The United States and Iran Reach a Peace Deal

At least for now…

By: Austin Abbring

June 15, 2026

The United States and Iran have reached a preliminary peace deal after three and a half months of fighting. President Trump claims the Strait of Hormuz will reopen on Friday, contingent on the peace deal being officially signed in Switzerland, with Pakistan mediating. This is a big if, as the deal only remains should Israel withdraw its militant forces and end any military activity in southern Lebanon, which is something Netanyahu and Israel do not seem keen on complying with. 

There is plenty of uncertainty around the official terms of the deal and what will actually be agreed upon during the sixty-day negotiations, should we make it to Friday without the United States or Israel violating the terms. As it stands, this is a complete embarrassment for the United States and the Trump administration - as it should be since we launched an illegal, unjustifiable war. This is nothing but complete capitulation on our part. It only took a handful of months for Iran to exercise its ability to throttle global markets by maintaining control over the Strait of Hormuz (SoH), and for Trump to literally admit at the beginning of this month, “I don’t care if they’re over [peace talks]. I really don’t care…Frankly, I thought they started to get very boring.” The sounds of a man who is truly engaged in war games right there. Appreciate the honesty.

Back in reality, not only is Iran most likely going to toll ships passing through the SoH, which were free, open waters prior to this war, but they will also be receiving massive financial retribution as well. Iran claims that, under the Memorandum of Understanding, $24 billion in frozen assets will be unfrozen and that an additional $300 billion reconstruction fund will be backed by the Gulf States. Remember when Republicans, and Trump in particular, ranted and raved about the $1.7 billion of funds being sent to Iran under the Obama administration from the 1979 arms deal? I am curious how MAGA is going to dumb their way out of this one.

In the end, at least thirteen servicemen and women have been killed, Iran has gained significant economic strength, the Gulf States are left further destabilized, fuel and energy prices will not be dropping any time soon, free waters will now be controlled and taxed, and we end up with at best a worse version of the JCPOA. Donald Trump and Republicans have really outdone themselves with this one. Art of the deal… more like fart of the deal. Am I right?