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Welcome to The Logoff: Is the US-Iran deal “over”?
What’s happening? The US launched a second consecutive day of strikes against Iran on Wednesday, deepening a breach in the three-week-old “memorandum of understanding” between the two countries.
The immediate incident began on Monday after Iran attacked multiple ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The US struck Iran on Tuesday, and Iran responded with strikes of its own in neighboring Kuwait and Bahrain, which are both home to US military installations.
The US also reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil on Tuesday, restricting what had been a new income stream for the regime.
When asked about the ceasefire on Wednesday, President Donald Trump, who is currently at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, said, “I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum.”
What’s the context? As my colleague Josh Keating wrote last month, the 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 “memorandum of understanding” in mid-June, which laid out a 60-day pathway toward a more permanent deal (at least in theory).
Other problems also abound, including the status of the Strait, the outstanding question of Iran’s nuclear program, and the Israel-Lebanon conflict.
So what now? It’s hard to say. Violence has broken out and receded at other points during the ceasefire, and Trump’s comments can be an unreliable indicator of where things are headed. But the strikes are once again grinding traffic through the Strait to a halt, according to CNN, and oil prices are rising.
If that continues, Trump could also begin to lose ground on gas prices, which had been falling following the ceasefire agreement — and with the midterms quickly approaching and voters broadly unhappy about the state of the economy, he doesn’t have much time left.
Speaking of the midterms: The road to control of the US Senate may well run through Maine, where Democratic nominee Graham Platner is facing serious new allegations that are likely to end his campaign. On a special episode of his podcast America, Actually, my colleague Astead Herndon explains why the left ignored Platner’s red flags in the first place.
And with that, it’s time to log off…
Here’s a Logoff piece if I’ve ever seen one: The moral case for being less online, featuring some fun history about Luddism (as always, it’s a gift link).
Plus, from the World Cup: No games today. But don’t miss the Vox video team on how soccer players train for chaos.
Thanks for reading, have a great evening, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!
