By Donald A. Collins | 15 May 2026
Church and State

With the Strait of Hormuz closed and disrupting the entire world economy, as well as unnervingly enabling the renewal of hostilities, Trump’s options for ending the blockage of both Iran and the US blockade require rethinking the best options for a deal.
Obviously, not having started this war in the first place was the best option, but having done so, Trump has cast himself as a certain loser politically.
However, new thinking on Iran’s likelihood of having a nuclear weapon suggests that goal may not develop as rapidly as Trump claims.
Furthermore, despite the loud protests that this would be an unacceptable outcome, I would remind Trump and his horrified experts that North Korea has a nuclear weapon since 2006.
“While the North Korean dictator already has control of the country’s nuclear forces, the update to the constitution makes clear what should occur if he is assassinated.
“This may have been policy before, but it has added emphasis now it has been enshrined in the constitution,” said Andrei Lankov, a professor of international relations at Kookmin University in Seoul, South Korea.
See here.
North Korean constitution now requires nuclear missile strike if Kim Jong Un is killed by foreign power. https://t.co/h0pG5TSJxF
— Church and State (@ChurchAndStateN) May 15, 2026
Threats of nuclear bomb use will prevail far into the future but it would seem that Iran has a particular reason not to use any nuclear bomb it might acquire.
On Wednesday, May 13 as Trump was being interviewed in DC just before departing for Beijing with an important conference with Prime Minister XI he was asked by reporters about the Iranian war he started, and he said that his most important objective was to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and that he was not worried about the effects on American people. Talk about screwed up priorities!!!
At present there are about 12,700 nuclear warheads worldwide poised for launching of which 90% are in the hands of the USA or Russia. Since the United States first used nuclear weapons and Russia acquired a similar capacity there has been a decades long understanding that their use would cause destruction of humanity on planet earth.
Iran, since the Trump attack, has a more comfortable conservative government than before the attack, but Iran’s principal motivation is for its right-wing leadership to continue to control a country with its 90 million people.
Trump explains why the US has attacked Iran without provocation, sending the global economy into crisis:
"We're doing it to help Israel" and the Gulf dictatorships pic.twitter.com/KI6nrc0iHY
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) May 15, 2026
So long as Iran does not lose the war, it has every possibility of continuing to keep the Strait of Hormuz under threat of attack.
Now, desperately in need of an exit ramp where none exists, it might be that if Trump would simply defer discussion of Iran’s future nuclear intentions, that a deal might be struck.
Naturally, Iran will request restoration money for the damage which the US attack has already done, but possibly it would decide not to charge fees on ships passing through the Strait?
For Trump, boots on the ground to grab Iran’s nuclear stash, does not seem to be an available option.
While Iran is being squeezed, Trump has more political liability for this situation than Iran. Clearly, Iran wins so long as it does not lose.
You may recall that that was the formula that George Washington was able to accomplish when fighting the superpower of England at the time of our proposed revolution.
Reinstating the previous sanctions on the purchase of Russian oil in order to affect the outcome of the Ukrainian war would also be something that making an Iran deal would accomplish.
Furthermore, China, which gets 30% of its power supply from Iranian oil would likely be especially benefited. This would continue to put the Taiwan matter in abeyance.
🚨China pulled off a masterstroke; 🇨🇳🇺🇲
No Army chief, no President or Interior Minister of China showed up at the airport to receive Trump.
When Trump arrived Xi Jinping didn't take a single step forward.
That's what silent dominance look like. ✌️ pic.twitter.com/4MouDROTof
— GUARDIAN Tactical (@guardian_tek) May 14, 2026
Of course, if Trump refuses to make a deal, this will continue to haunt his prospects for the midterm elections.
I have long argued that Trump has been deserving of ousting. It may be that enough of the GOP will finally realize, despite support for Trump’s tenure by the billionaires, that it has come time for that to happen.
Former US Navy officer, banker and venture capitalist, Donald A. Collins, a free lance writer living in Los Angeles, CA, has spent over 60 years working for women’s reproductive health as a board member and/or officer of numerous family planning organizations including Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Guttmacher Institute, Family Health International and Ipas. Yale under graduate, NYU MBA. He is the author of 16 books: “From the Dissident Left: A Collection of Essays 2004-2013”, “Trump Becoming Macbeth: Will our democracy survive?”, “We Humans Overwhelm Our Earth: 11 or 2 Billion by 2100?”, “What Can Be Done Now to Save Habitable Life on Planet Earth?”, “Vote”, “Can Homo Sapiens Survive?”, “Will Choice and Democracy Win?”, “Can Our U.S. Survive 8 Plus Billion of Us”, “Economic Growth: A Cancer on all Earthly Life”, “On the Precipice of Political Disaster in 2024”, “Democracy at Red State Risk”, “Does Trump Go to Jail or to The Oval Office?”, “Trump: Pardon or Punish?: The Nixon Precedence Was Not A Trump Coup Denied!”, “Common Sense: When will Trump be Impeached, Indicted, and Exited?”, “Trump–unrestrained dangerous liar!”, “Our Ethnic Mix May Save Us!” and “Trump will be gone before November 3, 2026!”.“What Can Be Done Now to Save Habitable Life on Planet Earth?”: https://t.co/fHuh0CG6JD
“We Humans Overwhelm Our Earth: 11 or 2 Billion by 2100?”: https://t.co/TA4j7cp1tE
“From the Dissident Left: A Collection of Essays 2004-2013”: https://t.co/lkC2t3E1A9 pic.twitter.com/bQsL2mLBcO— Church and State (@ChurchAndStateN) November 1, 2021
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FULL REMARKS: President Trump Discusses Iran War, Strait Of Hormuz During Final Meeting With Xi
‘A lot of troubling questions left unanswered’: Morning Joe panels breakdown Trump-Xi summit
Investigating Trump, Project 2025 and the future of the United States | Four Corners
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