TOI correspondent from Washington: “Iran never won the war, but it never lost the negotiation,” US President Donald Trump said in January 2020 during his first term, a line that could come back to haunt his second-term administration.After weeks of military escalation against Israel as well as Iran, a chastened Trump is now moving toward an agreement that falls well short of the maximalist goals declared at the beginning of the conflict: no “complete and total surrender” by Iran, no regime collapse in Tehran, no verified dismantling of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, and no surrender of all highly enriched uranium reserves. Instead, the immediate US objective has been somewhat limited: reopening the Strait of Hormuz and preventing a broader global economic recession caused by the disruption of Gulf energy shipments. Trump said on Saturday that the strait would be “opened up” under a new understanding with Tehran, possibly due to pressure from other Gulf allies. Ironically, the strait was functioning normally before the US-Israeli military operation began.“An agreement has been substantially negotiated between the United States, Iran and a number of other countries, which has yet to be finalized… The final aspects and details of the agreement are being discussed now, and will be announced shortly,” Trump said on “Truth Social.” Criticized by many allies and critics alike for “chilling” on Iran, Trump downplayed expectations Sunday morning, saying he had informed his representatives “not to rush into a deal at the time it’s in our favor.”“Both sides must take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes! Our relationship with Iran is becoming much more professional and productive,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. A newfound respect for Tehran after public bullying, social media talk, and threats to destroy Iran failed to achieve US objectives. Earlier, in leaks to US media, US officials had claimed that the proposed agreement included a pledge by Tehran to give up its uranium and reopen the strait unconditionally. But Iran’s state-linked Fars news agency said there was no such commitment, stressing that Tehran would continue to exercise sovereign control over passage routes, timing, permits and access through the strategic waterway, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.According to ongoing reports in Washington diplomatic circles, the proposed framework could include a series of concessions by the US, including partial sanctions relief for Iran, access to approximately $25 billion in frozen Iranian assets and a phased reopening of maritime traffic in exchange for renewed but undefined discussions on Tehran’s nuclear program.Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed uneasiness over Trump’s concessions, some of them calling the deal more generous to Iran than concessions reportedly offered by President Obama. “Now we’re talking about a situation where we can accept nuclear material left in Iran? What does that even mean?” Republican Senator Thom Tillis asked, as the Iranians appeared to celebrate coming out on top diplomatically despite being defeated militarily. Trump was angered by the unfavorable comparison to the deal President Obama had made with Iran. “One of the worst deals our country ever made was the Iran nuclear deal, which was introduced and signed by Barack Hussein Obama and some veterans of the Obama administration. It was a direct path for Iran to develop nuclear weapons. This is not the case with the transactions the Trump Administration is currently making with Iran – quite the opposite, in fact!” He got angry.