It’s too early to assess the US-Iran ‘deal’

It’s impossible to judge the Trump administration’s “deal” adequately with the surviving leaders of Iran’s regime without more information. The memorandum of understanding, announced with great fanfare on Sunday, is really more of a placeholder, with crucial details to be filled in over a 60-day window.

Perhaps it is best understood as the latest ceasefire pact, one that entails a near-immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a prompt lifting of the U.S. naval blockade strangling the Iranian economy. Neither development is a grand achievement, as both merely restore the pre-conflict status quo.