Iran’s lesson to the Global South on standing up to Donald Trump

The 14-point US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, signed by US President Donald Trump at the Palace of Versailles in France and President Pezeshkian of Iran in Tehran on June 17 clearly indicates that Iran has won the first round of negotiations.

Tehran secured substantial political and economic gains, while questions relating to its nuclear programme were postponed to another round of talks. The agreement, therefore, remains an interim framework rather than a final settlement. Round Two is still to come and is likely to prove both more difficult and crucial.

The Trump Administration had outlined the objectives of the Israel-US military campaign on February 28 when they jointly attacked Iran: destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities and missile capabilities, regime change, and severing Iran’s ties with its proxies in the “Axis of Resistance”, not limited to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel’s ambitions went further still, seeking the Balkanisation of Iran and its permanent disarmament to cement its position as the sole regional hegemon in West Asia.

None of these objectives were achieved.

On the contrary, the decapitation of Iran’s leadership produced the opposite effect, elevating a more hardline and hawkish generation of leaders. The killing of Ali Larijani, one of the last credible moderates within the regime, proved to be the final blow to the...

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