Bridget

My take: I do not need to explain Trump's words. We all know he speaks in bombastic fashion. Anyone pretending he threatened to actually destroy the Iranian people is either dishonest or wilfully stupid. Those asking "who won" - including media outlets like @bbcnews and @nytimes - are mostly doing so because they hate Trump and are desperate to frame this as a defeat. It is a sign of how deluded people have become in the social media age that such a question is even being asked now. In addition - those who say Trump caved to Iran's ten demands haven't even bothered to read the actual Iranian public statement properly - so nobody should be listening to them either. The fact our media is quoting Iranian spokespeople as if they have merit is also risible. This is a regime built on propaganda. Treating it as a reliable source is absurd - so why not tell your audience that? So what is real? Actually - the key message now is to be the adult in the room and wait. There are massive signs Iran has caved. Firstly it promised just two days ago that the age of free travel through Hormuz are over. And hey presto they agreed to it just to get the U.S. to stop firing. Secondly - Lebanon. Hezbollah only entered the war to help its proxy. And it appears Iran has completely abandoned Hezbollah just to get the U.S. to stop. Those are both important tells. But the initial reality will be in the cake. What kind of deal (if any) is struck. When we see that - we can at least begin to judge. Yet even that does not tell us the value of this war. Only time will. History does not reveal itself 12 hours after a ceasefire. The regime has certainly been weakened - what now for Iran and the Iranian people? It will take them years just to rebuild - while those nations that fought Iran will be far stronger then, than they are now. And what about Israel? It's relationship with the Gulf States? If a few years from now, we live in a world in which Iran is no longer a regional threat, no longer holds nuclear ambitions and its proxies have collapsed. If it no longer can hold our economies hostage because oil pipelines lead from the Gulf states to Israel ports on the Med. And if Lebanon is back in control of Lebanon - with Hezbollah reduced to an unarmed political faction. The Middle East will look much safer. Israelis for the first time in their history - will not face an existential threat. Clear winners - and a clear loser - to the war that was just fought. Delusional? I don't know. Is it guaranteed? Also no. But it is far more grounded in reality than the delusional people already declaring that Iran “won”.