President Donald Trump needs to admit he was taken for a ride by Iran, the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote in a Monday evening postmortem of his few-week-long memorandum of understanding that was initially touted as a step toward real peace.
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“Let’s hope the President realizes the memorandum of understanding Iran signed with him was a fraud,” wrote the board, which has been skeptical of Trump’s deal from the get-go.
Trump certainly seems to have realized he needs a new approach, the board, wrote, as he is now committing the United States to protect commerce in the Strait of Hormuz — and demanding a 20% toll on cargo going through it.
“No one knows how serious Mr. Trump is about a $15-a-barrel toll on oil exiting the Strait,” wrote the board, calling it a “bad idea” but also not a “crazy” impulse for Trump to want to be compensated for being the world’s police. “Most important is Mr. Trump’s commitment to the Strait. After ducking the matter in wartime, and then trying to solve it via diplomacy only for Iran to renege, the President now declares U.S. guardianship. This was always required to ‘finish the job,’ as he lately describes his goal.”
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A new, tougher stance could turn things around for Trump, the board said, and put real pressure on the regime — but it took the president entirely too long to get to this point.
“With the MOU Mr. Trump gave the regime a reprieve, and as usual it perceived U.S. weakness and sought to exploit it,” wrote the board, saying that Iran made a mockery of the deal and it is “in tatters” now. “Giving up leverage with the MOU didn’t work, and we hope Mr. Trump has also tossed that in the bin of broken Iranian promises. If the Iranians want to talk about their nuclear weapons program, let them negotiate under the U.S. blockade as their main revenue source dries up.”
Ultimately, the board concluded, “Last week Mr. Trump told the truth about Iran’s lying regime. Now let him act on it — and stick to the strategy.”
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