How Donald Trump Can Make the Iran War Ceasefire Stick

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President Donald Trump needs to choose a new, experienced special envoy to manage negotiations with Iran.

President Donald Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire with Iran and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday evening left many analysts with more questions than answers, as it remains unclear whether much of substance has actually been agreed upon. Meanwhile, the violence across the region has continued unabated, with heavy Israeli bombing around Beirut, Iranian missile strikes against several Gulf states, and no indications of any significant resumption of stranded tankers departing through the strait.

While this war was ill-advised from the beginning, the issues between the United States and Iran are too important just to drop entirely and walk away. Despite his disdain for the establishment, what Trump needs at this point is a seasoned Washington “graybeard” to develop a rational negotiating strategy and salvage as good a result as possible from this episode before talks in Islamabad this weekend. Amateur hour is over.

It is still highly unclear what was agreed upon on Tuesday. Trump’s posting said, “We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate. Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated [sic].” 

The statement from Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Iran’s 10-point proposal had been accepted as a “basis for negotiations,” similar to Trump’s, but said they were “considering the request by the US for negotiations” on the US 15-point proposal. The two documents couldn’t be more different, and almost all of Iran’s 10 points would have been unacceptable to the United States a few days ago. It also does not deal with the nuclear or missile issues at all. 

Another statement from Iran’s Supreme........

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