U.S. media criticizes Trump's Iran end-of-war agreement: succumbs to concerns over economic deterioration

Leading American newspapers unanimously voiced criticism, saying that through analysis of the contents of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the United States and Iran and President Donald Trump's remarks, he confessed that he agreed to end the war because he was scared of the worsening economic situation.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said in an editorial on the 18th (local time), “Surprisingly, President Trump acknowledged America’s weakness in countering Iran’s oil weapons,” and defined that the US war-end negotiations had effectively failed.

WSJ pointed out, “President Trump’s characteristic is that he reveals his political intentions because of his candor,” and “this was revealed once again in the process of explaining why he concluded negotiations with the Iranian regime.”

At a press conference held immediately after signing the MOU to end the war the previous day, President Trump said, “What I didn’t want to see was an economic disaster,” implying that the increased economic costs resulting from the prolongation of the war were the background for pushing for an agreement to end the war.

Regarding this, WSJ interpreted this as "President Trump was obsessed with fears about soaring oil prices and falling stock markets ahead of the midterm elections."

WSJ also said that, considering the circumstances of the remarks, it implied that the MOU was signed in a situation where the United States was at a disadvantage.

The media pointed out, “The United States had a choice, but President Trump was hesitant to take risks,” and added, “Instead, he admitted to giving in to Iran’s economic pressure as public opinion deteriorated and oil reserves decreased during the two-month lax cease-fire.”

The Washington Post (WP) also criticized the previous agreement in an editorial that day, saying, “The (Iranian) regime survived while the United States failed to achieve any significant results and paid a high price.”

In addition, it was noted that President Trump mentioned former U.S. President Herbert Hoover during the Great Depression in the 1930s at a press conference the day before.

“I didn’t want to end up like former President Hoover,” Trump said. “If we had allowed this situation to continue, that could have happened.”

WP interpreted it as "an acknowledgment that we are caught up in President Hoover's legacy" and that he was concerned about the possibility that President Trump would be recorded as the president who brought about the Great Depression and ruined the U.S. economy.

In particular, WP emphasized that President Trump failed to reverse his remarks regarding war goals or include them in the MOU.

President Trump said at a press conference the previous day that Iran has effectively undergone a "regime change" even though Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was elected as the successor after the explosion of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war.

In addition, the WP pointed out that although President Trump stated the goals of the war to be the destruction of Iran's missile capabilities, destruction of its naval power, prohibition of acquisition of nuclear weapons, and disallowance of support from external forces, these contents were not specified in the MOU.

WP said, “Iran has made surprisingly few concessions,” and compared it to the United States as a “minor achievement.”

He also pointed out that for this small achievement, 13 U.S. soldiers died and about 400 were injured.

WP said, “Iran may try to take advantage of the weakened deterrence of the United States,” and expressed doubts about whether the conclusion of the war would guarantee the continuation of peace.

Previously, the New York Times (NYT) diagnosed in an editorial that the United States had lost the war with Iran.