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* Khaled Abu Toameh: Do Not Be Fooled By Hamas's 'Positive Response'
* Harold Rhode: Strategies Iranians Use to Trick Westerners into Accepting What They Want


** Do Not Be Fooled By Hamas's 'Positive Response' ([link removed])
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by Khaled Abu Toameh • August 21, 2025 at 5:00 am
* The Iran-backed Palestinian terror group Hamas said earlier this week that it has delivered a "positive response" to mediators on the latest US proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal with Israel. The group's leaders, however, continue to talk about the need to continue the "armed struggle" against Israel.
* "Hamas and the Palestinian resistance factions will not lay down their weapons. We will continue to exert pressure on the Zionist enemy through the armed struggle. We met with the Palestinian factions in Cairo and agreed to escalate the confrontation and the struggle..... Resistance is the only way to confront the enemy." — Mahmoud Mardawi, senior Hamas official, palininfo.com, August 15, 2025.
* Mardawi does not live in the Gaza Strip. He and most of the Hamas leaders are based in Qatar and Turkey.
* When [Hamas's] leaders say the "armed struggle" will continue, they are actually threatening to launch more attacks similar to the October 7 atrocities.
* If Hamas is indeed ready to accept a ceasefire, the reason is not because it wants to stop the death and destruction in the Gaza Strip. Rather, Hamas wants to ensure that it will be able to continue ruling the Gaza Strip after the war.... so it can pursue its jihad (holy war) to murder Jews and destroy Israel. This has been Hamas's goal since its establishment more than three decades ago.
* In the weeks before the October 7 attack, Hamas leaders went to great lengths to create the false impression that they were not interested in engaging in another war with Israel.
* Hamas has not – and will never – give up its goal of eliminating Israel and replacing it with an Islamist state.
* Even if a ceasefire deal is reached, the US and the rest of the international community must insist that Hamas be totally disarmed and removed from power. Hamas, unfortunately, really needs to be obliterated, and its leaders put on trial for committing war crimes against Israel and their own people.

If Hamas is indeed ready to accept a ceasefire, the reason is not because it wants to stop the death and destruction in the Gaza Strip. Rather, Hamas wants to ensure that it will be able to continue ruling the Gaza Strip after the war. Hamas remains as defiant as ever. Hamas leaders are actually threatening to launch more attacks similar to the October 7 atrocities. Hamas official Ghazi Hamad has clearly said that the terror group will repeat the October 7 attack, time and again, until Israel is annihilated. Pictured: Hamad is interviewed on October 24, 2023 on LBC TV (Lebanon). (Image source: MEMRI)

The Iran-backed Palestinian terror group Hamas said earlier this week that it has delivered a "positive response" to mediators on the latest US proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal with Israel. The group's leaders, however, continue to talk about the need to continue the "armed struggle" against Israel. For Hamas, the "armed struggle" means launching more terror attacks against Israel and murdering as many Jews as possible. Hamas leaders, in addition, continue to stress that they refuse to lay down their weapons.

In a recent interview with Hamas's unofficial mouthpiece, the Qatari state-owned television empire Al-Jazeera, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said:

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** Strategies Iranians Use to Trick Westerners into Accepting What They Want ([link removed])
Iranian leaders fear only strength and the credible willingness to use it
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by Harold Rhode • August 21, 2025 at 4:00 am
* Iranian leaders have mastered the art of patience, procrastination, and opportunism, waiting for the right moment to strike.
* As long as it [Iran's regime] remains in power, the West, Israel, and moderate Arab allies remain in danger.
* For Westerners, negotiations are about compromise and achieving win-win outcomes..... For Iranians, negotiations occur only after one side has already won. The winner dictates the terms; the loser must submit.
* From their perspective, there is no such thing as a win-Iranians treat signed agreements as temporary tools, not binding commitments. They may sign documents "to accommodate" others, but rarely intend to honor them. Agreements are stepping stones toward ultimate victory....
* While Arabs may directly blame adversaries for wrongdoing, Iranians prefer subtlety, maneuvering opponents into surrender while making them believe they are still in control.
* The Iranian message: America submits, Iran dictates.
* The only sustainable solution is to support the Iranian people in freeing themselves from their regime.

Iranian media caricatured John Kerry and President Barack Obama during the nuclear talks a decade ago. Kerry's broken leg was exaggerated with larger crutches, symbolizing weakness. Obama's skin was darkened to highlight "defects" as the U.S. gave in. The Iranian message: America submits, Iran dictates. Pictured: Kerry, then Secretary of State, shakes hands with then Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Vienna, Austria, on July 14, 2014. (Image source: US State Department)

The threat posed by the Iranian regime is far from over. Iranian leaders have mastered the art of patience, procrastination, and opportunism, waiting for the right moment to strike. Although weakened, the regime is not mortally wounded. As long as it remains in power, the West, Israel and moderate Arab allies remain in danger.

Iran's leadership consistently probes and tests its adversaries, convinced that time and persistence will eventually deliver victory. The way Iranian and Western leaders understand negotiations reflects this difference in worldview.

For Westerners, negotiations are about compromise and achieving win-win outcomes. Each side gains something, and both leave the table stronger. For Iranians, negotiations occur only after one side has already won. The winner dictates the terms; the loser must submit.

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