Trump’s Staggering Humiliation in Iran

That is remarkable in and of itself. But it is hard to overstate just how big a catastrophe this is for the U.S. By asserting control over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has effectively negated one of the core aspects of American power: its use of naval power to ensure the safety of shipping lanes, thereby protecting the global economy. Iran has also made a fool of Trump, who can brag all he wants about “military objectives.” The fact is, Trump’s hubris cost thousands of lives, rattled economies around the world, and made the U.S. significantly weaker.

There are signs that the agreement is already fraying, however. Despite agreeing to a ceasefire, Israeli forces have not only continued to attack Lebanon but have done so with greater ferocity than at any point since that conflict began in early March. Iran, meanwhile, has also launched missiles at its neighbors, though it’s not clear if that was retaliation for the violation in Lebanon or simply the result of the fact its armed forces are extremely decentralized, meaning orders take a long time to reach low-level troops. On Wednesday afternoon, Iran released a statement accusing the U.S. of three violations: the attacks on Lebanon by its ally, a drone flying into Iranian airspace, and the denial of Iran’s right to enrich uranium. “In such situations,” the statement concludes, “a bilateral ceasefire or negotiations is unreasonable.”

Trump was never able to articulate a sensible argument for why the U.S. had to go to war with Iran, which allowed the Iranians to set the stakes of the conflict. Trump quickly found himself in a trap of his own making. Facing two very bad options (admit defeat or commit war crimes), he was obviously grateful to be presented with a third one (the 10-point framework). Some journalists are calling this an “off-ramp,” and that’s true in the sense that it may bring an end to this pointless, destructive war of choice. But it is almost impossible to imagine how Trump, by using Iran’s framework as the basis for a peace deal, can still somehow save face. This ceasefire, though, at least buys him a couple of weeks to figure out how he will spin this astonishing humiliation to his MAGA base.