The geopolitical disaster authored by U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has done far more than squander the dominant position both nations were in just three and a half months ago.
Their unprovoked and failed war against Iran has likely set in motion a sea change in global power balances—a shift that will leave both the United States and Israel relatively weaker in the months and years to come.
Trump is now a seriously diminished figure at home and around the globe, his world-beating bluster turned to ash and empty threats. For the foreseeable future, the projection of U.S. power will no longer be as ominous as it once was—not just in the Middle East, but in the Indo-Pacific and Europe as well.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed this week is effectively a surrender document—for Washington, that is. Apparently, in exchange for doing nothing more than signing the MOU, agreeing to 60 days of talks, and opening up the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranians will gain financial concessions that would have been unthinkable a few months ago. These could include the release of at least some frozen or restricted Iranian funds and assets, as well as waivers available “immediately upon the signing of this MOU” for “the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives, and all associated services, including banking transactions, insurances, transportation, etc.,” according to the MOU released by the Trump administration.
