As Talks Drag On, Trump Says ‘I Don’t Care’ About Midterms Pressure
By: Max Bearak, Erika Solomon, Euan Ward and Luke Broadwater (The New York Times)
quagmire (noun)
quag·mire ( ˈkwag-ˌmī(-ə)r ˈkwäg- )
1 : soft miry land that shakes or yields under the foot
2 : a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position : predicament
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
May 27, 2026 7:30 PM EDT
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In a lengthy cabinet meeting on Wednesday, President Trump signaled he was open to protracted peace talks with Iran and expressed indifference to political pressure caused by a monthslong war that has proved unpopular in the United States.
Iranian officials "thought they were going to outwait me," he said, adding, "I don't care about the midterms."
Mr. Trump did not indicate that any kind of deal was imminent despite both Washington and Tehran suggesting in recent days that a narrow agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was near. He reiterated that he did not want the key waterway to be under Iranian control. "Nobody's going to control it; we're going to watch over it," he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, the White House dismissed an Iranian state television report claiming to have obtained a draft of a preliminary deal with the United States, calling it a "complete fabrication." According to the reported draft, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial marine traffic in return for the United States lifting its naval blockade. Iran's broadcaster projected the "initial, unofficial" 14-point agreement as one in which Iran "cemented its power in the Strait," while laying out a potential path to peace with the United States.
The reported draft said that the management and routing of ship traffic through the waterway, a crucial shipping route for oil and gas that Iran has effectively closed since the early days of the war, would be handled by Iran in cooperation with Oman. It also said that the United States would withdraw an unspecified number of military forces "from the areas surrounding Iran."
The prospect of quickly reopening the strait seemed to dim after the United States and Iran ratcheted up hostilities this week. Two U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss military matters, described attacks carried out against Iranian boats and launch sites early Tuesday as having been in response to threatening actions by the Iranians,including reported mine-laying in the strait.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps responded by vowing a "decisive reciprocal response" to any cease-fire violations, and the supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, suggested that the country could renew strikes on U.S. military installations in the Persian Gulf.
Iranian officials have said that the recent talks have focused on the strait, leaving the even more contentious issue of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium until later. Iran's state media report did not mention the nuclear issue and, responding to a reporter's question during Wednesday's cabinet meeting, Mr. Trump said he would not be "comfortable" with letting Iran's stockpile to be handed over to Russia or China.
A resurgence in fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon also complicated the broader peace prospects. Iran has demanded that any peace deal it makes with the United States and Israel must encompass Lebanon.
Israel pounded southern Lebanon for a second day on Wednesday and issued fresh evacuation warnings for residents there. Tuesday's Israeli strikes killed at least 31 people, including four children, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
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President Donald Trump threatening Oman was a stupid move. But, then, demanding the Arab states accept the Abraham Accords was also a stupid move.
The quagmire has beckoned and Trump is dragging the rest of us in with him.
Trump only cares about himself...PERIOD.