US-Iran peace deal: ‘You only indict yourself, achieve nothing’ – Malley, Toossi to Trump

The chief negotiator of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA, under former President Barack Obama, Robert Malley, has stated that the US-Iran peace agreement set to be signed on Friday represents “an important and welcome achievement” as it is anticipated to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

On Sunday, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, declared an end to hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz following the establishment of a peace agreement with Iran.

Subsequently, he ordered the immediate removal of the US military blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

However, Malley pointed out that the agreement does not tackle the fundamental issues that initially caused the war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

“Yet, the MOU serves as a clear and damning indictment of the preceding war, primarily because its principal achievement is the reopening of a waterway that was closed solely due to that conflict,” he remarked in a post on X.

“Regarding the matters that will need to be addressed post-MOU – including the future of Iran’s nuclear program, the handling of its enriched uranium, and the extent of sanctions relief – these will likely be postponed and will probably be more challenging to resolve than they were before the war,” he added.

Additionally, Sina Toossi, a senior fellow at the progressive Center for International Policy think tank, echoed this evaluation.

He commented on X, “Let there be no doubt: had you informed the war’s most vocal supporters in February that this would be the outcome, they would have been appalled.

“No regime change. No Iranian submission to their numerous maximalist demands. This represents their worst-case scenario.”

While declining oil prices provided a slight glimmer of hope for Trump, whose approval ratings have plummeted to an unprecedented low due to the economic repercussions of the war, it remains uncertain whether public perception of the conflict will change.

The 60-day deadline on several critical issues is set to expire in August, as the US approaches the final campaign phase before the midterm elections in November.

In an interview with The New York Times late on Sunday, Trump said he could restart attacks on Iran if a nuclear agreement is not reached by then.

In turn, he said he could make the US “the guardian of the Middle East” in return for 20 percent of the region’s revenue.