Who Won?

Editor, Times-Union:
Long before the so-called ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was announced, Iran had proposed a 10-point resolution for ending the war. In return, the U.S. had proposed a 15-point resolution. Guess who caved? It was announced mere minutes before Trump’s war-crime threat to annihilate Iran was to become a reality that an agreed upon two-week ceasefire was suddenly in effect. Iran’s 10-point proposal was accepted in full as follows:
1. All aggression by the U.S. and Israel was to cease. 2. Iran would assume control of the Strait of Hormuz and would begin collecting $2 million per ship (10 ships per day allowed through). 3. It would be accepted that Iran could continue enriching uranium. 4. All primary sanctions against Iran would be lifted. 5. All secondary sanctions against Iran would be lifted. 6. UN Security Council resolutions against Iran would be terminated. 7. International Atomic Energy Agency resolutions against Iran would be terminated. 8. Iran would receive compensation for all of the war damage to the country. 9. The U.S. would withdraw all combat forces across the region. 10. Cessation of war on all fronts across the region, including Lebanon would begin.
It should be noted that a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — (Iran Nuclear Deal) was created and agreed to by the U.S., Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, U.K., and E.U. in July 2015, and implemented in January 2016. At that time, the Strait of Hormuz was already open and free of tolls; Iran’s uranium enrichment was strictly limited; Iran agreed to make no nuclear weapons; Iran allowed international inspectors to ensure compliance, and those inspectors affirmed full compliance. During Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign for the presidency, he promised to renegotiate that deal to make it even stronger. However, in May 2018, he completely withdrew from the agreement. The result? Iran began exceeding its enrichment limits, moving closer to creating a bomb.
Adding to the mix of bullies and their quest for world dominance, P.M. Benjamin Netanyahu found the perfect power-hungry, war-mongering duo in Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth to finally join him in his decades-long quest to obliterate his nemesis, Iran. His intense and frequent lobbying for an attack against Iran (not to mention his personal phone call with Trump just 48 hours before the initial attack) might well have been instrumental in Trump’s decision to attack on February 28. Now Netanyahu has said he agrees with the ceasefire, but he would not exclude Lebanon from such an agreement. (Kind of like he never agreed to the ceasefire against Gaza — and the attacks continue.)
The question remains: Who won? Certainly not the American people … Thirteen soldiers are dead and hundreds are wounded. Certainly not the innocent people of Iran and other Middle Eastern nations … Hundreds if not thousands of innocent men, women and children are dead. Will our Secretary of “War” continue to “negotiate with bombs?” Bigger questions remain: What’s next — and when?
Jeanne Tuka Schutz
Winona Lake, via email