Depending on which media source you trust, which anonymous official is telling the truth, and whom you believe, we are either very close to a deal between Iran and the United States, or about to start a war that will dwarf the military actions of the last months.
Let's start with what is clear and undeniable. Israel has approved and started preparing Operation Arrows of Fire ( I still want to know who comes up with all the names for these different operations). Following constant attacks by Hezbollah, and with the approval of President Trump, Israel is launching a major operation against Hezbollah throughout Lebanon, which is reported to include strikes in Beirut and has already eliminated over 70 Hezbollah targets.
It is also clear that President Donald Trump is attempting to bring a lot of other nations in the region into the Abraham Accords. Not just Qatar and Saudi Arabia, but Turkey, UAE, Egypt, and more. He also said that he hopes to see Iran, after a peace deal, also join the Accords.
What is unclear, and reflected in conflicting reports from each side, is where this "negotiation" actually is. The New York Times reported on Monday night that the Pakistani army chief told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that "the agreement is close to completion" and that he "hopes China will play an additional role going forward."
But an Iranian official also told The Washington Post that any reopening of the Strait of Hormuz would occur in stages. The official said the process would include mine clearance operations, lifting the American blockade, and the release of approximately $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets. The official also claimed the current memorandum of understanding does not include a nuclear agreement itself, but only a commitment to continue future negotiations on the nuclear issue. It was also reiterated in every Middle Eastern media outlet that Iran is not letting go of its uranium immediately, only wants to have peaceful nuclear power, and that any agreement with the United States would be for future discussions about enrichment and nuclear development.
Trump, as is his pattern, even contradicted himself on Monday. On the one hand, he stated that negotiations with Iran are “proceeding nicely,” but on the other, he also warned the outcome would either be a “great deal for all” or a return to conflict “bigger and stronger than ever before.” He also wrote on Truth Social that "the enriched uranium will be immediately transferred to the United States to be brought home and destroyed, or, preferably, in cooperation and coordination with Iran, destroyed on site or at another agreed-upon location. The Atomic Energy Commission or its equivalent will witness the process and the event itself." (an agency that has already demonstrated its incompetence over years of supposedly monitoring Iran's nuclear development). He also repeated his commitment that "Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.”
And Marco Rubio said on Monday that, "talks were held today in Qatar. I think there is a lot of back and forth on specific wording in the initial document. Negotiation on the text may continue for several days."
But wait, there's more.
Despite all this rhetoric, the U.S. attacked Iran on Monday with limited but significant strikes in Southern Iran; about which Rubio said, "the Strait of Hormuz must be open. It will be opened one way or another." A CENTCOM spokesperson said to Fox News that the attacks were "self-defense,” and that "among the targets attacked were missile launch sites and boats attempting to lay mines." Earlier, the Iranian news agency Maher reported explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas in Southern Iran. The New York Times reported that a "senior U.S. military official" said the U.S. military struck southern Iran due to a surface-to-air missile threat against approximately 20 American warships—including two aircraft carriers and their accompanying vessels—in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, which are enforcing the blockade against ships attempting to reach or leave Iranian ports.
So we have officials on both sides saying that a deal is close to being finished, spokespeople on both sides saying that there are conflicting imperatives, especially around nuclear development, and at the same time, actual military attacks happening.
When seeing all of these conflicting reports, it becomes clear how true the Talmudic statement of "Everything is in the hands of Heaven, except being in awe of Heaven" (Berachot 33b) really is. Now is the time, during these chaotic and confusing days, to realize the truth of that statement. To embrace the awe of God through all the manifestations of nature and life. To embrace awe, for as Albert Einstein said, "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."
May we all be deep in our faith and gaze in awe at our experiences of life, especially in these trying times.
Chazak u'Baruch
Rabbi Michael Barclay
May 26, 2026
10th of Sivan, 5786
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