Almost immediately after striking a deal with Iran, President Trump appeared eager to take a victory lap.<\/p>\n
He trumpeted that the agreement would open the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the world\u2019s energy supplies whose stalled ship traffic has rattled the global economy. He told The New York Times<\/a> that his efforts had saved Israel from nuclear extinction and made the Middle East safer. It all gave him a key win as he traveled to France for the Group of 7 summit<\/a>, where he will meet with European leaders who have criticized his approach to the war.<\/p>\n Despite Mr. Trump\u2019s grandiose claims, the agreement has not yet achieved the core goals he laid out three months ago for launching U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.<\/p>\n Back then, Mr. Trump said the United States intended to \u201cannihilate\u201d<\/a> Iran\u2019s military capabilities, abolish its nuclear ambitions, topple its theocratic leadership and liberate its people, whom he encouraged to take over their government when the fighting had stopped. Just one week after the strikes started, he said Iran\u2019s only path to a deal was an \u201cunconditional surrender<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Trump publicly declared victory on Sunday mainly based on solving a problem of his own making, in miscalculating Iran\u2019s ability<\/a> to choke off the Strait of Hormuz. Mr. Trump asserted on Truth Social that he had authorized the toll-free opening of the crucial waterway, which would essentially restore the prewar status quo, and celebrated that the global energy markets would rebound.<\/p>\n \u201cShips of the World, start your engines,\u201d he wrote. \u201cLet the oil flow!\u201d<\/p>\n Many vessels have remained in the Strait of Hormuz. Stalled ship traffic there has rattled the global economy.Credit…Reuters<\/p>\n The latest framework, which has not yet been publicly released and is expected to be signed in Geneva on Friday, is a capstone to three months in which Mr. Trump has delivered a dizzying array of mixed messages.<\/p>\n He said that Iran\u2019s nuclear program had been \u201cobliterated\u201d in U.S. strikes last year, yet said that the war was necessary to stop the Iranians from obtaining a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump said that Iran\u2019s nuclear program posed a threat not only to allies, but also to U.S. troops overseas and to everyday Americans. He was clear that the war\u2019s conclusion would rest on one stipulation: \u201cIt has always been the policy of the United States, in particular, my administration, that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll say it again. They can never have a nuclear weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n Even on Saturday, when he announced that a deal would be signed the next day, he claimed that Iran\u2019s leaders \u201cno longer want a nuclear weapon, nor will they have one, either through purchase, development, or any other form of procurement.\u201d<\/p>\n But the deal leaves that issue unresolved for at least another 60 days, when both sides are expected to negotiate on nuclear issues.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump did not cast the deal as a solution to the nuclear threat. Instead he focused on the Middle East and his legacy.<\/p>\n \u201cThis Great Deal will bring Peace and Security to the whole Region,\u201d he wrote in a social media post. \u201cMany presidents have tried to make Peace with Iran, and all have failed before me.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Trump has also sent conflicting messages<\/a> over how far he would go to secure a nuclear agreement with Iran. He has gone from threatening to wipe out the country\u2019s civilization to saying he was in no hurry to remove its remaining stockpiles of enriched uranium.<\/p>\n At the start of the war, Mr. Trump initially claimed the United States would accomplish its goals in \u201cfour to five weeks.<\/a>\u201d He repeatedly compared the war in Iran to his quick military operation in Venezuela, in which the top leader was removed but much of the rest of the government remained in place, willing to work with the United States.<\/p>\n This war instead dragged on for months, killing thousands of Iranian civilians and 13 American service members. Rather than bowing to the United States, Iran\u2019s new leadership has been emboldened, consistently withstanding military and diplomatic pressure to persist in its goal of advancing a nuclear program.<\/p>\n In negotiations with Mr. Trump\u2019s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and special envoy, Steve Witkoff, the Iranians have held firm on not giving up the right to enrich uranium.<\/p>\n \u201cAs for the nuclear issues, there really is no agreement,\u201d Daniel B. Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, said in a statement on X<\/a>. \u201cIran knows how to drag out those negotiations, and try to pocket concessions along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that the United States now appeared to be paying to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by potentially lifting sanctions imposed against Iran. The Trump administration has said Iran would receive no relief from sanctions or release of its frozen financial assets until it delivered on its commitments.<\/p>\n The framework does provide a path toward potential peace and economic relief. And on Monday, both world leaders and global markets expressed optimism.<\/p>\n In a Tehran street last week. Rather than bowing to the United States, Iran\u2019s new leadership has been emboldenedCredit…Arash Khamooshi\/Polaris for The New York Times<\/p>\n Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany, who previously said that the United States had \u201cno strategy\u201d and was being \u201chumiliated\u201d by Iran in the war, congratulated both sides on the diplomatic breakthrough, calling it a potential step toward \u201ca reinvigorated global economy and a more secure Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n But it was a cautious optimism given all the uncertainties. Crucially, Iran\u2019s nuclear capability will need to be hashed out over the next two months of negotiations, raising questions over whether a lasting peace will materialize.<\/p>\n