Wall Street Journal: Trump Strategically Retreats Before Iran

SadaNews - The Wall Street Journal views the agreement reached by U.S. President Donald Trump with Iran as not representing a complete strategic victory, but rather reflecting a retreat from the core objectives that Washington set at the beginning of the war. Washington accepted to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for Iranian commitments to resume negotiations regarding its nuclear program.

In a special editorial, the newspaper's editorial board stated that President Trump has begun to retreat amid escalating domestic political pressures and increasing risks associated with completing military operations. The paper acknowledges that Trump's use of military force has inflicted significant damage on Iran's nuclear, military, and industrial infrastructure.

It notes that Trump did not agree to carry out an operation to control Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium despite Israeli pressures, nor did he attempt to use military force to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The newspaper believes this option was not inevitable, as the U.S. maritime blockade was increasing economic pressure on Iran day by day, while Tehran's ability to disrupt maritime navigation was gradually declining.

According to the new agreement, the truce will extend an additional 60 days, with expectations for possible multiple extensions in exchange for ending the U.S. maritime blockade and for Iran to begin removing mines from the Strait of Hormuz to allow the return of navigation.

The newspaper suggests that reducing fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections may be one of Trump's most important domestic goals, but it points out that Tehran has announced that the strait will not return to its previous state completely, and it may impose new fees on transiting ships.

The paper criticizes the lack of clear details in the memorandum of understanding, noting that Trump himself described some of its clauses as "general concepts," while the more complex nuclear issues were postponed to a new round of negotiations lasting 60 days.

It questions the value of delaying these files, pointing out that Trump described Iranian officials days ago as not negotiating "in good faith," raising doubts about the prospects of reaching a final agreement later.

The Wall Street Journal emphasizes that any strong nuclear agreement should be based on several conditions, including a complete halt to uranium enrichment, ending the reprocessing of plutonium, eliminating all stockpiles of enriched uranium, dismantling facilities and centrifuges, and allowing unrestricted inspections.

It believes that Iran's commitments not to seek to possess nuclear weapons are insufficient, as it has previously made similar commitments in the past while continuing to develop its nuclear capabilities.

The newspaper warns that allowing the resumption of Iranian oil exports would give the Iranian regime significant financial breathing space, while it may become difficult to re-impose sanctions in the future if Tehran uses the threat of closing the Strait of Hormuz as a new leverage.

It adds that the agreement ignores other sensitive files, most notably Iran's ballistic missile program and the support of Tehran's allies in the region, as these issues were referred to "regional dialogues" that the newspaper does not expect to yield tangible results.

The Wall Street Journal concludes that the greatest danger lies in Trump viewing the agreement as the beginning of a real partnership with the Iranian regime, warning against repeating what it considers the mistake of the Obama administration, "if Iranian violations are overlooked in pursuit of maintaining the agreement at any cost."

The newspaper believes that the U.S. Congress must subject any final agreement to thorough review and reject it if it leads to revitalizing a regime that still chants 'Death to America.'