The person who demanded "unconditional surrender" was working overtime at the White House over the weekend, apparently preparing to sign a memorandum with Iran.

According to multiple media outlets and multilingual reports, Iran has achieved the following outcomes:

- The U.S. Navy blockade is lifted;

- Sanctions relief explicitly written into the text;

- The Strait of Hormuz reopened under Iranian jurisdiction without toll fees;

- All hostilities cease across every front, including Lebanon;

- Nuclear program, missile arsenal, and uranium enrichment will be deferred to the second round of negotiations.

Iran made only a vague general commitment regarding its high-enriched uranium stockpile, with zero details on disposal. The Iranian Foreign Ministry confirmed that nuclear issues are not part of the current agreement.

The most optimistic assessment is that military threats have been removed from the negotiation table. Perhaps Trump himself doesn’t want another round.

Next, the Middle East will undergo dramatic changes. Iran will believe its strategy is working, seeing that military pressure on neighboring countries proves effective. More importantly, American support for these nations now seems less challenging than before.

Gulf states are beginning to realize this as well, and are likely to favor compromising with Iran rather than confronting it—especially when there’s no U.S. assistance available.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz recently congratulated Trump “for his extraordinary efforts toward peace,” and thanked him for productive phone calls this morning with leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, UAE, Jordan, and Pakistan.

He pledged that Pakistan would continue “to advance its peace efforts with the utmost sincerity” and hopes to soon host the next round of talks.

At this moment, old Shehbaz is in Hangzhou, followed by a trip to Beijing.

After Trump and Putin’s visits to China, progress indeed accelerated.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1863952948705287/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author