Americano: can Trump forge a lasting peace with Iran?

Donald Trump's four-month military campaign against Iran, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, may be nearing a pivotal end with a proposed memorandum of understanding that could mark a historic shift in U.S.-Iran relations. Daniel McCarthy, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, argues that Trump’s calibrated use of force—intense air strikes without ground troops—created the necessary pressure for Iran to finally negotiate, avoiding a far costlier escalation. Rather than seeking regime change, Trump’s focus has been on dismantling Iran’s nuclear ambitions, a strategy McCarthy sees as both pragmatic and potentially transformative. The real test, however, lies in the deal’s specifics: how Iran will dispose of enriched uranium, whether frozen assets will be returned, and how international monitors will verify compliance. McCarthy warns that while the U.S. and Iran may have reached a diplomatic off-ramp, Israel’s desire to strike Iranian proxies in Lebanon and Syria could derail the agreement. If the deal holds, this could be the last major U.S. war in the Middle East—a legacy-defining moment for Trump, who has avoided the quagmire of prolonged occupation that plagued previous administrations. But if Iran cheats or the U.S. fails to enforce the agreement, the conflict could reignite with even greater stakes.