Trita Parsi is obviously trying to be optimistic, and in this early response to the latest peace-agreement talk, he talks about how some of the concessions Iran is offering in this latest draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) could offer a big opportunity for a meaningful and durable peace settlement. (1)
We all need a good dose of optimism! And Trita does caution his audience not assume we’re on the verge of a big immediate breakthrough. But this is part of the dilemma with the Trump 2.0 regime: their diplomacy on the Middle east is chaotic in its best moments and has generally looked pretty incompetent. Even when Iran makes what looks like major diplomatic concessions, the Trump regime may not want to take it, and/or don’t know how to go about concluding a agreement even if they really want one.
Politico reports:
Trump did preview that the agreement would include a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a major priority for the White House and Gulf state allies after months of disruptions to global energy markets and commercial shipping traffic.The Guardian reports on Iran’s public position:
Trump revealed that he had a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “which, likewise, went very well.”
The announcement is the most significant moment in the war since he first announced a ceasefire early in April, bringing the most active and frenzied period of the fighting thus far to an abrupt but shaky close.
And it’s sure to frustrate influential figures within the GOP, who have urged the president to press on in his military campaign against Tehran and have expressed skepticism that Iran would truly relinquish its grip on the strait.
“A deal that is perceived to allow Iran to survive and possess the ability to control the Strait in the future will put Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Shia militias in Iraq on steroids,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who has long cheered the military action in the Middle East, wrote on X Saturday. (2)
However, Iran’s Fars news agency, which is close to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that the strait of Hormuz would remain under Iranian control, a red line for the US. The news agency reported on Telegram that “the management of the Strait, determining the route, time, method of passage, and issuing permits will continue to be the monopoly and discretion of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.It’s important to keep in mind that Iran has been insisting on including Israel’s war and occupation in Lebanon as part of the settlement of the current war.
It said Trump’s assertion that an agreement was nearly final was “inconsistent with reality”. (3)
Also, Mike Pompeo, Trump’s Secretary of State during his first term, complains the Trump’s latest announcement is too weak and looks too much like what Barack Obama did. Actually, as Trita Parsi notes, what the Iranians are proposing for nuclear controls in the new MOU actually goes farther than what Iran agreed to in the JCPOA agreement from which Trump breezily withdrew during his first term.
Notes:
(1) Trump’s Iran Deal Is America’s Biggest Defeat. Pyotr Kurzin YouTube channel 05/23/2026. <https://www.youtube.com/live/auvOADLjg50?si=uVaBaQSjUgbV9ECW> (Accessed: 2026-05-24).
(2) Johansen, Ben & Svirnovskiy, Gregory (2026): Trump says peace deal with Iran is imminent. Politico 05/23/2026. <https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/23/trump-peace-deal-iran-00935114> (Accessed: 2026-05-24).
(3) Olivares, José & Mackey, Robert (2026): Trump claims peace deal with Iran ‘largely negotiated’ with strait of Hormuz to open. The Guardian 05/24/2026. <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/23/trump-ceasefire-iran-strait-of-hormuz> (Accessed: 2026-05-24).
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