Blazingcatfur

Iran‘s closure of the Strait of Hormuz energy chokepoint was the linchpin of its recent victory over the United States. There is no question that Iran is the victor as things stand. While suffering vast damage to its economy, military, and leadership, the Islamic Republic has held on. Not only that, but President Donald Trump is now allowing Iran free rein to sell tens of billions of dollars of oil. Iran will use some of the proceeds for terrorism. Major sanctions relief also beckons over the horizon as the two countries move to negotiate a final end to the war. And while this sanctions relief is dependent upon Iranian nuclear concessions, Trump’s desperation to end the war suggests that his terms will be lenient.

JD Vance has taken the greatest gamble of his vice-presidency by making himself the face of the Iran ceasefire deal – a shaky agreement that already seems to be unraveling at the seams.

But after months spent in limbo due to the war, it may be the best chance for him to find his feet again.

A funk had set over the US vice-president’s camp since the administration launched its war in Iran in February. Vance, a vocal opponent of the “forever wars” of the previous administrations (he had served as a combat correspondent in Iraq), was now being forced to defend the largest US military intervention in the Middle East in a generation. In public, he had been left out of the war room at Mar-a-Lago and appeared to be distanced from the Iran war planning. In private, journalists were being briefed on his opposition to the war.