I give our President Trump, Vice President Vance, Marco Rubio and everyone else an “A” for effort. They have worked hard to try to bring about peace in the Middle East. The negotiations have gone on now for a long time. The problem is Iran is incapable of keeping an agreement. The Iranians are all about kicking the can down the road. They love the stall tactics. They are big talkers. They love to keep the conversation going and everyone engaged in deliberation. While all the talking is going on than this gives them time to build a few more missiles or plot an attack on a neighboring country.
I want to see peace in the Middle East. You want to see peace in the Middle East. Most of the world wants to see peace in the Middle East. The main players who do not want peace in the Middle East are the evil leaders of Iran. The majority of the population of Iran wants peace. Can you imagine how disruptive to their everyday lives war has to be?
There have been some deals throughout the years. In 1979 there was the Israel-Egypt Peace treaty, 1974-1978, Disengagement Agreement between Israel and Syria and Israel and Egypt. However, these periods of peace have been interrupted by conflicts.
Unfortunately, Middle Eastern conflicts date back thousands of years to:
- Ancient Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq). There were conflicts between Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians and the Assyrians around 4500-539 BCE.
- Ancient Egypt and Nubia, modern day Egypt, and Sudan conflicts around 2500-656 BCE.
- The Persian Empire (modern day Iran) vs. the Babylonian empire. These conflicts lasted around 550-539 BCE.
- Arab-Israel conflicts date back to the 7th century CE.
- The Ottoman Empire (modern day Turkey) Persian Empire around 1514-1821.
If you want to go back further you must go back to the beginning when two Old Testament brothers linked to the Middle East conflict are Esau and Jacob. They were the sons of Isaac and their conflict began when Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentils. This led to a perpetual hatred between the two brothers and their descendants. Esau’s descendants, the Edomites became a source of constant affliction for Jacob’s descendants, the Israelites.
Who are the Edomites today? They have been absorbed into various cultures and their direct descents are unclear. However, they are believed to be among modern day Jordanians and Palestinians as well as some Jewish people, especially Sephardic Jews They are also believed to be among some Bedouin tribes in Jordan and the Arabian Peninsula. These descendants have never gotten along well.
In 1979 Iran took United States hostages violating the Algiers Accords.
In 1995 they violated the Iran Libya Sanctions Act by purchasing Russian arms.
In 2005 they resumed uranium enrichment, violating the Paris Agreement.
In 2018 they violated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) after U.S. withdrawal.
In 2019 they attacked Saudi oil facilities violating the September 2019 Saudi-Iran agreements.
In 2020 they violated the 2015 JCPOA by enriching uranium to 4.5 percent.
In 2024 they violated the 2015 JCPOA by enriching uranium to 84 percent.
A deal with Iran is just an opportunity for them to buy time so they can do what they what to do. A deal with Iran is never really much of a deal.
— Dr. Glenn Mollette is a lifelong member of a Southern Baptist Church. He is the author of 15 books. His column is published in in over 600 media outlets throughout the United States. He served as president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. His most recent book is titled “Rambling Man with a Shaky Hand” published by Johnny House Press.
