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Trump’s deal with Iran is awful. But what’s the alternative?

For once, the president’s lack of consistency and conviction proved an advantage.

By MAX BOOT

Washington Post

June 19, 2026

President Donald Trump has long complained that “we don’t win wars anymore,” a problem he has blamed on “wokeness” and “political correctness.” Last year, he set out to do something about it by rebranding the Department of Defense as the Department of War. His secretary, Pete Hegseth, eagerly supported the change, contending that the department would “fight to win” and wage war with “maximum lethality, not tepid legality.”

How’s that going? The president just concluded a war with Iran, and the only people who think the United States won are on the administration’s payroll. Even some of them probably harbor secret doubts. That may be why Secretary of State Marco Rubio is letting Vice President JD Vance take the lead in selling this dog’s breakfast.

Was It Worth It? The True Cost of Trump’s Iran War

The war ended with a deal that gives Iran sanctions relief, reconstruction funds, and the ability to charge tolls on the world’s most critical waterway. While the White House may call it a victory, the costs suggest otherwise.

By MAX BOOT

Council on Foreign Relations

June 19, 2026

With the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Wednesday, the Iran war is over, at least for now. The full ramifications are not yet obvious. We do not know, for example, what restrictions on its nuclear program, if any, Iran will ultimately agree on as part of the follow-on negotiations—though the economic windfall President Donald Trump is offering Tehran up front greatly lessens the Islamic Republic’s incentive to compromise. But one thing can already be said with confidence: The war was not worth the high price paid for it.