AA Edit | Amid Pause in Iran War, It’s Best Time To Get Peace Deal

The weekend break in military strikes in the Iran war is about the best thing that could have happened since hostilities had broken out full scale once again 13 days ago. The US President Donald Trump may have been forced to hit the pause button because expanded military action could have come close to draining America’s diminishing stockpile of air defence munitions, especially Patriot anti-missile interceptors.

The hiatus has given Mr Trump the space to ruminate over whether the time has come to hit ‘stop’ once and for all, declare victory and walk away from an unwinnable war. Announcing victory will not be the would not be the first untruth he has uttered in his time in office. It may serve as a salve to a person who says his actions are limited only by his “own morality,” but though they are now constrained by the harsh realities of limits on his and American military powers.

The lull in fighting prompted Iran to refrain from attacking shipping in the Strait of Hormuz leading to a most promising turn of events after the standoff had sent crude oil prices to $100 a barrel causing furrows on the world’s brow, including the United States where the price of a gallon had risen to $4.1 and to $5.6 in California. What the price of fuel and the cascading effect on the cost-of-living may do to influence the midterm polls is another thought that may have crossed his mind.

The immediate concern is Mr Trump’s meeting today with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu who convinced him to go to war over Iran with the promise of swiftly ending Iran’s uranium enrichment programme and the regime of Ayatollah Khamenei. There may, perhaps, be no better time to rope Israel into ceasing offensive action in Lebanon and contributing directly to the peace effort, which may start once again in talks in West Asia if the quiet of the weekend prevails.

Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz as a bargaining chip and a second choke point in the Gulf of Aden through one of its proxies has meant it has waged an asymmetrical war and any US escalation in strikes on infrastructure would only thrust more hardships on civilians who are not the targets.

However, it is in keeping the shipping going through the seaways that Iran and possibly Oman can benefit if they can impose a toll on shipping. Such solutions can, however, come only through negotiations, which must resume at once if the pause is to continue.

There is another person in Russia who also needs to learn a thing or two about unwinnable wars.

His time to reflect may have also come as it is said now that the replacement rate of Russian troops lost in the war in Ukraine is coming down so sharply that only the virtual abduction of young men to send to the front is taking place.

What seems obvious to right-thinking people in the rest of the world may not apply to the likes of the White House and Kremlin occupants. For wisdom to dawn, reason must break through to stop wars.