Cabot Phillips

Well, initially, they denied that they had engaged in any talks to begin with.

However, on Wednesday, regime officials announced that they had, in fact, received Trump's offer, but rejected it completely.

In their words, U.S.

demands were, quote, They added that, quote,

But according to reports, they did privately signal a willingness to talk to Washington, though their demands right now are quite hefty, to say the least.

So according to the Wall Street Journal, the regime is saying any plan must include an immediate end to U.S.

strikes, the closure of all American military bases in the Persian Gulf, a lifting of all economic sanctions, total control of the Strait of Hormuz, and the right to collect fees from passing ships.

guarantees that no strikes will occur in the future, and the list goes on.

Now, obviously, most of those points are never going to be accepted by the president, but the question is whether they are legitimate demands or simply just posturing.

Iranian officials, for their part, have expressed doubts that even Trump's offer was legitimate, with some calling it a, quote, ploy to benefit markets or even a distraction to allow for the US to continue its infantry buildup in the region while these talks go on.

And to that point, Trump's five-day pause on power plant strikes will expire right as new troops arrive in the region.

We mentioned yesterday that he deployed those 2,000 elite paratroopers.

Well, they'll be joined Friday by 2,200 more Marines from the 31st Expeditionary Unit.

So if Trump decides the talks are not going anywhere, he could well use those troops to secure the Strait of Hormuz from the ground.

Right.

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Golobov, claimed yesterday that, quote, Iran's enemies, with the support of one of the regional countries, are preparing to occupy one of the Iranian islands.

He went on to threaten new attacks on infrastructure in the region if such an operation took place.

Now, the White House is yet to acknowledge those remarks, but he could be referring to Karg Island, which is home to much of Iran's oil infrastructure.

And it's worth noting,

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