Trump Secured a Ceasefire With Iran. Will It Last?

(James M. Lindsay – Council on Foreign Relations) (…) eighty-eight minutes before a self-imposed deadline, President Donald Trump announced that Iran had agreed to a two-week ceasefire. The news was applauded around the world as oil prices fell and stock markets rallied. Despite the good news, a question remains: Is the deal a retreat from an expanded war in the Persian Gulf, or a prelude to it? Experts will long argue over whether Trump’s threat yesterday morning that “a whole civilization will die tonight” brought Iran to the bargaining table or just provided him with a convenient way to step back from an unpopular war. However that question is eventually settled, the critical development now is that U.S. and Iranian negotiators are expected to meet Friday in Islamabad, Pakistan, to discuss an end to the war. – Trump Secured a Ceasefire With Iran. Will It Last? | Council on Foreign Relations