Donald Trump Has Nothing to Show for His War With Iran
After waging a destructive war at vast expense, Donald Trump has ended up in a weaker strategic position than when he started. His main achievement has been to battle-test Iran’s ability to shut down the Strait of Hormuz and disrupt the world economy.
Donald Trump’s war on Iran has been a historic failure. (Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Andreas Krieg is an associate professor at the Defence Studies Department of King’s College London and the author of Socio-Political Order and Security in the Arab World. He spoke to Jacobin about the memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States, whether it will lead to a wider rapprochement between the two states, and what the consequences of the US-Israeli war on Iran have been for the region and the wider world.
Daniel Finn
What do we know so far about what has been agreed between Iran and the United States?
Andreas Krieg
On what has been agreed, I would be very careful with the language. This is not a peace deal and not a comprehensive settlement. It is a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to start a negotiating process. What seems to have been agreed is a framework to extend the ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, begin easing parts of the US blockade and sanctions pressure, and establish a follow-on track for nuclear talks. There also appears to be some understanding around frozen Iranian assets, although the exact sequencing and amount remain contested.
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