With Iran set back, Trump can now pursue peace in the Middle East
Donald Trump has stumbled into a position of extraordinary power in the Middle East.Through a combination of Israeli military audacity and his willingness to take risks, Trump has humiliated Iran, proven his ability to rein in Israel, and positioned himself as the only actor who can now impose a postwar settlement.
He has leverage over everyone, and he should use it now.Iran tried to negotiate with the United States as an equal.It hoped to deter Israel with missile threats, proxies, and nuclear brinkmanship.
But Israel just proved how hollow that posture was — launching an astonishingly successful preemptive strike on June 13. Ten days later came something astounding.US B-2 bombers flew deep into Iranian territory and struck nuclear infrastructure directly.
Washington wasn’t just supporting Israel — it was in the fight.And then Trump essentially imposed a cease-fire.
Israel stopped.Iran accepted.
The war ended not with negotiations but with an American command.This is military might combined with psychological dominance.Trump effectively used Israel as a proxy to break Iran’s posture — then proved he could rein in his proxy the moment it suited him.
For Iran, the implications are brutal.If Israel wants to strike again, it very well might.
If Trump wants to stop them, he will. This is the context in which US-Iran talks will now resume.They must not be open-ended — Iran cannot be allowed to play for time as they did with President Obama.
Trump must make clear that the war demonstrated the limits of Iran’s options.The regime survived, but just barely.
Its nuclear and missile programs were mauled.Its proxies have been badly weakened.
And its people are more skeptical than ever of a leadership that promised strength and delivered only humiliation.The terms must be firm, final, and immediate:1. All uranium enrichment must halt above the 3% civilian threshold allowed under the Non-Proliferation Treaty.The carrot is that civilian use should be a...