'Win' is a catastrophic climbdown

The most generous interpretation of the peace framework embraced by Donald Trump is that it reflects confusion.

- CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN

Trump's post which hailed 'world peace'

A more plausible interpretation is that it is a capitulation by a man who boasts he is the world's greatest dealmaker, yet keeps making deals that look like defeats.

After weeks of threats, boasts and escalation, Trump now appears to be embracing a 10-point plan originating from Iran that hands Tehran precisely what it sought before the crisis began.

Today, he would have woken up salivating at the thought of hero headlines. What he got were increasing calls for his removal from office and a White House hurriedly fighting its latest damage limitation exercise.

Sanctions relief. Confusion over enrichment. Preservation of missile and drone capabilities. And, most astonishingly, leverage over the Strait of Hormuz - one of the most strategically vital waterways on the planet.

For a president who built his political mythology on “winning,” this looks remarkably like a catastrophic loss, and there is little wonder why lawmakers are saying the 25th Amendment should be invoked to remove him. If even part of the Iranian account is accurate, this is not a negotiated settlement. It is a climbdown masquerading as diplomacy. Trump threatens devastation, raises the stakes to catastrophic levels, and then accepts the very terms he once implied would justify war.

It is the political equivalent of walking out of a car dealership and then returning 10 minutes later to accept the sticker price and throw in the extras. The central issue is the Strait. Before the confrontation, Iran did not exercise direct control over global traffic passing through the waterway.