Byron York says US and Iran are between war and peace
Byron York, chief political correspondent for the *Washington Examiner*, told Hugh Hewitt that the U.S. situation with Iran appears to be in a transition zone between “war adn peace.” He said the ceasefire lasted longer than the fighting itself and that negotiations are ongoing, though he believes they have major flaws.
On the question of whether Iran would eventually agree to provide enriched uranium without further attacks, York argued that Iran would likely resist unless it sees a reason to change-pointing out the Trump management’s stance that there would be no settlement unless Iran turns over enriched uranium.
York also criticized the U.S. decision to enter the Iran conflict alongside an ally with different interests, describing Lebanon as a complicating factor and suggesting Israel’s actions in lebanon fit into a larger regional dynamic tied to iran. He agreed with Hewitt’s view that Trump’s push for all allies to join the Abraham Accords is “brilliant jiu jitsu,” framing it as a political move that caught skeptics off guard. York said Saudi Arabia would be the most consequential country to join first (and that signing would still be challenging).
He identified key Abraham Accords countries mentioned by Hewitt-especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait-and said Saudi Arabia is the biggest hurdle and the one most likely to move earliest.
Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York spoke on the Hugh Hewitt Show Tuesday about the Iran war, saying, “I think we’re in something in the middle between war and peace with Iran.”
“The ceasefire lasted longer than the war itself. The president obviously does not want to resume full-scale hostilities, and there continues to be negotiations, which, I think, have some serious flaws in them, but there they are,” York said.
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When host Hugh Hewitt asked York if he thinks “there’s much of a chance that Iran will, at this point, without further pounding, agree to give us the enriched uranium,” York said, “Well, I wonder if Iran, with further pounding, would agree to give us the enriched uranium.”
“I don’t know. I mean, obviously, the administration over the weekend coming up with the no-dust, no-dollars thing, says that there’s not going to be any settlement at all unless Iran turns over the enriched uranium. So I don’t think we’ve gotten any indication from the Iranians,” York said.
“They’ve always said ‘well, we don’t want to have a nuclear program,’” York said.
“I think it was a mistake, [for] the United States to enter into a war with a single ally that had different interests than ours. I think this Lebanon thing is a very complicating factor. I think Israel can do what it wants to do in Israel, in Lebanon,” York said. “But it’s part of, since they’re our ally, in Iran, it’s part of this whole deal.”
Hewitt said that yesterday, President Donald Trump posted that all of U.S. allies have to join the Abraham Accords, adding that it’s “brilliant jiu jitsu” for the Gulf states that aren’t already in the Abraham Accords to say, “You want our help, you’re going to join the Abraham Accords.”
York agreed it was a brilliant stroke and that it set off the “Trump derangement syndrome,” saying, “They thought, well, Trump has messed this up. He’s dug himself into a hole, and now he’s trying this Hail Mary play to try and get out of this hole and we the resistance don’t want him to get out of this hole.”
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In naming the countries that are listed in the accord, Hewitt noted that the key ones would be Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. He then asked York which ones he thought would have a problem signing on.
“The biggest and most important is Saudi Arabia, and I almost think, I’m not saying any of these would be easy, but that they would be the first one to do it,” York said.
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