Iran Has Trump Over a (Oil) Barrel. Sad.

This article follows the two previous articles on President Trump’s weak hand in his attempt to end his war in Iran with a humiliating withdrawal of his demands for “regime change” and “unconditional surrender.” Trump’s claims yesterday that “very, very strong talks” with Tehran turned out, predictably, to be third-party talks aimed at prodding Tehran into talking. As Reuters reports in this new story (paywalled), Iran has been significantly increasing its demands since the start of the war. These include guarantees of freedom from future attacks, reparations for war damages and formal control of the Strait of Hormuz.