President Donald Trump issued a blistering denunciation of The New York Times on his Truth Social platform, calling its reporting on the war with Iran “treasonous” and threatening to incorporate the newspaper’s coverage into a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit. The attack was triggered by an article headlined “What Changed After Almost 4 Months of War? Analysts Say Not Much,” which concluded that the memorandum of understanding ending hostilities had failed to achieve the administration’s stated objectives. Trump countered with a list of claimed achievements, asserting that Iran’s military, navy, and air force were “DONE,” its missile and drone capabilities nearly eliminated, its economy broken, and the Strait of Hormuz reopened, while US stock markets and employment stood at record highs.

Viewed from Washington, the president’s narrative of decisive victory is central to his domestic political standing, yet it collides with assessments from other capitals. In Tehran, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf characterised the conflict as a success, arguing that Iran had turned the potential to disrupt global shipping lanes into reality. Israeli security veterans, by contrast, describe the outcome as a strategic failure. Former intelligence officer Danny Citrinowicz told the Times that the deal represents “a collapse of the entire strategy we had regarding Iran.” European analysts, including the director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, warned that the region would be “much more insecure” as a result of the conflict.

The memorandum itself leaves core threats unresolved. According to the New York Times report, Iran’s nuclear programme, though heavily damaged, has not been eliminated, and its ballistic missile arsenal is not addressed by the agreement. The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, touted by Trump as a key gain, appeared at risk within days, with Tehran threatening to close it again during ongoing talks in Switzerland. A CBS News poll indicates that nearly three-quarters of Americans believe the war has not been worth the cost, undercutting the president’s claims of a popular mandate for the operation.

Diplomatic negotiations in Switzerland, mediated by Qatar and Pakistan, stretched into a second day as both sides discussed the strait, Lebanon, nuclear issues, and implementation details. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, stated that if diplomacy fails, the president intends to seize the Strait of Hormuz and impose transit fees. The memorandum includes a clause requiring unspecified US forces to withdraw from the “vicinity” of Iran within 30 days, a provision former US ambassador Robert Ford called unprecedented. High-level talks are expected to conclude shortly, but technical staff will remain, leaving the durability of the arrangement in question.