About a week into the US war against Iran, Donald Trump pledged that there would be no deal with Tehran except “unconditional surrender!”
More than 100 days later, the US president is hailing a deal that underlines not only the Islamic republic’s capacity to withstand American-Israeli bombing but its newfound leverage from severely disrupting energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
US officials say the agreement will not only reopen the strait but is also a pathway to finally dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme — one of Trump’s longstanding demands. But others say that while a deal to halt the war is welcome, it pushes key issues further down the road and exposes the dilemma Trump has been grappling with after more than 100 days of conflict.