Arlene Kushner | June 21, 2026
Photo by Gilles DETOT on Unsplash
In less than two weeks, the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding.
President Donald Trump is eager for this to be an extraordinary celebration (as he attempts to make everything with which he is associated extraordinary). He looks forward to telling the citizens of the US that he is bringing a time of peace and prosperity. This coming event, I believe, is one of the several reasons why he was so eager to reach an agreement with Iran now.
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People in America still sing the anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner. But do they just mouth the words or actually pay attention to their meaning? It speaks of “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
“the brave”? I would never malign all Americans. Some indeed are very brave or at least understand the need for brave actions. But in the main I am hearing about gas prices, and it is horribly disappointing.
Yes, bitter irony. As we witness the decline of America.
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I do not believe that most Americans understand that liberty can be lost in a generation if there is no will to fight for it. Nor do I believe that in the main they remotely understand the nature of the consummate evil that is the Islamist regime in Iran. They do not recognize that this regime presents a threat not just to Israel, but to America and all of the Western world. They do not grasp its tenacity, its mendacity, its fanatic religious underpinning.
Nor, sadly, does America have many leaders who are prepared – even at the price of losing popularity – to tell the people the hard truth. Hey, improve the economy and all will be well.
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The hard truth is that it is impossible to negotiate constructively with Islamist entities. They lie, they cheat, they make promises they do not intend to keep.
Daniel Greenfield has just written that:
“Negotiating with Islamic terrorists in general is a humiliation ritual. The moment you agree, you’ve lost face, shown weakness and it is now their mandate to humiliate you as much possible in order to extract maximum advantage while failing to keep any promises that they make. (Emphasis added)
“Our leaders still haven’t learned this most basic fact from history.” He is referring to American leaders.
https://www.frontpagemag.com/negotiating-with-iran-is-a-humiliation-ritual/
Daniel Greenfield, CEO Freedom Center. Screengrab via Youtube
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Now we see Vice President JD Vance belittling Israel for depending upon war when the path of negotiations is open. In an interview, he specifically addressed Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Minister Bezalel Smotrich, both of whom are opposed to the negotiations.
He asks them, “What exactly is your proposal? You can’t just kill your way out of solving every national security problem you have.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/428848
How dare he?? He is maligning Israel – whether advertently or not, fueling anti-Zionism by portraying us as war-mongers – and ignoring the reality of what Israel must cope with.
When dealing with the Islamists of Hezbollah, a military response is the only one that can work.
Says Vance, the claim that this is a bad agreement “is not supported by the facts…the moderate side in Iran, which wants a better relationship with the West, has won the internal debate in recent months.”
“The moderate side.” Really?? The vice president’s ignorance here is breathtaking. There is no “moderate side” within the Iranian regime. Actually, all of the reports I am reading indicate that the IRGC, the most virulently militant element in Iran, has secured more power in recent months.
https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/online-exclusive/the-war-with-iran-made-the-irgc-stronger/
This is deeply worrisome information, and the fact that the man who is heading negotiations for the US now is apparently prepared to “trust” Iran, makes it truly frightening.
Vance, who may yet become the next Republican candidate for president, has shown himself to be shockingly misinformed on several counts. When asked in an interview about the wisdom of negotiating with the enemy, he replied that all major wars end with negotiations. “World War II ended with negotiations…”
See his statement here:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JYAGBmgTLxw
Vice President JD Vance Hosting The Charlie Kirk Show. Photo by The White House – YouTube: VP Vance Hosts the Charlie Kirk Show – View/save archived versions on archive.org and archive.today, Public Domain, Wikipedia
That the vice president of the US is so glaringly deficient in his historical knowledge is a shocker. World War II ended with unconditional surrender first by the Nazis and then by Japan.
Ben-Gvir responded to Vance’s challenge, in English:
“This is the proposal… To deal with the Nazis of the 21st century, just as the United States dealt with the Nazis of the 20th century.”
Amen, amen to that.
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Itamar Ben Gvir – 2021. Photo by Alexander Khanin – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikipedia
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But consider how Trump talks around all of these issues as he offers his latest evidence of how successful his policy is:
“These fools, who think I haven’t been tough enough on Iran, when the Stock Market Just Hit A RECORD HIGH, and Oil prices are ‘tumbling’ down, are either jealous, bad people, or stupid. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
A short-sighted and foolish statement that totally fails to confront the hard questions concerning the dangers of the Islamist regime.
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And so, where are we? On Wednesday, in a surprise action, Trump signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran – which was supposed to have been signed in Switzerland on Friday. Apparently, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had previously signed it electronically.
Today (Sunday) was the first day of the negotiations, in the Burgenstock resort in Lucerne, Switzerland. The session lasted about 80 minutes. VP Vance heads the US delegation; he is joined by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The Iranian delegation is led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Negotiation is being done by Pakistan and Qatar.
“According to Maariv, which cited a source, the Iranian delegation declined to participate in a group photo with the US delegation, and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf refused to enter the room during the press conference.”
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-899990
The main topics on the agenda were Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz. Reportedly, Iran has again blocked the Strait in protest against IDF action against Hezbollah in Lebanon. And the Iranian delegation curtailed the meeting because of Trump’s threats to attack again if the Strait is not kept open. This, after all, is the president’s key to claiming victory via an improved economic situation – and it is imminently clear that Iran understands this dynamic.
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I will, of course, be returning for analyses of the text of the Memorandum and subsequent negotiating stances. But here I want to focus on that situation in Lebanon.
Israel may have fought the war against Iran as an equal ally of the US, but when it came time for negotiations, Trump closed out Israeli participation and refused to even allow Netanyahu an advance look at the MoU.
While Israel maintains that the issue of Hezbollah in Lebanon is an issue that is separate from any agreement between the US and Iran, the Iranian regime is trying mightily to tie the two together. There are at least two motivating factors for this. One is protection of Iran’s main proxy group.
“Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said in a televised speech that the militant group will not accept any ceasefire deal that grants Israel ‘freedom of action’ within Lebanon or does not result in a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2026/06/21/us-iran-talks-vance-trump-latest-21-june-2026/
This is not going to happen. And that leads to Iran’s second motive: generating tension between Israel and the US.
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Israel is in a painful and untenable position. Hezbollah, utilizing drones, has been killing our soldiers, as well as launching attacks from time to time in our north. It is not a situation we are prepared to accept. In two separate incidents over the last couple of days, five soldiers were killed and 13 injured.
There is talk of a “ceasefire” between Hezbollah and Israel, and quite frankly I do not know what this means, for Hezbollah continues to attack. Reportedly, in the main the IDF is responding to attacks, while in fact what we require is the latitude to continue to go after this terrorist group and continue to weaken them.
Statements have been released by IDF and political leadership insisting that we will remain in Lebanon and do what needs to be done. That we will remain in south Lebanon is, I think, a given, and exact parameters of where we will be stationed are being defined.
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Today, at a memorial service marking 50 years since the death of his brother, Yoni, in the Entebbe rescue operation, Prime Minister Netanyahu said:
“I pledge here at your grave, Yoni, and I pledge before you, citizens of Israel: The State of Israel will not be a passing episode in the history of our people…
“We are standing firm on our vital interests. We have achieved tremendous accomplishments, and we will not give them up. We will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary in order to protect our dear residents of the north and all citizens of the country. As Prime Minister of Israel, I insist on this firmly, and nothing will change that.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/428968
PM Netanyahu’s Remarks at the Start of Today’s Government Meeting. Screengrab via X.
All of this is well and good, but it does not guarantee a commitment to act to the maximum against Hezbollah at all times, to weaken this group’s capacity to attack. The fact of the matter is that Iran is leaning hard on Trump, and Trump, in turn, is leaning on Netanyahu, big time. There is, it appears, an order to hold fire under certain circumstances and IDF capacity to undermine Hezbollah is limited – with constraints in some situations in place on anything other than a response to an attack . This puts our soldiers at risk, and that is not acceptable.
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There was, however, one major accomplishment that I will mention before closing:
“The IDF announced Sunday that troops operating in southern Lebanon uncovered a large underground Hezbollah tunnel network containing hundreds of weapons and four launch shafts aimed at Israeli territory.
“The findings indicate that the village had been heavily fortified and saturated with Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure.
“During the operation, Israeli forces eliminated more than 20 Hezbollah operatives, including over 10 members of the elite Radwan Force. Troops also dismantled more than 50 terrorist sites, including observation posts, weapons depots and other military infrastructure.
“Engineers from the Yahalom combat engineering unit uncovered a significant underground tunnel system stretching more than 200 meters (650 feet) in length and reaching a depth of over 25 meters (82 feet). The complex contained four launch shafts directed toward Israel and 12 separate rooms used for operational purposes.
“According to the IDF, the underground facility included living quarters as well as storage areas containing explosive devices, anti-tank missiles, UAVs and other weapons. Hundreds of weapons were recovered from the site.
“The IDF said operations in the area remain ongoing as Israeli forces continue efforts to locate and dismantle additional Hezbollah infrastructure near the border.”
Right on!
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I ask, as I always do, that you please pray. Pray for the strength, courage and wisdom of our leaders, both political and military, and for the safety of our soldiers.
©Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
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