If Iran Agrees to Everything, Was the War Worth It?

We still don’t know when the Strait of Hormuz will open and the US war with Iran will end. But thanks to a carefully placed Trump administration leak, we do now know what it wants in a deal, including a moratorium on nuclear enrichment and an end to the blockade of the crucial oil waterway. Let’s say that this time, against all odds, the men who rule Tehran just say “yes” to it all — would this deal have been worth the war?

The short answer is no. Yet this is not an argument won by knockout, rather by a system of points that have different weights for the various protagonists. And the conclusion could also evolve with hindsight, because Iran will change as a result of this conflict — the only question is how. Any outcome is possible once peace returns, from a more aggressive and empowered Islamic Republic, to regime collapse.