David Farrar: Makes the Munich agreement look strong and visionary

A (alleged) copy of the agreement between Trump and Iran has leaked, and it is hard to overstate how bad it is. Some details:

Nicole Foss: An Actual Deal? I Very Much Doubt It.

The US, Iran, and the mediator -Pakistan – have all said that some kind of agreement is close. This is the first time all have agreed. Usually such statements come only from Trump and are merely for the purpose of market manipulation. However, there are significant caveats. What is being proposed is not actually a deal, but merely a memorandum of understanding (MOU). There are still huge differences in the public stance of both the US and Iran, and Israel has said it won’t agree to anything. The MOU is meant to be phase one of an agreement, involving a sixty day ceasefire during which further details are to be negotiate, leading to phase two.

Melanie Phillips: Cyrus no more

The Trump administration's apparent naivety towards Iran is either imbecility or dissimulation

The shock and distress in Israel are palpable. President Donald Trump’s apparent volte-face on Iran is being felt as an abandonment.