The US and Iran finalized an interim truce, ending — at least for now — what analysts said was an unnecessary war that left Tehran stronger.
The two countries remotely signed a memorandum of understanding that appeared to contravene red lines US President Donald Trump had set out, including over Iran’s nuclear program, missile stockpile, and access to frozen funds.
The agreement cemented “Pax Iranica in the Middle East” and represented “Trump’s most consequential foreign policy mistake,” while reflecting “Iran’s priorities, not the United States’,” experts variously said. Foreign Affairs’ executive editor was more conciliatory: “The MOU is not the disaster,” he wrote, “It’s merely the result of the genuine disaster.” Trump labeled critics as “fools” who were “jealous … or stupid.”