Both sides triumphantly announced the completion of the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding last night, declaring victory for themselves, but by all appearances, it was President Trump who capitulated to Iran after failing to achieve his military objectives more than three months after launching the war. To further the irony, the Israeli sabotage attempt with a strike on Beirut’s Dahiya neighborhood, on the same day Trump was expecting the US and Iran to sign the MOU, had the opposite effect. That is, instead of blowing up the deal, Trump made more concessions to Iran in order to secure it. He announced the immediate lifting of the US naval blockade and agreed to the Iranian demand for a complete Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon in the MOU. The Israelis are defiantly vowing to fight on in Lebanon, but they may be doing it without US support.
The series of events yesterday included the following sequence of concluding events:
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on X at about 9:15 PM GMT that a US-Iran agreement had been reached. “Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” he said. “The official signing ceremony will be on Friday, 19 June in Switzerland.”
Less than 15 minutes later, Trump announced that “The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete.” “I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade,” he added. “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”
