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Welcome to The Logoff: Is the US-Iran deal “over”?
What is happening? The United States launched a second consecutive day of attacks against Iran on Wednesday, escalating the violation of the three-week-old law.memorandum of understanding” between the two countries.
The swift action began on Monday after Iran attacked several ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The US attacked Iran on Tuesday, and Iran responded with its own attacks in neighboring Kuwait and Bahrain, both of which are home to US military bases.
The US also reinstated sanctions against Iran’s oil on Tuesday, keeping the restrictions to what they were a new stream of income for administration.
Asked about the ceasefire on Wednesday, President Donald Trump, who is currently at a NATO meeting in Ankara, Turkey, said, “I think it’s over, I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re crooks.”
What is the context? As my colleague Josh Keating wrote last monththe end of the Iran war has been greatly exaggerated from the jump. This isn’t even the first time the US has attacked Iranian targets since the two sides reached a “compromise agreement” in mid-June, which laid a 60-day path toward a more permanent deal (at least in theory).
Other problems also abound, including the situation in the Straits, the question of the quality of Iran’s nuclear program, and the Israel-Lebanon conflict.
So what now? It is difficult to say. Violence has flared and subsided in other areas during the ceasefire, and Trump’s comments may be an unreliable indicator of where things are headed. But strikes are once again causing traffic through the Straits to be halted, according to CNNand oil prices are rising.
If that continues, Trump could also start losing gas prices, which have been falling following the ceasefire agreement — and as the midterms quickly approach with voters. generally unhappy with the state of the economyhe doesn’t have much time left.
Speaking of the midterms: The path to control of the U.S. Senate may go through Maine, where Democratic nominee Graham Platner is facing serious new allegations that could end his campaign. On a special episode of his podcast America, Reallymy colleague Astead Herndon explains why did the left ignore Platner’s red flags first place.
And so, it’s time to leave…
Here’s a Logoff piece if I’ve ever seen one: The moral case for being under the internetfeaturing an interesting history about Luddism (as usual, it’s a gift link)
More, from the World Cup: No games today. But don’t miss the Vox video team how soccer players train for chaos.
Thanks for reading, have a good evening, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!
