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The U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding—signed by President Donald Trump at the palace of Versailles—is supposed to stop hostilities between the two countries, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and result in Iran’s commitment to never develop nuclear weapons. It’s a bargain made on an old hope that has enamored American diplomats and presidents alike for decades: that the Islamic Republic of Iran—the theocratic state where the leadership ritualistically chants “death to America”—can be coaxed, pressured, flattered, bribed, or frightened into becoming a normal state, with good relations with its neighbors.
John Aziz is a British Palestinian writer and musician.
