The White House officially released the long-secret U.S.-Iran memorandum on June 17, immediately triggering widespread shock across American society:
The U.S. lost!
The New York Times editorial lead headline boldly declared: "President Trump lost this war."
The article stated that Trump's initiation of this conflict was a grave mistake—his reckless actions openly defied the law, weakening America’s military, diplomatic, and economic strength, and imposing significant strategic costs for years to come.
This editorial by The New York Times and the intense public reaction represent a comprehensive reckoning with the Trump administration’s strategic missteps in the U.S.-Iran confrontation.
Trump’s original intent was to achieve a "comprehensive and total victory" and an "unconditional surrender," yet the contents of the memorandum show that none of his core objectives were realized.
The dream of regime change in Iran vanished into thin air. Although Iran suffered heavy damage during the war—including the assassination of Supreme Leader Khamenei on the first day—the hardline government remains firmly in power.
No substantive breakthrough on the nuclear issue occurred. Trump had demanded "zero uranium enrichment" and complete elimination of nuclear materials, but the memorandum merely sees Iran reiterating its pre-war pledge of "never developing nuclear weapons." Other nuclear-related issues have been deferred to a future final agreement.
The only tangible outcome was the "restoration of pre-war status quo." The U.S. spent vast sums and deployed substantial military force, ultimately achieving nothing more than the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz—a condition that already existed before the war began.
The United States paid a high price, suffering dual setbacks in both power and prestige.
As The New York Times put it, America has been severely weakened militarily, diplomatically, and economically.
The war not only consumed massive defense spending (with some analyses estimating over $85 billion), but Iran’s blockade of the strait caused global oil prices to surge, directly intensifying inflationary pressures domestically and severely undermining Trump’s popular support.
The U.S. military expended large quantities of expensive precision missiles and interceptors without successfully containing an opponent far smaller in scale, exposing serious shortcomings in equipment and logistics, which significantly damaged America’s global military deterrence capability.
Trump ignored opposition from European and Asian allies and excluded Gulf states from negotiations, causing deep fractures within the alliance system.
The 14 detailed provisions in the memorandum reveal extremely rare concessions made by the U.S. These major compromises effectively turned Iran into a "strategic winner."
At the same time, this memorandum has become a catalyst for domestic political conflict in the United States.
Mainstream media outlets—including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN—have collectively launched attacks, branding the memorandum as a "surrender document" and a "disaster," arguing that Trump’s recklessness imposed devastating strategic costs on America.
From a party perspective, not only Democrats fiercely criticized the deal, but even Republican "hawkish" allies expressed concerns and doubts about the terms.
More seriously, this war has severely damaged Trump’s approval ratings (now hovering around 36%) and is highly likely to result in heavy losses for the Republican Party in the upcoming midterm elections.
In summary, The New York Times’ editorial is not merely partisan rhetoric—it is an objective analysis based on the facts presented in the memorandum. This war failed to subdue Iran; instead, it exposed America’s strategic impotence, exacted enormous economic and diplomatic costs, and ultimately ended in compromise and retreat.
Trump has suffered a humiliating defeat.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1868296333489164/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.