The date was set. The target was clear. All they needed was a green light from Washington. But President Trump and many of his key advisers were not quite ready to sign off on something so rash that could trigger World War III.

According to The New York Times, it was Trump who personally shot down the idea of joining Israel in a joint strike on Iran. And that decision has thrown the war machine into absolute chaos.

The neocons are melting down. And inside Trump's own orbit, the backstabbing knives are out—staffers are being fired, backroom battles are escalating, and staffers are being pushed out over supposed "leaks"—or is that just a pretext to purge the Jacksonian, America First continent of the administration?

What's really going on here?

Occam's razor would tell us that the globalist foreign policy blob expected business as usual. They didn't get it, and they're pissed.

Thankfully, Trump's America First instincts kicked in—again. He wants peace, not another endless war in the Middle East. But the war crowd isn't backing down easily or quietly.

From Lindsey Graham to Mike Pompeo, the usual suspects are doing everything they can to pull us back into the same failed playbook that gave us Iraq and Afghanistan.

While the media focused on bombs and battle plans, something else was happening—quiet, serious diplomacy.

President Trump greenlit direct talks with Iran. No middlemen. No Israel. Just us and them, face-to-face. And guess what? It's actually going somewhere.

Independent:

Progressives and other opponents of military conflict with Iran scored a surprise victory last week when President Donald Trump announced imminent negotiations with Tehran.

Talks took place over the weekend in Oman as US negotiators, under Trump's direction, seek a new arrangement aimed at constraining Iran's nuclear program. A second round was confirmed to be set for this Saturday in Rome, signaling that the negotiations are proceeding smoothly (so far), though two principals, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, issued terse conflicting statements on social media.

"Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program," Witkoff tweeted. Araghchi responded that a full dismantling of enrichment capabilities was off the table. But signs of an agreement taking shape were apparent.