Trump's Iran deal leaves world worse off than under Obama nuclear deal

Trump's Iran deal leaves world worse off than under Obama nuclear deal As the dust settles on the war on Iran Trump's bellicose claims about his conflict do not match reality as it has and will cost billions and it is unlikely as good as Obama accord US President Donald Trump ’s dumb war with Iran has vandalised so many rules on war-planning, negotiation, global diplomacy and geopolitics that it defies belief it happened. Operation Epic Fury has cost the world economy at least an estimated £1 trillion and Britain alone £4 billion in fuel price hikes and UK drivers will pay for it for months. It has killed thousands and caused tens of thousands of injuries, mostly in Iran and Lebanon but also in Iraq, Israel and the Gulf States. And it has blasted a Tomahawk missile through any future trust of American diplomacy after Trump repeatedly vowed not to attack and went back on his word. Not to mention the 20 or so times he claimed the war was ending and that he had a ‘great deal’ in the pipeline. Neither of which has actually happened yet. Now the US and Iran have agreed to an “immediate and permanent” end to military operations under a surprise ‘memorandum of understanding’ announced via mediator Pakistan. This MOU includes plans to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, ease sanctions and begin further negotiations over nuclear issues. None of this is a victory since it was Trump’s war that closed the Strait and the sanctions were hitting Iran’s economy hard. And the real cost of the war in terms of human lives and dignity, the future for the world, the risk of further conflict and the weakening of the US, our greatest ally, is immeasurable. Trump poured manure on a hyper-sensitive situation then has apparently accepted the bill to clean it up and left the lunatics even angrier and in charge afterwards.Then he went back and poured on even more, with his social media rants. He fell for Israel’s seductive manipulations about how easily Iran’s military and leadership would be toppled, how quickly the nuclear issue would be resolved - and then kept going. It goes back to Trump’s hatred and jealousy of Barack Obama and the former President’s 2015 Joint Comprehension Plan of Action, which limited Iran’s nuclear programme. He tore the JCPOA up, claiming it was a road to Iran having nuclear weapons, when Tehran had enriched uranium only to about 20% and for nuclear missiles it needs about 90%. The JCPOA allowed for intrusive oversight of Iran’s nuclear programme, which it claimed- albeit questionably- was for domestic use only. The new Memorandum of Understanding allows for 60 days of intense talks and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz - thus unravelling a problem that pre-war did not exist. Both sides have said that Iran agrees that it will neither produce nor acquire nuclear weapons - a promise Tehran has been making repeatedly for decades. Iranian officials claim, pending a final agreement, Iran would freeze its nuclear activity, refraining from further uranium enrichment or the expansion of nuclear facilities. That would be fine - except by his own claims Trump has already said incorrectly that Tehran was close to having a nuclear weapon, thereby already having highly-enriched uranium. Before the announcement Trump said he would bring peace to the region, including Lebanon and that there should be no more Israeli attacks on Lebanon or by Hezbollah on Israel. Israel attacked Beirut only yesterday and has vowed not to withdraw from Lebanon, despite claims the MOU ends the fighting against Hezbollah and restricting Israel’s Lebanon movement. It has declared the Israeli Defence Force will remain in Lebanon to counter Hezbollah threats, regardless of any arrangement between the US and Iran. The settlement with Iran rests upon Tehran’s claim it must include no more attacks on Hezbollah, its proxy and Lebanese extension of Iranian power. So that is not resolved and nor will it be whilst so much political pressure to hammer Hezbollah remains on Benjamin Netanyahu’s shoulders. The US somehow had to separate Hezbollah and Iran and also get more than just a promise out of Iran on its nuclear programme. At the very least the US has to achieve oversight, just to reach the achievement of Obama’s JCPOA. Trump has repeatedly vowed to seize Iran’s enriched uranium - one of the biggest lies and false promises he has made during this war. Iran is said to be demanding at least £10 billion as a half-payment of unfrozen assets and a full withdrawal of US forces. And that is just the beginning of the bribes Trump is likely being forced to pay Tehran, according to reports from within the Middle East. According to leaks from within Iran, Tehran is also demanding £223.5 billion in reparations for damages during the war, which Trump has branded fake news. Somewhere between the two claims lies the truth. Trump has been warned repeatedly that any money paid will land, once the regime has had its taste, in the hands of its proxies Hezbollah, the Houthis and Hamas. All his war and the Memorandum of Understanding had done is to get Iran to the table again on the nuclear issue and it is unlikely to reach the kind of oversight Obama’s JCPOA achieved.