News Vérité

Thanks to Pakistan running interference, the U.S. and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire conditioned upon the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Administration officials from Donald Trump on down are hailing this as a great victory, but so is Iran. Which country is right? That’s open to question, but one thing is clear: The deal had to be made by the U.S., on whatever terms were offered, because the world economy faced collapse so long as the Strait of Hormuz remained closed by Iranian thugs. As my headline indicates, the U.S. — despite having “decimated” Iran’s military might, to use a word popular with President Trump — found itself in a “strait”-jacket in its efforts to cripple Iran from having nuclear bombs and being able to exercise military might in the Middle East. If I’m hearing and reading things right, the U.S. accepted Iran’s 10-point peace proposal rather than insisting upon our own 15-point plan. Iran’s version includes provisions such as: the withdrawal of all U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf area, the ability of Iran to control traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and charge fees for vessels transiting there, the payment of reparations to Iran by

On TV, General Wesley Clark seemed to perfectly sum up President Trump’s announced agreement with Iran for a two-week ceasefire if that country will open the Strait of Hormuz: “Iran has never lost a negotiation and never won a war.” The point being that, if Iran continues to charge ships to traverse the Strait of Hormuz, then Iran will be the clear winner in its standoff with Trump. Now, I don’t know if that’s the case – that Iran will charge transit tariffs — but the general has a valid point. For the president’s part, he was clearly facing a roadblock of his own making. His air campaign had leveled most of Iran’s military assets and eliminated several top leaders, but he was in need of an immediate vehicle to end the war. The world economy, as I noted earlier in an opinion piece, would probably suffer a depression if Trump bombed Iran into the Dark Ages, and if it then continued to block the Strait of Hormuz, inland devastation notwithstanding. Given that grim scenario, Trump had to reach a deal, even if Iran is going to police the strait and expect payback on vessels traveling off its coast. “A