U.S. President Donald Trump before flying to a G7 in France, June 15, 2026. (Credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP)
For decades, American strategy in the Middle East was based on a central assumption: Iran could be contained, isolated, and gradually weakened until it changed its behavior or underwent internal transformation. The memorandum of understanding announced on June 15 between Washington and Tehran suggests this approach has reached its limits. After more than three months of direct confrontation, threats to the Strait of Hormuz and risks of uncontrollable regional escalation, the two opponents have finally agreed to begin a 60-day period of in-depth negotiations. More than just a cease-fire, this is above all an implicit recognition of a new strategic reality: neither the United States nor Iran has managed to impose its conditions alone, forcing both sides to move from a logic of permanent escalation to a more restrained and negotiated...
For decades, American strategy in the Middle East was based on a central assumption: Iran could be contained, isolated, and gradually weakened until it changed its behavior or underwent internal transformation. The memorandum of understanding announced on June 15 between Washington and Tehran suggests this approach has reached its limits. After more than three months of direct confrontation, threats to the Strait of Hormuz and risks of uncontrollable regional escalation, the two opponents have finally agreed to begin a 60-day period of in-depth negotiations. More than just a cease-fire, this is above all an implicit recognition of a new strategic reality: neither the United States nor Iran has managed to impose its conditions alone, forcing both sides to move from a logic of permanent escalation to a more restrained and negotiated...
