Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Sina Toossi
“Washington’s Iran hawks — including some Democrats and former Biden administration officials — are denouncing the Trump administration for agreeing to upfront sanctions relief and other confidence-building measures in its preliminary deal, or memorandum of understanding (MoU), with Tehran. But their criticism leaves one obvious question unanswered: what is their alternative other than another round of war? Trump did not arrive at these concessions because he suddenly discovered the virtues of diplomacy. He tried war first. … It is precisely because the military option failed to force political change in Iran — and because the closure of the Strait of Hormuz imposed mounting costs on Washington and the global economy — that the Trump administration was left with little choice but to return to serious diplomacy. And serious diplomacy was always going to require upfront concessions from the United States.” (06/29/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/iran-sanctions-relief-critics/