Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's delegation was in New York for negotiations when Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly ordered them out of the country immediately. Their flight to Doha, Qatar departed at 1:20 a.m.
That was after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps published a 25-page letter explaining why Americans should vote against Trump in the November 3 midterm elections.
The IRGC letter, authored under spokesman Hossein Mohebbi's name, doesn't dance around its preference. It calls President Trump "an inveterate liar" and "an insanely avaricious man whose only motivation in life is the accumulation of greater wealth." It warns that "the US economy is on the precipice of collapse, and yet he keeps on telling Americans that the economy is booming." Then the kicker: "Soon, the dam will break, and the economy will implode, causing, unfortunately, great pain for Americans for many, many years."
The Iranian regime — the one that killed between 7,000 and 30,000 of its own protesters in January's crackdown — is now offering economic analysis to American voters. The same IRGC that claimed "not a single verifiable instance where the IRGC has committed an act of violence against civilians" wants us to believe they're concerned about our well-being.
Iran's mission had communicated its delegation schedule to the State Department on September 17. The negotiations in New York covered the Strait of Hormuz, the wider regional conflict, Iran's nuclear program, and potential economic relief. Qatar had been serving as an intermediary, carrying messages between the two sides. Then Rubio pulled the plug.
The Trump administration then slapped new sanctions targeting Iran's automotive and rail sectors — not exactly the "economic relief" Araghchi's team was hoping to negotiate.
The IRGC letter's claimed "the fact that the Americans might manage, at great expense, considerable trouble and high risk to sneak a small vessel through the Strait of Hormuz under cover of darkness to export, say, 100 or 200 barrels of oil does not mean the Strait is open." Seven million barrels of oil move through that strait daily — 72% of prewar Persian Gulf crude export levels. That's the chokepoint Iran is threatening while simultaneously telling American voters Trump is bad for the economy.
A regime that openly threatens global oil supply is writing op-eds about American economic stability. The International Atomic Energy Agency is still monitoring Iran's nuclear program. And the IRGC — designated as a terrorist organization — just produced a voter guide.
In a Time interview, Trump acknowledged it was "possible" that bombing could intensify "after the November 3 midterm elections." Six months of replenishing weapons stocks suggests the administration isn't negotiating from weakness. Iran proposed a seven-day trust-building plan. Rubio's answer was a boarding pass to Qatar.
