TEHRAN – The memorandum of understanding signed on Wednesday between Tehran and Washington marks the clearest political acknowledgment yet of Iran’s victory in the joint US‑Israeli aggression that began on February 28. What started as a massive military campaign aimed at destroying Iran’s military capabilities and collapsing the Islamic Republic has ended with Washington accepting terms shaped by Iran’s resilience and military achievements.
On the first day of the strikes, Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several senior military commanders were martyred. The attack was intended to break Iran’s chain of command and force the country into rapid collapse. Instead, Iran responded with a coordinated and extensive missile and drone campaign targeting Israel and American bases across the Persian Gulf region. The scale and precision of Iran’s retaliation surprised US and Israeli analysts, who had expected Iran’s military infrastructure to be crippled.
Iran’s attacks inflicted severe damage on US installations, radar systems, and military equipment. American media later acknowledged that several bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE suffered operational disruptions. At the same time, Iran asserted control over the Strait of Hormuz, restricting shipping and sending shockwaves through global markets. The move contributed to rising fuel prices and inflation inside the United States, adding economic pressure to Washington’s military setbacks.
Ultimately, after failing to achieve its military objectives, President Donald Trump agreed to a ceasefire with Iran on April 8. Iran’s diplomatic engagement following the truce—combined with its demonstrated military preparedness—pushed Washington toward accepting the terms that now appear in the MoU. The interim agreement is widely seen as a political translation of Iran’s battlefield success.
The MoU reflects the new balance of power. It requires the immediate end of all military operations, including in Lebanon, where Israel continues to violate the agreement with ongoing strikes. It lifts the US naval blockade on Iran and reopens the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping under mechanisms coordinated between Iran and Oman, the only two coastal states of the strait. The document also launches a 60‑day verification and negotiation period covering sanctions relief, the nuclear file, reconstruction, economic development, and a monitoring system for implementation. The United States has committed to ending all sanctions and releasing frozen Iranian assets, while also working with regional partners on a $300 billion reconstruction plan for Iran.
Iranian officials have emphasized that the agreement is built on “active distrust” of the United States. They stress that the MoU is not a diplomatic concession but a recognition of Iran’s strength. President Masoud Pezeshkian described it as a “historic document” that sends a message from a powerful Iran: peace is possible only on the basis of mutual respect and acknowledgment of Iran’s sovereignty. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stated that Iran’s military and diplomatic capabilities forced the United States to accept terms it had rejected before the war.
US and Israeli media have indirectly confirmed this shift. Analysts in Washington now speak of a “strategic setback” and a “collapse of deterrence,” while Israeli commentators warn that the war exposed deep vulnerabilities in Israel’s defenses and its dependence on US support. Iran demonstrated that American bases across the Middle East are within reach and that any future conflict would carry enormous costs for Washington.
As Iran enters the 60‑day negotiation period, the message to Washington is unmistakable. If the United States wants to avoid deeper strategic losses, it must comply fully with the MoU it has already signed. Any attempt to violate its frameworks will simply recreate the same pressures that forced Washington to negotiate in the first place. Iran has already shown that it can impose far greater costs than the US and Israel anticipated, including its decisive move to close the Strait of Hormuz during the war—a step that shook global markets and exposed the vulnerability of Western economies. And if Washington hopes to transform this temporary understanding into a lasting agreement, it must ensure that Israel ends its strikes in Lebanon permanently. Continued Israeli violations not only undermine the MoU but risk reigniting a confrontation that the United States has already learned—militarily, politically, and economically—it cannot win.
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