Lift Nothing Until the Nukes are Gone

Eddy Aragon tackles Iran’s offer to restart peace talks with the United States in as few as two days. According to Reuters and CBS News, Tehran insists Washington first lift sanctions and the naval blockade, unfreeze Iranian assets and agree to a ceasefire on all fronts, and says nuclear discussions can only start after the fighting stops. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called some conditions “outrageous and ridiculous.” Eddy’s bold thesis on The Rock of Talk: take the meeting immediately, but lift nothing until Iran’s nuclear program is verifiably dismantled, because the blockade is America’s leverage. He acknowledges the war’s cost at the pump, with crude roughly 50 percent above a year ago, and the President’s admission that the decision may not look good today. He separates the Iranian people from their regime.