# Antony Blinken — "By President Trump's own terms, the war is a failure" > [!quote] "By President Trump's own terms, the war is a failure. The Iranian regime is intact and its military wing more empowered, while the Iranian people are more impoverished, repressed and desperate…. The only 'achievement' of the ceasefire is the likely re-opening [of] the Strait of Hormuz — which was open before the war started. And we will apparently pay Iran to do so…. Don't expect a return to normal any time soon, if at all." > — Antony Blinken, posted on social media, June 17, 2026 ## Context Former secretary of state [[Antony Blinken]] posted this assessment of the [[Trump-Iran MOU 2026]] on the day its text was released. As [[Donald Trump]]'s immediate predecessor's top diplomat, Blinken framed the deal as a failure measured against Trump's own stated war aims. ## Why This Matters Blinken's critique crystallizes the core paradox of the deal: the war's only tangible "achievement" was reopening the [[Strait of Hormuz]], which had been open before the bombing began — and the U.S. agreed to pay Iran to keep it open. It is the establishment-Democratic counterpart to the simultaneous Republican revolt led by Bill Cassidy. ## See Also - [[Trump-Iran MOU 2026]] - [[Iran War 2026]] - [[Antony Blinken]] - [[Strait of Hormuz]]