By Miguel Sorans, a leader of the Socialist Left of Argentina and of the IWU-FI
June 18, 2026. Trump has announced to the world that the “memorandum of understanding” with Iran to end the war than started on 28 February, has finally been signed. Trump announced it 39 times, but it was finally signed on Wednesday 17 June.
In a symbolic ceremony held at the Palace of Versailles, France, and attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump signed the pact on behalf of the United States. Iranian Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed it on behalf of Iran electronically.
The 14-point agreement establishes a “permanent and immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon.” It also contemplates the release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets within 60 days, during which the next phase of negotiations must begin. Half of that amount should be released before the start of talks.
The memorandum includes the suspension of sanctions on the sale of Iranian oil, petrochemicals, and their derivatives, and the lifting of the naval blockade imposed by the U.S. Iran is required to open the Strait of Hormuz, although it has been reported that it will remain under its control. The nuclear issue will continue to be discussed.
The agreement is a political and military defeat for the U.S.
Although Trump has tried to present this “peace” agreement as a personal and U.S. victory, it is the opposite.
Trump initiated this war of aggression, along with the genocidal state of Israel, on 28 February, announcing that it would be over in a few weeks with the end of the Iranian regime, the destruction of its armed forces, its missiles, and its nuclear capabilities. Trump went so far as to threaten Iran with the “end of its civilization” and a return to the “Stone Age” if they did not surrender and open the now infamous Strait of Hormuz. He set 7 April as the deadline. Iran stood firm, and none of Trump’s threats materialised. The Strait of Hormuz was never opened, and since then, Trump hasn’t even dared to fire a single cannon shot on Iranian territory. And more than two months later, Trump has to sign an agreement with Iran that, by all accounts, is not in his favour.
This definition of political and military defeat is not just ours, from the IWU-FI and as the Trotskyist left. It was stated by none other than The New York Times, one of the leading, if not the most important, capitalist newspapers in the US. In its 16 June 2026 edition, an article by its Editorial Committee was titled “President Trump Lost This War.” It is worth reproducing their description of the meaning of Trump’s defeat:
“The United States exits Weakened—militarily, diplomatically, and economically—it will pay a heavy strategic price in the coming years.” (…) It is a humiliating degradation for him and for the country he leads.” Since the war began, he has said that the United States would achieve a “total and complete victory” and that Iran must accept “unconditional surrender.” He hinted that regime change would follow. He said that Iran would not be allowed “any enrichment” of uranium and that “the United States, in collaboration with Iran, would dig up and remove all of the near-weapon-grade nuclear material” it already possesses underground. None of this appears to be true. Iran’s hardline government remains in power. (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/opinion/-trump-lost-war-iran.html)
Three reasons explain this new defeat for US imperialism: 1) the unexpectedly fierce resistance offered by Iran, 2) the war of aggression triggered a surge in the global capitalist economic crisis due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and 3) there was massive popular rejection of the war in the US, even among the Republican base. Opposition reached over 60 percent in opinion polls. Only 27 percent supported it. In March, marches took place in more than 3,000 US cities, bringing 8 million people to the streets with the slogans “No Kings” and “No to War.” We call it a new political and military defeat because the last one was the military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2022, after 20 years of failed occupation of the country.
Israel’s Rejection and the Crisis of Zionism Cast Everything into Question
Another expression of Trump and the US’s defeat is the forced political distancing, even if only verbal, from Netanyahu and Israel.
The Zionist state of Israel, beyond its crimes against humanity in Lebanon, Iran, and Palestine, also emerges defeated. To the point that they were not part of the negotiations, and Trump was forced to publicly criticize Netanyahu for his actions in Lebanon. He was compelled by Iran’s demands and because he needed to sign the agreement to extricate himself from his political and military impasse as quickly as possible. Through this approach, he is attempting to regain some political ground for the US midterm elections in November, which he may lose.
The degree of Trump and Netanyahu’s defeat is evident in the unprecedented clash between US imperialism and Israel. Their failure in Iran deepens the internal crisis of Zionism and highlights the growing political isolation of Israel in the world.
Netanyahu and his far-right Zionist allies, such as Ministers Ben-Gyr and Katz, cannot accept any questioning of the invasion of Lebanon and Israel’s colonization policy in Palestine and the Middle East. They have already announced their intention to remain in Lebanon. But the announcement of the agreement and the evident strengthening of Iran deepens the division within Zionism. The agreement has prompted a significant portion of the Zionist popular base and political leaders opposed to the government to publicly denounce and repudiate Netanyahu. This division and these challenges will also be reflected in Israel’s October elections.
Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak stated: “Israel is paying the price for Netanyahu’s arrogance and blindness. Iran has emerged stronger and Israel weaker; that is Netanyahu’s strategic responsibility. He has failed.” (Clarin, Argentina, June 16, 2026)
The height of the crisis is Trump’s recent statements against Netanyahu. “You’re completely crazy. You’d be in jail if it weren’t for me. Everyone hates Israel because of this” (Clarin, Argentina, June 2, 2026). And after the agreement was confirmed, he stated: “Without us, without the U.S., there would be no Israel” (…) “Now Bibi (Netanyahu) has to be more responsible with regard to Lebanon” (ibid., June 17, 2026).
The signing of the agreement does not guarantee its implementation, and the crisis will remain unresolved.
The memorandum signed between the U.S. and Iran is born without a solid foundation. It is merely a precarious attempt by Trump to extricate himself from his failed imperialist aggression. The Israeli factor and its attempt to maintain its criminal occupation of Lebanon may be the first and foremost obstacle. The fragility of the signed agreement could lead to renewed military aggression by Trump and the US against Iran and the Middle East. The IWU-FI will be part of the united mobilisation of the world’s peoples against further aggression against Iran. We will continue to stand with the just cause of the Iranian people without offering political support or fostering trust in their dictatorial and theocratic capitalist regime.
The IWU-FI believes that the political and military defeat suffered by Trump and Israel in Iran is a victory for the mass movement worldwide. It demonstrates that imperialism is not invincible, that its military and economic power is insufficient to defeat the people. This setback for Trump is also a defeat for the global far right, especially for figures like Milei in Argentina, Bukele in El Salvador, and Kast in Chile, who have been supporting his crimes and those of Israel. It strengthens the struggle to defeat the imperialist counteroffensive, the far right, and the governments of austerity and social cuts. It also strengthens the continuity of the struggle in support of the Palestinian people of Lebanon, to end the genocide perpetrated by the Zionist state of Israel and achieve a free Palestine from the river to the sea. In Bolivia, the working class and peasants also took to the streets to confront the right-wing government of Rodrigo Paz, which had assumed power only six months prior. This is the path, the mobilization of the masses, to defeat Trump and the plans of domination by American imperialism.
