Brittany Bounds

Living life to the fullest

[Peter Girnus 🦅 @gothburz]

I am a diplomatic aide in the Sultanate of Oman's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

My job is logistics. When two countries that cannot speak to each other need to speak to each other, I book the rooms. I prepare the briefing materials. I make sure the water glasses are the right distance apart. You would be surprised how much of diplomacy is water glasses. Too close and it feels informal. Too far and it feels like a tribunal. I have a chart.

We had a very good month.

Since January, Oman has been mediating indirect talks between the United States and Iran on Iran's nuclear program. The talks were held in Muscat and in Geneva. The Americans would sit in one room. The Iranians would sit in another room. I would walk between them. My Fitbit says I averaged fourteen thousand steps on negotiation days. The hallway between the two rooms at the Royal Opera House conference center is forty-seven meters. I walked it two hundred and twelve times in February. This is good for my cardiovascular health. It was less good for my knees. Both are in the service of peace.

By mid-February, we had something.

Iran agreed to zero stockpiling of enriched uranium. Not reduced stockpiling. Zero. They agreed to down-blend existing stockpiles to the lowest possible level. They agreed to convert them into irreversible fuel. They agreed to full IAEA verification with potential US inspector access. They agreed, in the Foreign Minister's phrase, to "never, ever" possess nuclear material for a bomb. I have worked in diplomacy for seven years. I have never seen a country agree to this many things this quickly. I made a spreadsheet of the concessions. It had fourteen rows. I color-coded it. Green for confirmed. Yellow for pending. By February 21 the spreadsheet was entirely green. I printed it. It is on my desk in Muscat. It is still green.

That phrase took eleven days. "Never, ever." The Iranians initially offered "not seek to." The Americans wanted "will not under any circumstances." We landed on "never, ever" at 2:14 AM on a Tuesday in Muscat. I typed the final version myself. I used Times New Roman because Geneva prefers it. The document was fourteen pages. I was proud of every comma.

Here is what they said, in the order they said it.

February 24: "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity." — The Foreign Minister, private briefing to Gulf Cooperation Council ambassadors. I prepared the slide deck. Slide 14 was the implementation timeline. Slide 15 was the signing ceremony logistics. I had reserved the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Room XX. It seats four hundred. We discussed pen brands for the signing. The Iranians preferred Montblanc. The Americans had no preference. I ordered twelve Montblanc Meisterstucks at six hundred and thirty dollars each. They arrive on Tuesday.

February 27, 8:30 AM EST: "The deal is within our reach." — The Foreign Minister, CBS Face the Nation. He sat across from Margaret Brennan. He said broad political terms could be agreed "tomorrow" with ninety days for technical implementation in Vienna. He said, and I wrote this line for the briefing card he carried in his breast pocket: "If we just allow diplomacy the space it needs." He praised the American envoys by name. Steve Witkoff. Jared Kushner. He said both had been constructive.

I watched from the Four Seasons Georgetown. The minibar had cashews. I ate the cashews. They were nineteen dollars. The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten. But it was a good morning and we were within our reach.

February 27, 2:00 PM EST: Meeting with Vice President Vance, Washington. The Foreign Minister presented our progress. Zero stockpiling. Full verification. Irreversible conversion. "Never, ever." The Vice President used the word "encouraging." His aide took notes on an iPad. The aide did not make eye contact for the last nine minutes of the meeting. I noticed this. Noticing things is the only part of my job that is not water glasses.

February 27, 4:00 PM EST: "Not happy with the pace." — President Trump, to reporters.

Not happy with the pace.

We had achieved zero stockpiling. Full IAEA verification. Irreversible fuel conversion. Inspector access. And the phrase "never, ever," which took eleven days and cost me two hundred and twelve trips down a forty-seven-meter hallway.

Every American president since Carter has failed to get Iran to agree to this. Forty-five years.

Not happy with the pace.

February 27, 9:47 PM EST: The Foreign Minister's flight departs Dulles for Muscat. I am in the seat behind him. He is reviewing Slide 14 on his laptop. The implementation timeline. Vienna technical sessions. The signing ceremony. The pens.

I fall asleep over the Atlantic. I dream about water glasses.

February 28, 6:00 AM GST: I wake up to push notifications.

February 28: "The United States has begun major combat operations in Iran." — President Trump.

Operation Epic Fury. Coordinated airstrikes. The United States and Israel. Tehran. Isfahan. Qom. Karaj. Kermanshah. Nuclear facilities. IRGC bases. Sites near the Supreme Leader's office. Israel called their half Operation Roaring Lion. Someone in both governments spent time choosing these names. Epic Fury. Roaring Lion. I spent eleven days on "never, ever." They spent it on branding. The President said Iran had "rejected American calls to halt its nuclear weapons production."

Rejected.

Iran had agreed to zero stockpiling. Iran had agreed to full verification. Iran had agreed to "never, ever." Iran had agreed to everything in a fourteen-page document that I typed in Times New Roman.

The President said they rejected it.

I do not know which document the President was reading. I know which one I typed.

February 28, 18:45 UTC: Iran internet connectivity: four percent. — NetBlocks, confirmed by Cloudflare. Ninety-six percent of a country went dark. You cannot negotiate with a country at four percent connectivity. You cannot negotiate with a country that is being struck. You cannot negotiate. This is not a political opinion. This is a logistics assessment.

February 28: The governor of Minab reported forty girls killed at an elementary school.

I do not have logistics for that. There is no slide for that. The water glass chart does not cover that.

February 28: Lockheed Martin: up. Northrop Grumman: up. RTX: up. Dow futures: down six hundred and twenty-two points. Gold: five thousand two hundred and ninety-six dollars. An analyst at AInvest published a note titled "Iran Strikes: Tactical Plays." The note recommended positions in oil, defense stocks, and gold.

The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten was nineteen dollars. The most expensive pen I have ever ordered was six hundred and thirty dollars. The math suggests I have been working in the wrong industry. Defense stocks do not require water glasses. Defense stocks do not require eleven days. Defense stocks require one morning.

February 28: Israel closed its airspace and its schools. Iran launched retaliatory missiles toward US bases in the Gulf. The Supreme Leader promised a "crushing response." Israel's defense minister declared a permanent state of emergency. Everyone is using words I recognize in an order I do not. I recognize "permanent." I recognize "emergency." I do not recognize them next to each other. In diplomacy, nothing is permanent and everything is an emergency. In war it is the reverse.

February 28: The Foreign Minister has not made a public statement.

The briefing card is still in his breast pocket. It still says "within our reach."

[Brittany Bounds @justahistprof]

These Afghans have NOWHERE to go.The former military ones still stuck in Kabul haven’t made any money because they’ve been blacklisted and they’re still being hunted and killed. They’re desperate to get out, and now the US is going to deport 9,000 of them? https://t.co/LUM7djwr7q

[Brittany Bounds @justahistprof]

There are thousands of Afghans who are our legitimate allies still under threat from the Taliban and are blacklisted from jobs, and can’t even provide for their families. The DOS needs to complete their visa vetting already, it’s been 4 years of terror! @WhiteHouse

[Shawn VanDiver @shawnjvandiver]

Thanks again to @MattGaetz for having me on to talk about my open letter to GWOT veterans and the alarming developments related to Enduring Welcome wind down.

It's not too late to change course. Raise your voice and be heard. #AfghanEvac

[Vet Voice Foundation @VetVoiceFound]

Ranking Member of HVAC, Rep. Mark Takano:

"I do hope that we can have a hearing specifically on the topic of the unfairly dismissed employees from VA Especially the veterans who had stellar performance reviews, but yet were still dismissed."

[Brittany Bounds @justahistprof]

Our first faculty town hall of the academic year, brought to you by our Faculty Senators, the Faculty Advisory Council, and Dean César Malavé. @TAMUQ @tamu

[Brittany Bounds @justahistprof]

I’m lucky to have Raihana in my class this semester 👍🏻

[Texas A&M at Qatar @TAMUQ]

Meet Raihana Sattari '26.

From growing up in Afghanistan, being part of the national robotics team and leaving the country to pursue an engineering degree at a university system near and dear to her family's heart — this is her story.

#TAMUQ #TAMUQ2026 #Aggies #TAMU @TAMU

[Khalifa Al Haroon - Mr. Q @iloveqatar]

Average rental price for two bedroom apt.

[Eric Heggie @EricHeggie]

Official #USMNT R16 March Details

Meet at Aspire Fire Tower outside Khalifa Stadium at 4:00PM Doha time on Saturday. March at 4:30PM into the stadium.

Location: Aspire Fire Tower, southwest side of the stadium. Close to the Metro station

WEAR WHITE!!! PLS RT 🦅🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸

[Brittany Bounds @justahistprof]

@DavidKieran2 There’s a new movie out called the Greatest Beer Run Ever-this would be good to dissect in terms of service member support during the Vietnam War https://t.co/okDUXHTO3O

[Brittany Bounds @justahistprof]

Sharing the Voices of the Women of Iran #shorts #mahsaamini https://t.co/ldoOuMVoWG via @YouTube

[Shawn VanDiver @shawnjvandiver]

Just got a call from @potus. He asked me to pass on to all of the hardworking volunteers involved in @afghanevac a heartfelt thank you for their tireless efforts, credited the team with much of the success realized, and committed to an ongoing relocation and #EnduringWelcome.

[Allied Airlift 21 @AlliedAirlift21]

TODAY: August 15th marks one year since the capture of Kabul by Taliban forces. While thousands of Afghans were able to depart Hamid Karzai International airport in the weeks following, more than 75,000 Afghans remain stranded while awaiting processing of their….. (1/

[Shawn VanDiver @shawnjvandiver]

We need the voices of all involved in #AfghanEvac work supporting the #AfghanAdjustmentAct.
This is our only shot to follow through on the help we've all tried to lend. This is the only opportunity for #Afghans here and abroad to get the help they need. They can't wait a year.

[Brittany Bounds @justahistprof]

😡😡😡

[Muhammad Smiry 🇵🇸 @MuhammadSmiry]

I know #ShireenAbuAkleh since I was a little child... Watching what happened to her even after her death, breaks the heart.

[Brittany Bounds @justahistprof]

OMG

[#FreeAhmadManasra🇵🇸🇪🇬 @ShreenEssam1]

@SenSanders When a young man managed to climb the fence to reach Shirin and try to carry her and take her to an ambulance, a soldier tried to shoot him too. #ShireenAbuAkleh

[Brittany Bounds @justahistprof]

I thoroughly enjoyed discussing the film Harriet and the Underground Railroad with @trishkahle

[CIRS @CIRSGUQ]

Watch a community discussion with @TAMUQ Prof. Brittany Bounds & @GUQatar Prof. @trishkahle examining the themes of slavery and gender in #Harriet

More on CIRS #CinematicAfterlives & #RaceandSociety research: https://t.co/PWbXQqw0Hn

https://t.co/DHK88fFllo

[The Peninsula Qatar @PeninsulaQatar]

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani speaking on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Qatar and the United States

[Operation Sacred Promise @sacred_promise]

Pictured here is OSP volunteer Brittany and her son, reuniting with former Afghan Army servicemember Saboor following his evacuation. He and his family have now been safely resettled in the U.S., and could use our help. Check out their wishlist here: https://t.co/czKnqUQ2KD

[Operation Sacred Promise @sacred_promise]

The President’s silence on Afghanistan last evening was a statement in itself.