{"id":2635171,"date":"2026-07-25T06:44:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T10:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-iran-mou-has-changed-the-middle-east\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T06:52:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T10:52:08","slug":"trump-iran-mou-has-changed-the-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-iran-mou-has-changed-the-middle-east\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump-Iran MOU has changed the Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-iran-mou-has-changed-the-middle-east%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2635171&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the rapid unraveling of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the United States and Iran signed on June 17, which aimed to address regional issues but was quickly dismissed by former President Donald Trump as meaningless. Despite its brief relevance, the effects of the agreement and the ongoing Iran-U.S. conflict have long-term implications, including Iran&#8217;s entrenched influence in Lebanon, control over the Strait of Hormuz, military militarization, and weakened U.S. deterrence and alliances in the Middle East. <\/p>\n<p>The article highlights the contradictory nature of recent U.S. actions, such as the signing of the MOU recognizing Iran\u2019s stake in Lebanon and the simultaneous negotiations between israel and Lebanon, which could limit iranian influence. It also details Iran\u2019s continued control of vital maritime routes and its possible future tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, challenging U.S. naval freedom and regional stability.<\/p>\n<p>Experts debate whether the U.S.remains a superpower, noting that recent actions have impacted its reliability and strategic position. The war and shifting policies have exposed vulnerabilities, with other global powers like China and Russia either disengaged or preoccupied elsewhere.the ongoing chaos in the Middle East and the mixed signals from U.S. diplomacy suggest a period of instability and uncertain future outcomes in regional geopolitics.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There may not be a memorandum of understanding that is so misunderstood and forgotten so quickly as the one the United States signed with <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/iran\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"100\">Iran<\/a> on June 17.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/videos\/4657495\/inside-scoop-jim-antle-data-center-debate-empathy-gone-wild-talarico-woke-past\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Inside Scoop: Data center debate, empathy gone wild, Talarico\u2019s woke past<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/videos\/4648892\/inside-scoop-working-class-zeros-disaster-nevada-big-gamble\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Inside Scoop: Working-class zeros, Courting Disaster, Nevada\u2019s big gamble<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/magazine-special-section\/4633441\/socialist-primary-wins-complicate-jeffries-path-speakers-gavel\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Socialist primary wins could complicate Jeffries\u2019 path to the speaker\u2019s gavel<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It began unraveling less than a month later. The U.S. on July 11 relaunched at full scale strikes on Iranian targets, resuming the war it began alongside <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/israel\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"219\">Israel<\/a> at the end of February against the Islamic Republic, a foe to both countries for 47 years.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iran, meanwhile, continued to strike commercial ships traveling the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/strait-of-hormuz\/\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, the waterway critical to the passage of a quarter of the world\u2019s seaborne oil trade, and a fifth of the world\u2019s liquefied natural gas exports. On July 13, President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> said he resumed the blockade of ships entering or departing Iranian ports. <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump said the MOU was done.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\">(Washington Examiner Illustration; AP Photos; Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/07\/localimages\/WB.WhiteHouse.072926.jpg?w=696&#8243; height=&#8221;658&#8243; width=&#8221;1024&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Washington Examiner Illustration; AP Photos; Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLook, memorandum of understanding when you\u2019re dealing with sleaze bags don\u2019t mean much,\u201d Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on July 13 in the hours after he reimposed the blockade.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The paradox is that even as the memorandum of understanding takes a flier toward the wastepaper basket, its effects, coupled with the effects of the war, may be long-lasting: The entrenchment of Iran in<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/lebanon\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1192\"> Lebanon<\/a>, the codification of Iran\u2019s control of the Strait of Hormuz, the militarization of the Iranian regime, the diminishment of U.S. deterrence, and the damage to U.S. alliances.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMay\u201d is the keyword: The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/middle-east\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"102\">Middle East<\/a> has been in such flux since the Oct. 7, 2023, deadly Hamas raids in Israel, and more so since the United States and Israel launched the current Iran war on Feb. 28, that confident predictions may be a fool\u2019s errand, experts say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A lot has changed in very little time, and the \u201cstatus quo\u201d has changed so frequently, it may not make sense to speak of one, said Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the venerable London-based Chatham House policy institute.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere is no status quo, there is no status quo ante,\u201d she said. \u201cAll that has been pulverized.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, there are three areas where change is already tangible:<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-us-recognized-iran-s-stake-in-lebanon\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The US recognized Iran\u2019s stake in Lebanon<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Islamic Republic has maintained deep ties with <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hezbollah\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"814\">Hezbollah<\/a>, the Lebanese terrorist group, for more than four decades. Hezbollah arose after Israel\u2019s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, which was aimed at dismantling the Palestine Liberation Organization\u2019s presence in the country. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iran\u2019s ayatollahs and Hezbollah shared a Shia Islamic faith, and a stake in Lebanon was an opportunity then for the young Islamist regime to project its strength in the region and to muster a reputation as a stalwart against the West and against Israel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The United States has historically been adamantly opposed to Hezbollah\u2019s burgeoning strength in the region since the group bombed Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 307 people, including 241 U.S. troops. It was designated as a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/terrorism\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"103\">terrorist<\/a> group in 1997.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hezbollah\u2019s role in adventurism in the region, particularly after the 2003 Iraq War, and its role in backing and training Shia insurgents in Iraq, intensified U.S. hostility toward the group, leading to U.S. pressure on allies to marginalize Hezbollah similarly.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So Middle East watchers were stunned to learn that the MOU last month not only enshrined Iran\u2019s stake in Lebanon \u2014 Iran\u2019s entrenchment appeared to be paramount, the first of 14 points in the MOU signed by Trump, Vice President<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jd-vance\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"7658\"> JD Vance<\/a>, Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three times, the lengthy paragraph stated that the ceasefire must extend to Lebanon. In one instance, stipulating that the United States and Iran agreed to \u201censuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon,\u201d a reference to Israeli territorial gains during the war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The development was profoundly unsettling to the government of Israeli Prime Minister <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/benjamin-netanyahu\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"378\">Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>, who had seen Trump as key to transforming the region and removing threats to Israel like Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just two weeks after the MOU was signed, in a speech at a military cemetery on July 1 commemorating the Israeli troops who fell in the 2006 war with Hezbollah, Netanyahu listed Israeli triumphs against Hezbollah since Oct. 8, 2023. Hezbollah that day joined <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hamas\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"218\">Hamas<\/a> in its war against Israel, a day after the Hamas attacks in the Jewish state\u2019s southern tier killed more than 1,200 people, with another 251 taken hostage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIran \u2014 which wanted to force upon us a withdrawal \u2014 that will not happen,\u201d Netanyahu said, as close to a rebuke to Trump for negotiating the truce as he would dare to deliver to his closest ally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Jewish Institute for National Security of America, one of the most vocal boosters of the war at its outset, was scathing in its assessment of the first point.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBy including Lebanon, the MOU concedes Iranian influence in Lebanon to save its terror proxy Hezbollah, threatens Israeli security, trashes prospects for an Israeli-Lebanese peace, and offers Iran an additional lever to manipulate other elements of the MOU,\u201d it said in a June 23 review of the MOU.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some Iran experts said the MOU was simply acknowledging the reality of an Iranian entrenchment so deep that there are believed to be hundreds of Revolutionary Guard commanders in Lebanon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIran has long exercised influence in Lebanon through Hezbollah,\u201d Ali Vaez, the International Crisis Group\u2019s Iran Project Director, said in an email interview. \u201cAcknowledging Iran\u2019s stake in the regional security order doesn\u2019t change that reality.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A bright spot for Iran hawks \u2014 and for Israel \u2014 may be the parallel negotiations the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"339\">Trump administration<\/a> brokered between top Israeli and Lebanese officials, which culminated on June 26 in a framework that for the first time in more than 40 years anticipates mutual Israeli-Lebanese recognition. The framework \u2014 contra the MOU \u2014 requires the dismantlement of Hezbollah\u2019s military infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. signing of two agreements within two weeks that seemed utterly in contradiction baffled Middle East watchers. But it also stirred optimism that the Trump administration was not yet giving away the game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Israel-Lebanon framework \u201cappears purposefully chosen to present an alternative path to that MOU in terms of addressing the Lebanon question,\u201d Robert Satloff, the executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said in an analysis. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Indeed, the agreement suggests tensions between Vance, an isolationist who favors lowering the U.S. profile abroad and who led the MOU negotiations, and Secretary of State <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marco-rubio\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"51\">Marco Rubio<\/a>. The former Florida Republican senator \u2014 also national security adviser in Trump\u2019s second, nonconsecutive term \u2014 has a reputation as an interventionist who has largely ducked the MOU talks. Yet the State Department under Rubio\u2019s leadership brokered the Israel-Lebanon framework. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vance and Rubio are seen as the frontrunners in the stakes to succeed Trump; the success of their endeavors in the Middle East could help shape the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nevada-makes-move-to-become-first-state-in-presidential-primaries\/\" title=\"Nevada Makes Move To Become First State In Presidential Primaries\">presidential primary race<\/a>, which begins in earnest next year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whatever the case, the Lebanon framework, should Trump favor it over a deal with Iran, could turn the deep concessions in the MOU into a victory for American influence, said Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace and a Middle East negotiator for multiple presidents of both parties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf Trump is up to it, he could turn chickens*** into chicken salad,\u201d Miller, who sees the MOU as caving to Iran, said. Another bright spot, he said, is the negotiations the United States is said to be brokering between Israel and the regime in Syria that, in 2024, ousted the Assad regime, a longtime ally of Iran.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-strait-of-hormuz-is-up-for-grabs\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Strait of Hormuz is up for grabs<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The waterway, critical to the world\u2019s energy economy, has been open for decades. Now Iran keeps opening and closing it, and together with Oman, the Arab nation on the other side of the strait, is anticipating charging tolls. Trump, too, recently talked about \u2014 and then retreated from \u2014 plans to charge tolls for safe passage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The closures have driven up prices for petroleum, natural gas, and their derivatives and roiled Trump\u2019s political fortunes ahead of critical <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-election\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11675\">midterm elections<\/a>, with his economic approval rate plunging to a low of 33%.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The war in its initial days scored impressive wins for the U.S.-Israel side, decapitating much of Iran\u2019s leadership and burying (although not destroying) much of its enriched fissile material, key to building a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nuclear-weapons\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"542\">nuclear weapon<\/a>, the threat of which drove Trump and Netanyahu to launch the war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump, however, reportedly underestimated Iran\u2019s capacity to endure the pain that closing the strait would cause.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, Iran\u2019s claim to the strait may be permanent, said Vaez of the International Crisis Group.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe old assumption that Hormuz is simply an international waterway insulated from Iran\u2019s security interests has been shattered,\u201d he said. \u201cTehran will try to preserve that new reality as leverage, though the more others develop routes and arrangements that bypass Iranian control, the more perishable that leverage becomes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet, as with Lebanon, Middle East watchers were bowled over to discover that the MOU codified Iran\u2019s claim to a say in administering passage through the strait. The MOU determines that Iran \u201cwill conduct dialog with the Sultanate of Oman to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t see that Iran has any incentive at the moment to relinquish its de facto control over the strait,\u201d said Allison McManus, a managing director for the National Security and International Policy department at the liberal leaning Center for American Progress. \u201cI think that this is, unfortunately, but perhaps predictably, a major new asset that Iran has gained.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What\u2019s more, the MOU leaves an opening for Iran to administer tolls: \u201cUpon the signing of this MOU, the Islamic Republic of Iran will make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge, for 60 days only.\u201d The \u201conly\u201d in that sentence opens up an avenue for Iran and Oman to consider tolls in the future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tolls, should the United States come to accept their existence, \u201cwould be a huge shift in the U.S.\u2019s geopolitical approach to the world, in jettisoning its commitment to freedom of navigation,\u201d Yvonne Chiu, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College, said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Israelis fear Iranian control of the strait will be a nail in the coffin of keeping Iran\u2019s ambitions for a nuclear weapon at bay.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Strait of Hormuz has transformed from a bargaining chip to a nuclear shield,\u201d Eitan Shamir, a top former Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs official, and Col. Shay Shabtai, the deputy director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, wrote in an analysis of the MOU for the center. \u201cDue to American concessions, the Hormuz issue now functions as a shield protecting substantive Iranian nuclear non-compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-is-the-us-still-a-superpower\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is the US still a superpower?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The most far-reaching implications of the American concessions could be to its reputation as a reliable ally, already eroded by Trump\u2019s peregrinations on the degree to which he is committed to the NATO alliance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vaez said that the show of American strength at the war\u2019s outset is counteracted for U.S. allies in the region by the open-ended nature of the conflict.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe war has reinforced both sides of America\u2019s regional image: an indispensable security actor, but also a source of instability that can drag its partners into conflicts they neither chose nor control,\u201d he said. \u201cFor U.S. allies, the question is America\u2019s reliability as a predictable ally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McManus, at CAP, said the U.S.\u2019s sudden transition from negotiating with Iran to warring with it itself is a warning signal to the rest of the world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve demonstrated that we are an untrustworthy negotiator,\u201d she said. \u201cThat is a weakness, because it creates unpredictability.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chiu noted the depletion of weapons and how that affected the U.S. posture in the Pacific.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve moved aircraft carriers, and we\u2019re expending a lot of munitions that we would need in a war against China,\u201d she said. \u201cThose munitions are, one, incredibly expensive to make, and two, they cannot be replaced quickly and easily. It is taking resources away from other theaters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vakil of Chatham House said that, however much the war unsettled the United States\u2019s Middle East allies, no other power is stepping into the breach.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cChina has its own priorities, and the Middle East is certainly not in its top five, maybe not even in its top 10,\u201d she said. \u201cChina is diversifying, investing in renewables.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Miller noted that Russia is bogged down in Ukraine. \u201cWe are still, in my judgment, the only game in town,\u201d he said. Still, he said, the MOU was a striking indictment of Trump\u2019s negotiating team, including Steve Witkoff, an old friend and fellow real estate developer, and Jared Kushner, Trump\u2019s son-in-law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cClearly, the Iranians had much better lawyers than the Americans,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vakil said intermittent warfare was the likelihood in the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t necessarily think a deal is easily achievable because there\u2019s mistrust, because there\u2019s not a persistent negotiation environment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/4654534\/two-us-service-member-kill-jordan-iran\/\"><strong>TWO US SERVICE MEMBERS KILLED IN JORDAN AFTER BREAKDOWN OF IRAN CEASEFIRE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Miller said that\u2019s a function of Trump\u2019s short attention span, likening the MOU to the ceasefire he trumpeted last year between Israel and Hamas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re now halfway into 2026, and Gaza is likely to remain divided and sporadically violent,\u201d he said.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Ron Kampeas (<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/kampeas\">@kampeas<\/a>) is an Arlington, Virginia-based journalist. He was the<\/em> Jewish Telegraphic Agency\u2019s <em>Washington bureau chief for more than 20 years, and previously reported for the <\/em>Associated Press <em>from the Jerusalem, New York, London, and Washington, D.C., bureaus.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US-Iran MOU: Misunderstood, quickly forgotten, lasting impacts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4046,"featured_media":2635172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/WB.WhiteHouse.072926.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[3817,83173,32402,32726,83172],"class_list":["post-2635171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-diplomacy","tag-geopolitical-shift","tag-international-relations","tag-middle-east","tag-trump-iran-mou"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/WB.WhiteHouse.072926.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2635171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4046"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2635171"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2635171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2635175,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2635171\/revisions\/2635175"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2635172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2635171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2635171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2635171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}