The world heaves a sigh of relief, anticipating a reprieve from the over three-month-military engagement that President Donald Trump led against Iran in the Asia-Middle East region. A peace deal has “almost” been worked out and a final agreement would be expected in 60 days’ time. Curiously, however, the contours of the agreement between the US and Iran are still unclear. Claims suggest the two sides signed the deal digitally, and the details will likely release on Friday. A promise is that the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz would end immediately, restoring normalcy for free movement of ships. The first signal of a deal came from intermediary Pakistan, which got a rare opportunity to come up-front and broker a deal of high international significance. By now, both Trump and the Iranian leadership have confirmed this. While this has come as good news to all, a problem remains: the issues that the US raised in starting this war are apparently unaddressed.
By all appearances, the interim agreement only facilitates an extension of the ceasefire that the US announced in April. This gives the contending parties two more months’ time to hear each other and forge a consensus. The main issue cited by Trump for militarily striking Iran was his desire to force an end to Iran’s nuclear missile pursuits – which naturally poses a threat to the world, especially since Iran is under a dictatorship and could go to any lengths. This issue remains still under discussion. Trump had also stated that the US “wants” Iran’s oil, by hook or by crook – his perceived idea being to effect a regime change there and hand-over power to a puppet, who would be more than willing to do America’s biddings. For Trump, with an Iranian leadership refusing to budge an inch and the war failing to progress as expected, an abrupt admission of failure would now be disastrous. Obviously, he’s seeking a phased pullout without giving Americans an abrupt jolt or jerk. He has that much sense. The 60-day period for the final round of negotiations might or might not result in a comprehensive peace pact.
Trump’s palpable failure in Iran, however, bodes well for the world even as people across continents suffered immensely due to the war that killed some 7,000 people, brought untold miseries to Iranians, and raised the price of every item across continents and markets. Once a price spiral occurs, a return to the previous level is unlikely. The US itself is caught in serious inflationary pressures as a result of Trump’s misadventure. Hopefully, Trump’s failure guarantees global peace to the extent that he will think twice before acting next. Had he had his way in Iran, he would have looked around for the next prey. After all his game in Venezuela for a regime change was such a huge success.
