Trump Was Lied to By Bibi to Start Iran War

May 13—As President Donald Trump and his entourage landed in Beijing today for two days of meetings with his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping, which are expected to center on trade issues, sources close to the White House say that the President will appeal to the Chinese leader for help securing an end to the war with Iran, which is destroying his Presidency. It is unclear what exactly Xi can do and what influence he has over the Iranian leadership, but Xi also wants the war ended as soon as possible to return some normalcy to global energy trade, which has been disrupted by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

Claims of Israeli Misrepresentation

Meanwhile, these and other sources report that Trump and his team were deliberately lied to by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu in order to get Trump to commit to the war, which started Feb. 28 with massive Israeli and U.S. airstrikes, including an Israeli decapitation strike targeting the Iranian leadership, which killed the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In recent days, Trump has claimed that the war is all about ending Iran's nuclear ambitions, although there is zero evidence from U.S. intelligence sources that at the time of the attack Iran was working to develop a nuclear weapon. Instead, these sources, as well as Israeli intelligence, say that the 12-Day War last summer, which targeted Iran's nuclear facilities, in Trump's words, "totally and utterly destroying them," had left Iran minimally years away from bomb-making, despite the existence of under a ton of 60% enriched uranium, which now lies buried in the rubble of one of the mountain-based labs.

Regime Change, Not Nuclear Disarmament

When Trump gave the go-ahead to attack Iran, said a source, "it was not about ending the nuclear program. That would require additional negotiation and cannot be accomplished militarily. He was going in on a 'fool's errand' to force a regime change—despite the fact the U.S. intelligence said that no shock-and-awe-type bombing campaign could accomplish this. A fool's errand promoted by Bibi, who has many thousands of agents and assets on the ground in Iran. He claimed that these people were telling him that if you took out the Iranian leadership, scrambled things, and gave a clear message that the U.S. and Israel would back a people's revolt, a regime change, then the people would rise up in the streets and overthrow the mullahs.

"Feb. 28 was not about the nuclear program," the source continued. "It was about regime change. Now here is where the lying tipped the scales. Trump was always skeptical that this would work. But Bibi assured him that his agents on the ground said they could make it work. That's a lie. The reports from Iran expressed doubt, saying that their efforts to promote popular protests against economic conditions earlier this year into a rebellion had failed miserably. People were not willing to die for nothing. But Bibi, and his flacks in the Mossad and Shin Bet, repressed and discounted these doubting reports, and instead promoted the scenario enacted Feb. 28 and since. Look at the posts and statements from Trump urging the people to rise up and pledging support and you can see how much he has been played for a sucker."

Iran’s Position and Proposed Terms for Peace

The point is Iran has won this phase of the war, these and other sources stated. "They have survived the attack to kill the leadership, suffering great losses, but also inflicting losses on Israel. More importantly, they have discovered and used their 'nuclear weapon'—the Strait of Hormuz. And they can negotiate the nuclear program. But they need to be smart here and not stupidly provoke Trump further. Iran does not want or need a nuclear weapons program. There is no real evidence that they have one, as it would be contrary to the Fatwa against weapons of mass destruction. These are serious religious findings. They want peaceful nuclear power and medical research. They don't need an enrichment program and can suspend that for 15 years or more. They can make a deal to hand over the 60% enriched uranium—if it can be gotten from underground—to a reliable partner, like Russia. The deal is there. Trump needs this deal to get out of the hole he is in. The Iranians should give it to him, at a price. Make a deal to end the war, first, making the ceasefire permanent. Open up the Strait, while the U.S. ends the blockade, and agree to work on some kind of fee structure in which Iran is compensated (and Oman, as well) for operating and keeping the Strait working, and paid for not ship by ship, but with some universal payment, funded by OPEC and oil cartels. So, you have this stop to the war and then accompany it with a statement on the nuclear program, that Iran will not seek a nuclear weapon and will negotiate other terms in good faith, as discussed above, within 30 days."

If that takes place, sources report, Iran will receive some immediate relief from sanctions, with further relief to come s the rest of tyhe deal falls into place and is implemented. Sanction relief is a major "carrot" for the Iranians.

International Pressure and Political Stakes

And here is where Xi can help, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the source: "Intervene to make it worthwhile for Iran to make the deal. China can help in that, in rebuilding the country."

While Trump made statements about the ceasefire being on "life support," few people actually expect him to do what Bibi is now urging and restart the war. That would be a political disaster for him. They point to today's vote in the Senate to invoke the War Powers resolution to end the war; it failed by one vote, 50-49, with several Republicans voting against the Administration. Let's see what comes out of Beijing, said a source. "Is Trump so stupid that he will follow Bibi off the cliff? Again?"