Trump Is in a Trap of His Own Making

"Iranian spokesmen laid out their counterproposal in a statement Monday morning. They demand an end to the war (including Israel's war in Lebanon), an end to the U.S. blockade, a pledge of no further U.S. or Israeli attacks, reparations for damages, a lifting of Western economic sanctions, the release of Iran's frozen assets, Iran's continued control over the Strait of Hormuz (which is in international waters), and a postponement of any negotiations over Iran's nuclear program until all of these demands are satisfied."

"These are the sorts of demands that the winner of a war would issue. By making them, Iran's leaders are proclaiming that they won this war-and, in a sense, they are right. Victory in war means making an opponent bend to your will. In asymmetric war, the ostensibly weaker power wins by not losing."

"The Iranians have bowed to none of Trump's stated war aims (regime change, dismantling all nuclear assets and ballistic missiles, abandoning terrorist militia groups, or opening the Strait of Hormuz). Meanwhile, Iran's continued ability to keep the Strait closed to all but its preferred customers (mainly Russia and China) is squeezing the global economy, including that of the United States."

"The fact that it is able to do so, despite a massive U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign that destroyed or damaged more than 13,000 Iranian targets and killed the entir"

Iranian spokesmen issued a counterproposal requiring an end to the war, including Israel’s war in Lebanon, an end to the U.S. blockade, and a pledge of no further U.S. or Israeli attacks. The proposal also calls for reparations for damages, lifting Western economic sanctions, releasing Iran’s frozen assets, and maintaining Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz. It further demands postponing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program until all demands are met. These demands resemble terms a winner would set, reflecting Iran’s ability to avoid U.S. stated war aims and to keep the Strait effectively closed to most customers, which strains global and U.S. economic interests despite extensive U.S.-Israeli bombing.

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