Trump’s Book: ‘The Art of No Deal’

Jun 16, 2026 12:49 PM EDT, Tue

With tentative Iran deal, Trump secures breakthroughs that he already had

Last month the president said he wanted Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and a “perfect” deal. As the war nears an apparent end, he’s achieved neither.

Jun. 15, 2026, 8:07 AM EDT By Steve Benen

After far too many instances in which the White House told the world that an agreement with Iran was imminent, only to see those hopes dashed soon after, there actually appears to be something resembling a deal to end the monthslong conflict. MS NOW reported:

_Iran and the United States reached a deal Sunday aimed at ending the Middle East war, according to President Donald Trump and Tehran’s deputy foreign minister, marking a major breakthrough after months of conflict and on-again, off-again negotiations.

The statements from Trump and Tehran raised hopes for an end to fighting that has left more than 7,500 dead, most of them in Lebanon and Iran, and rocked the global oil market._

In an item published to his social media platform, the American president boasted, “The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all!”

Neither Donald Trump nor anyone in his administration has been willing to share any of the details surrounding this apparent breakthrough, which makes it effectively impossible to evaluate it on the merits. That said, a few things stand out.

Trump’s many unmet goals: On Feb. 28, when Trump announced the start of the U.S. offensive in a prerecorded video filmed at his glorified country club in Florida, the president didn’t explain why he’d decided to launch the war, but he did present the public with five objectives.

The Republican’s goals were relatively straightforward: (1) destroy Iran’s missiles and missile industry; (2) annihilate the Iranian navy; (3) sever the ties between Tehran and its proxies in the Middle East; (4) prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon; and (5) create the conditions necessary for regime change. More than three months later, Iran’s navy has certainly been decimated, but the other four objectives have plainly not been met.

Similarly, in May, the American president said he wanted Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and a “perfect” agreement, and as the war nears an apparent end, he’s achieved neither.

It’s not entirely clear if Trump understands his own deal: On Sunday afternoon, at 5:29 p.m. ET, the president wrote online, “I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz.” Just 58 minutes later, he added that the Strait of Hormuz would open “on Friday.”

Around the same time, he spoke to The New York Times at some length about the deal, though the newspaper’s coverage noted that he “seemed to be describing Iranian concessions that the country has not yet made.”

It’s something to keep in mind in the coming days: Trump, who has long struggled to familiarize himself with policy details, may say all sorts of things about the burgeoning agreement, but it would be a mistake to accept his descriptions and assessments at face value.

The deal appears to give Trump what he already had: In his Times interview, the Republican boasted that the strait would soon be open, there would be no tolls for passing ships, and Iran’s nuclear program would be limited to enriching uranium at low levels.

What he neglected to mention is that the strait used to be open, there were no tolls for passing ships, and Iran’s nuclear program used to be limited to enriching uranium at low levels. As the Times summarized, “the president is essentially celebrating a return to the prewar status quo,” which in turn raises questions anew about why the United States went to war in the first place.

The deal isn’t quite done: It’s impossible to say what will happen between now and Friday, when the burgeoning agreement is scheduled to be signed, but more important is the fact that the deal sets the stage for a 60-day window to negotiate additional details regarding Iran’s nuclear program.

The process, in other words, is ongoing.

Tehran has reason to be pleased: As The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols summarized, “The reality is that the war will close with the regime in Tehran intact and in the grip of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; the Strait of Hormuz will remain under the threat of Iranian attacks; Iran will continue to possess significant drone and missile stocks; the regime will maintain the capability to be a state sponsor of terror; and many sanctions will be lifted and billions of dollars in unfrozen assets will flow to Iran. In other words, the Iranians have achieved their key strategic aims — regime survival above all — while the Americans have achieved none of their own.”

Given everything we know about Trump, he will almost certainly characterize the latest developments as a breakthrough for the ages. While we wait for additional details to come into focus, it seems those claims will be impossible to take seriously.

Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”

Related Posts

Navigation Within