Why Iran deal is a shopping list of US capitulations

Despite Trump claiming victory in the peace plan, there are glaring holes and notable concessions, writes Bel Trew

- writes Bel Trew

“I’m the boss,” Donald Trump quipped as he swaggered into the G7 meeting of Western leaders in the French Alps yesterday.

Nervous laughter acknowledged the truth in those words.

But part of this bravado rings hollow against the backdrop of the “great deal” with Iran that the US president has claimed will bring peace and security to the entire Middle East. On his Truth Social platform, Trump described himself as the first US president in history to make peace with Iran. Despite the growing unpopularity of the sprawling war back in the US, he has repeatedly declared victory.

But the 14-point plan, which, although yet to be confirmed, has been leaked to numerous news outlets, reads more like a shopping list of capitulations than an agreement in which the US has made Iran “pay the price”.

There are also gaping holes where some of the trickiest sticking points have not been addressed.

Most glaringly absent are details of who will control the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway that Iran has strangled, causing the biggest disruption to energy supplies in modern history.

Also missing from the leaked plan is any mention of Israel and the future of its military occupation of swathes of Lebanon.

The memorandum of understanding is set to be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday, triggering a 60-day window to negotiate the final terms.

The first article of the deal focuses on “an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon”.