TRUMP TO UNVEIL NEW IRAN POLICY? – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:  There have been whispers about this for a long time, that President Trump intends to leave Obamaville and pursue a much tougher line on Iran.  From Reuters: 

President Donald Trump is weighing a strategy that could allow more aggressive US responses to Iran's forces, its Shi'ite Muslim proxies in Iraq and Syria, and its support for militant groups, according to six current and former US officials.

The proposal was prepared by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and other top officials, and presented to Trump at a National Security Council meeting on Friday, the sources said.

It could be agreed and made public before the end of September, two of the sources said. All of the sources are familiar with the draft and requested anonymity because Trump has yet to act on it.

In contrast to detailed instructions handed down by President Barack Obama and some of his predecessors, Trump is expected to set broad strategic objectives and goals for US policy but leave it to US military commanders, diplomats and other US officials to implement the plan, said a senior administration official.

"Whatever we end up with, we want to implement with allies to the greatest extent possible," the official added.

The White House declined to comment.

The plan is intended to increase the pressure on Tehran to curb its ballistic missile programs and support for militants, several sources said.

"I would call it a broad strategy for the range of Iranian malign activities: financial materials, support for terror, destabilization in the region, especially Syria and Iraq and Yemen," said another senior administration official.

The proposal also targets cyber espionage and other activity and potentially nuclear proliferation, the official said.

The administration is still debating a new stance on a 2015 agreement, sealed by Obama, to curb Iran's nuclear weapons program. The draft urges consideration of tougher economic sanctions if Iran violates the 2015 agreement.

COMMENT:  We await the fine print.  Given the number of Obama holdovers hanging around Washington, the print may be very fine indeed.  When the story says that implementation will be left to US military commanders, diplomats and other officials, I get a bit of a chill.  That's fine if they're all on the same page.  But what happens if the Trump page falls out of their policy books?  I understand the rings in those notebooks are very weak. 

Trump can go any number of ways.  There is enormous pressure from Deep State to keep him following Obama's policies, with maybe a little bit of intermittent tough talk to keep the deplorables happy.  We expect better, and I think Trump does too.

September 12, 2017