The Wall Street Journal editorial board on Sunday pushed back on the reported terms of a peace deal being negotiated by the Trump administration and Iranian government.
The editorial board wrote that while the administration “can claim real achievements” from the war, the ceasefire period “may deliver a strategic setback” for the U.S.
Multiple outlets reported Sunday that the potential agreement involves a 60-day ceasefire, which would allow for the two sides to negotiate restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear program. Under the deal, the U.S. would end its naval blockade of Iranian ports — a measure it took in response to the Iranian military restricting transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s effective closure of the strait, which carries roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply, resulted in higher oil prices globally and increased prices at the pump for Americans. Those costs dipped slightly after the potential deal was reported.
On Saturday, U.S. Central Command (CentCom) said that it had redirected 100 vessels as part of the blockade, which began on April 13. Centcom noted that its forces have also disabled four vessels and allowed 26 humanitarian aid ships to pass during that time span.
The Journal’s editorial board, however, wrote that if the U.S. ends the blockade and allows Iran to sell its oil as part of a peace deal, the administration’s lone tool to “coerce” the Islamic Republic into nuclear concessions “is the threat of renewed war.”
It added, “But Trump wasn’t willing to do that after Iran reneged on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and attacked U.S. forces and Gulf allies. How credible will the threat be 60 days closer to midterms, when it would trigger a new Iranian blockade of Hormuz? A pledge not to build a nuclear weapon means nothing because the regime has always said that while doing the opposite.”
President Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday that negotiations with Iran “are proceeding nicely.”
He added, “It will only be a Great Deal for all or, no Deal at all — Back to the Battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before — And nobody wants that!”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also told reporters Monday that the two sides have a “solid” deal on the table.
“The President’s not going to make a bad agreement,” he said during a press conference from New Delhi, India. “So, let’s see what happens. We’re going to give diplomacy every chance to succeed before we explore the alternatives.”
But the editorial board wrote that it is “fair to wonder” if the political pressure imposed by rising gas prices and bond yields is pushing Trump toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz, even if it is “on Iran’s terms.”
It concluded, “Iran’s regime went into this war facing domestic political and economic crises. War has made these worse. Saving such a regime now with an economic bailout would be the real betrayal—of the U.S. interest even more than the Iranian people.”
