didn’t believe Israel killed 10,000 in the first month of dropping 2,000 lb bombs on Gaza even though every death was documented, but you believe that the IRG could shoot 10s of thousands in a few weeks? SMDH. Yet another example of being propagandized.
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Dienne,
Every reputable news source has reported the same figure. Again, I remind you that the blog is not a private conversation. Do not address your comments to me.
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No, there has been no consistency on the number. Some have said 3,000, some have said 10,000, some 30,000, 60,000 or more. The number changes daily and there’s absolutely nothing backing it up besides “trust us, bro”. The most reputable sources I have found that have provided reasonable evidence have said around 3,000, many of whom were IRG who were attacked by protesters – the violence has not been all one way.
As for your last sentence, I address my responses to the person I’m responding to.
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I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, Dienne.
I don’t know how many protestors the Iranian regime killed but the regime itself admitted killing 3,117. Others, such as Amnesty International, believe that the number might be as high as 20,000.
https://share.google/zodrikHFtxnJiEMoh
It’s a brutal repressive regime. At least to me.
I didn’t realize that you defend both the mullahs and Putin.
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I defend the truth, which you essentially just admitted. Thanks for agreeing the number is closer to 3,000 and that 30,000 is by no means the consistently used number.
Have a great day!
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The regime said 3,000. I don’t trust the Iranians to admit how many young people they murdered. Interesting that you are always skeptical of what our government reports–under current administration I am skeptical too–but you willingly accept whatever comes out of the mouths of vicious dictators.
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Admit it, Diane, you love having me participate in this blog and you’ll be very disappointed if I ever go away.
In any case, do you know how western media foreign correspondents “report” their stories? They all stay at the same luxury hotels and get briefed by western-aligned officials, or they embed with western military units. They are not allowed to go out into the field on their own, interview people, look at battle scenes, etc.
On the other hand, there are actual independent (often indigenous) journalists who are not bound by such restrictions, who are able to talk to people at all levels, all sides, look into records, view battle scenes, etc. They are not necessarily loyal to any government or administration – their loyalty is to the people. It’s hard to find such sources in this country since so much non-aligned media is censored here, but it is doable.
The west has been trying to overthrown the Iranian government since 1979, so their agenda is anything that furthers that goal. Independent journalists don’t support the ruling mullahs of Iran, but they support Iranian independence and sovereignty, so their reporting may at time align with the mullahs, but they also challenge the mullahs because the goal is truth, not protecting any particular ruler. While Twitter certainly has taken a tumble since the Muskrat took it over, it is still one of the best places to find such independent journalists. Trita Parsi, Craig Murray, The Gray Zone, Consortium News and Antiwar.com are some great places to start.
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Does this mean we should cheer for the Revolutionary Guard and hiss when Iranian women take off their head covering?
Here’s good news for you:
Iranian star Parastoo Ahmadi reportedly sentenced to 74 lashes for singing without hijab
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/18/iran-parastoo-ahmadi-74-lashes-singing-without-hijab?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
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Does it mean we should cheer for liberating Iranian women by bombing girls’ schools?
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Of course not.
But I assume you are satisfied to see women punished for not wearing a hijab, for daring to speak as loudly as you do. This is a regime that oppresses not only women, but gays and anyone who dares to protest. It has been the sponsor of Hamas and Hezbollah.
No, I don’t like the mullahs and their fascist rule. I have Iranian friends who pray for their end.
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Hamas and Hezbollah are freedom fighters, but you’re not ready for that conversation.
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Hamas and Hezbollahs are terrorists, not freedom fighters. The Iranian mullahs support freedom, esp for women and gays. Drop it, Dienne. We don’t agree.
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Of all of Trump’s character flaws, lack of self awareness is the one to keep in mind. He thinks he controls the war, the silly goose. I laughed at the MOU when I found out about it. Netanyahu is the one who controls the war. Netanyahu promised Israel a regime change in Iran that would decimate the dangers posed by Hamas and Hezbollah. Netanyahu has no concerns about ending the war before the midterm elections in the U.S.; he cares far less about a possible global economic depression than about defeating his enemies; he wants to destroy Iran and Hezbollah before he is up for reelection in Israel. It is unlikely someone like Benjamin Netanyahu is done trying to force a full regime change.
There is no deal. There never was. The war is not on hold for 60 days. Israel will not let it end so badly. That country cannot afford to lose wars like the U.S. can. They will strike and strike and strike in Lebanon and elsewhere. The U.S. Congress might be forced in a few months to formally declare war on Iran, and Trump, who is really a coward, might be forced to put boots on the ground to avoid a world war over the Strait. The U.S. is not in charge anymore. We don’t have a rudder. We are at the mercy of the wind.
Meanwhile, other nations are revaluing their currencies against the Chinese yuan to get away from the dollar. On the bright side, uh, let’s say kittens and puppies.
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No! I forgot. Not even kittens and puppies! They’re eating the dogs! They’re eating the cats! They’re eating the pets of the people who live there. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vNbhpkJ69ts&ra=m
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A small correction: I’m not “upset” about the crappy deal that Trump had to make.
It’s more like schadenfraude on my part.
Trump was the one who surrendered, after insisting that Iran would surrender unconditionally.
It is also astonishing that these murderous mullahs have more rectitude and honesty than the leader of the USA.
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