Monday, June 29, 2026
The Deal Sucks
Trump refers to this as a “deal,” but I am not sure that terminology is accurate, since we didn’t actually get anything from Iran. (I suppose some would say we secured a restoration of the status quo ante with regard to the Strait of Hormuz, hardly a victory and something that could better have been obtained by punitive bombing, or by letting the Europeans and Asians deal with the situation.) I would describe the Memorandum as a one-sided set of inexplicable concessions.
I have no theory as to how Trump could have done something this foolish. It is being viewed everywhere as a massive defeat for the United States, and the Democrats, who are unabashedly on Iran’s side, are turning cartwheels. Foreign Policy magazine, a voice of foreign policy liberalism, headlines “Iran Is a Bigger Defeat Than Vietnam.” That’s hyperbolic, but I take their point.
It is a sad day for America and for our allies.
