{"id":1021,"date":"2026-07-16T15:12:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T15:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/?p=1021"},"modified":"2026-07-16T15:12:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T15:12:45","slug":"trump-cant-admit-that-he-lost-the-iran-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/?p=1021","title":{"rendered":"Trump Can\u2019t Admit That He Lost the Iran War"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284217522.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Trump Can\u2019t Admit That He Lost the Iran War\" title=\"Trump Can\u2019t Admit That He Lost the Iran War\" \/><\/div><p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<div id=\"article-title-block_55a28d73ce46465a0bbb1d6d0538db91\" class=\"article-title \">\n<div class=\"article-title__container\">\n<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek\">\n<p>An expensive, ruinous conflict resumes for no other reason than one octogenarian narcissist\u2019s inability to face reality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<aside aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"ad-block ad siderail-ad float-r-w-3 break-r-4\">\n<p>                                    <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thenation.com\/advertising-policy\" class=\"ad-policy\" target=\"_blank\">Ad Policy<\/a><br \/>\n                                    <\/aside>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\n<p>President Donald Trump arrives at the White House on Sunday, July 5, 2026. <\/p>\n<p><span class=\"credits\">(Aaron Schwartz \/ CNP \/ Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"is-style-dropcap\">Nearly five months since it launched its war of choice against Iran, the United States appears no closer to achieving a single meaningful objective than it was when an outmaneuvered President Trump signed what was effectively a strategic surrender on June 17. The on-again, off-again war is a complex story of global economic interdependence, maritime logistics, drone warfare ascendance, nuclear panic, and imperial arrogance. But it is also, increasingly and more consequentially, a story about how a single octogenarian narcissist would prefer to inflict catastrophic damage on the global economy and his own political party rather than concede that he was wrong.<\/p>\n<p>It would be wishcasting to say that the walls are closing in on Trump, who has two-and-a-half long years left in his gilded office and faces no plausible mechanism that can remove him. But he is unquestionably a deeply diminished, almost pitiful, figure.<\/p>\n<p>To him, the Iran War should be little more than one of the movies playing on a screen in his mind\u2019s multiplex, something he can dip in and out of while he refills his popcorn and props the doors open to the other theaters to catch up on \u201cillegals\u201d stealing the 2020 election but forgetting to steal the next one or pregnant women taking Tylenol <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-information-trust\/poll-after-president-trumps-warning-many-people-are-uncertain-about-whether-tylenol-use-in-pregnancy-causes-autism-most-republicans-say-it-is-probably-or-definitely-true\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">causing autism<\/a> or woke Communists sabotaging the Reflecting Pool or the deep state preventing him from <a href=\"https:\/\/washingtonian.com\/2026\/06\/25\/a-deeper-look-at-trumps-kennedy-center-debacle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stenciling his name<\/a> on the Kennedy Center or Marco Rubio simultaneously serving as Trump\u2019s national security adviser, US secretary of state, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/07\/13\/briefing\/the-viceroy-of-venezuela.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unelected viceroy of Venezuela<\/a>. The only thing about Trump\u2019s <em>Cinema Mar-a-Lago<\/em> that matters to him is that when he\u2019s finished with something, it concludes instantly at his say-so.<\/p>\n<p>And that is why the Iran War vexes him. The bunkered clerics and hardened military ideologues he tried and failed to depose with his amateurish, late-imperial fireworks display simply refuse to do his bidding. Iran\u2019s rulers aren\u2019t just preventing the president from making the theft of the 2026 elections his full-time gig. They are threatening to turn him, in his own words, <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/Politics\/trump-herbert-hoover-presidency-iran-missiles\/story?id=133979678\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">into Herbert Hoover<\/a>, which are the only two words in the English language seemingly capable of <a href=\"https:\/\/virginiabusiness.com\/trump-tariffs-hoover-comparison-economic-warning\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">getting him<\/a> to reverse course once he has made up his mind to do something incredibly stupid and destructive.<\/p>\n<p>This week\u2019s embarrassing sequence of flip-flops, grand pronouncements, and fresh <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cy0608wy8pro\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">threats<\/a> of war crimes is just the latest evidence that Trump has no idea what he is doing. He shows no interest in implementing the Memorandum of Understanding he signed in Versailles last month\u2014the one that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/world\/iran-war-memo-of-understanding-trump-administration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">clearly gives<\/a> Iran the right to dictate how vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic shipping choke point that was open before Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu decided to capriciously blow it all up. And as the ceasefire unravels largely because of his inability to comprehend the humiliating terms he agreed to, Trump cycles from one gimmick to another in a vain and fruitless effort to extract himself from the consequences of his own failures.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, he <a href=\"http:\/\/google.com\/search?q=trump+guardian+of+hormuz&amp;sca_esv=7f18ccfbdad134d1&amp;sxsrf=APpeQnteMPw4KudSrDnLAshTjRMdXNXqIg%3A1784136484211&amp;ei=JMNXap7KDOK9mLQPy4a7sA8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwie7PyqmtWVAxXiHoYAHUvDDvYQ4dUDCBI&amp;uact=5&amp;oq=trump+guardian+of+hormuz&amp;gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiGHRydW1wIGd1YXJkaWFuIG9mIGhvcm11ekjVAVAAWABwAXgAkAEAmAFcoAFcqgEBMbgBA8gBAJgCAKACAJgDAIgGAZIHAKAHKrIHALgHAMIHAMgHAIAIAQ&amp;sclient=gws-wiz-serp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a>, suddenly and bizarrely after weeks of comparatively low-level violence with Iran, that the United States would now serve as the \u201cGUARDIAN OF HORMUZ\u201d and that he would demand reimbursement for this act of beneficence by extracting a fee equivalent to 20 percent of the value of each ship\u2019s cargo while also blockading Iranian shipping. As CNN somewhat decorously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/07\/13\/economy\/trump-hormuz-fee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">put it<\/a>, this outburst \u201craise[d] \u201cseveral questions of legality and feasibility.\u201d Indeed, it did!<\/p>\n<div id=\"current-issue-block_f746b0788ae0fd92cc150ff65cbaeb87\" class=\"current-issue  float-l-w-2\">\n<h4 class=\"current-issue__title\">\n                    Current Issue<br \/>\n            <\/h4>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/issue\/july-august-2026-issue\/\" class=\"current-issue__cover\"><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cover0726-1.jpg\" alt=\"Cover of July\/August 2026 Issue\"\/><br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>That\u2019s probably why, 24 hours later, Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/video\/trump-reverses-course-us-acting-guardian-strait-of-hormuz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">walked back the entire gambit<\/a>. He wrote (on Truth Social of course, the National Archives of our time) that because \u201cOil is flowing like never before,\u201d America would accept, in lieu of the 20 percent fee he invented just the day before,\u201cTrade and Investment Deals\u201d from unnamed Gulf countries that will make \u201cFactories, Plants, and Equipment pour into the United States at Historic levels.\u201d He added that Iran can no longer kill protesters and \u201cWILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,\u201d bold claims for someone who just a month ago put his signature on a document granting Iran everything on its geostrategic wishlist in return for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/world\/iran-peace-deal-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">absolutely nothing<\/a> of substance.<\/p>\n<p>As with everything that comes out of his mouth, you can\u2019t even address the outrageous hallucinations of Trump\u2019s post without first tackling the logical fallacies. If oil is \u201cflowing like never before,\u201d why does the United States need to serve as the \u201cGuardian of Hormuz\u201d in the first place? How can oil be flowing at all-time highs if the United States is once again enforcing a naval blockade of Iranian ports? If America is the \u201chottest country in the world,\u201d as Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/trump-claims-america-absolutely-dead-023908222.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACrcPNHC4u8Sm0AfGC3UuWw1_HvGiRqJLZb2IjnCO02PMpnZRtD2RzG2WvRxxUa43K2JAMd2lvjB8yPlQIJC57RXynr79prKvetKW75AOeik4vQugfROgiTTwLIoQx0BizhDfr5ag13NZ4QamFS8xSSCl8-GNrWKRGNtE5WvT7pM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">keeps insanely asserting<\/a>, why does it need the Gulf states to create jobs? How exactly will we calculate the exact number of \u201cinvestment deals\u201d needed to offset the money needed to try and fail to keep the Strait of Hormuz open with history\u2019s most expensive navy? Will we be getting rebate checks the next time some Emirati potentate bankrolls a luxury condo development in Miami?<\/p>\n<p>You aren\u2019t supposed to ask these questions, of course. You\u2019re just supposed to clap and look the other way. The problem is that everywhere you turn, the material consequences of this endless buffoonery are on display for anyone to see. The finger grease was barely dry on Trump\u2019s phone before gas prices <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/07\/14\/business\/economy\/inflation-data-iran-war-price-surge.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">shot up again<\/a> and oil futures spiked. The United States has resumed burning through hundreds of millions of dollars a day worth of sophisticated munitions to bomb a country that is successfully defending itself with $7,000 drones and speedboats\u2014all while failing to intimidate Iran\u2019s autocrats or even force them back to the negotiating table.<\/p>\n<p>When Trump signed the MOU, there was some hope that the end of this ruinous ordeal might be in sight. Surely, having inked a document so unambiguously disastrous for the United States; having absorbed the hysterical, weeks-long caterwauling of lifelong Beltway Iran hawks seeing their life\u2019s work vaporized in front of their eyes; having finally brought gas prices part of the way back down to where they were in February, he wouldn\u2019t just blow the deal up for no reason, right? You guessed it\u2014not right. We are now right back where we were in early June\u2014global oil stockpiles dwindling, prices creeping up, Republican fortunes in the upcoming midterm elections crumbling, and the Iranians chuckling at the spectacular implosion of their erstwhile imperial overlords.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cta-block_3a968490a637ff6fe9f6a23c9dda7ac6\" class=\"cta float-l-w-3\">\n<p>For America, the predicament remains the same. President Trump can always swallow his capacious pride and abide by the deal he signed, granting Iran\u2019s autocrats control of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to the country\u2019s long international economic isolation in exchange for modest, unspecified concessions on their nuclear program. If he won\u2019t do that, he can either keep trying and failing to break Tehran\u2019s resolve from the air, or he can launch a massive ground invasion of a country of 90 million people three months out from a national election that could result in his party\u2019s kicking away both chambers of Congress.<\/p>\n<p>Only 30 months to go before the <em>Cinema Mar-a-Lago<\/em> closes forever and takes all of this winning with it. In the meantime, the president is very, very busy posting through it, <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/116923765602106745\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lauding<\/a> the doomed Minnesota gubernatorial campaign of Mike Lindell, \u201cthe Pillow Man,\u201d who is \u201cone of America\u2019s greatest and most hard working Patriots\u201d and <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/116921037837295750\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sharing pictures <\/a>of himself with Xi Jinping, who probably still can\u2019t believe his luck that this sundowning imbecile was somehow given another four years in power. Your own attention to this matter, as always, depends on your capacity for endurance.<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-end-\" class=\"article-end \">\n<div class=\"article-end__authors\">\n<div class=\"article-end__author\">\n<h5 class=\"article-end__author-name\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/david-faris\/\">David Faris<\/a><br \/>\n                    <\/h5>\n<div class=\"article-end__author-bio\">\n<p>David Faris is a professor of political science at Roosevelt University and the author of <em>It\u2019s Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics<\/em>. His writing has appeared in <em>Slate<\/em>, <em>The Week<\/em>, <em>The Washington Post<\/em>, <em>The New Republic<\/em>, and <em>Washington Monthly<\/em>. You can find him on Bluesky at @davidfaris.bluesky.social.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>        <!-- Tag ID: thenation_incontent_2 --><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<!-- Tag ID: thenation_registration_billboard --><\/p>\n<section class=\"collections collections--col-0\">\n<div class=\"container\">\n<h2 class=\"collections__title\">More from <span class=\"not-italic\">The Nation<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"collection__row\">\n<div class=\"collections__card   \">\n            <a class=\"collections__card-image-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/world\/ronni-moffitt-orlando-letelier-pinochet-chile-assassination-human-rights-justice\/\" aria-label=\"A Modicum of Justice for Ronni Karpen Moffitt\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"collections__card-image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Letelier-Moffitt-tribute-Kornbluh.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Letelier-Moffitt-tribute-Kornbluh-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Letelier-Moffitt-tribute-Kornbluh-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Letelier-Moffitt-tribute-Kornbluh-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Letelier-Moffitt-tribute-Kornbluh-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Letelier-Moffitt-tribute-Kornbluh-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Letelier-Moffitt-tribute-Kornbluh-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Letelier-Moffitt-tribute-Kornbluh-793x500.jpg 793w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Letelier-Moffitt-tribute-Kornbluh.jpg\" alt=\"A monument to Orlando Letelier and Ronni Karpen Moffitt, who were killed by agents of the Chilean secret police in 1976, in Washington, DC.\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"collections__card-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek\">\n<p>Fifty years after Pinochet\u2019s henchmen assassinated her and Orlando Letelier, finally a judicial reckoning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"knockout \">\n                                                                            <a class=\"collections__author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/peter-kornbluh\/\">Peter Kornbluh<\/a>                                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"collections__card   \">\n            <a class=\"collections__card-image-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/world\/the-genocide-of-south-lebanon\/\" aria-label=\"The Genocide of South Lebanon\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"collections__card-image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284314892.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284314892-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284314892-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284314892-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284314892-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284314892-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284314892-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284314892-793x500.jpg 793w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284314892.jpg\" alt=\"First responders inspect the wreckage of a car reportedly targeted by an Israeli strike in Nabatieh, in the south of Lebanon, on July 6, 2026, which Lebanese state media said killed four people, including three women.\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"collections__card-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek\">\n<p>Israel is carrying out its Gaza strategy in yet another war.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"knockout \">\n                                                                            <a class=\"collections__author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/ahmad-ibsais\/\">Ahmad Ibsais<\/a>                                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"collections__card   \">\n            <a class=\"collections__card-image-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/world\/iran-war-american-decline-suez-crisis-us-foreign-policy-multipolar-world\/\" aria-label=\"Is This the American Suez?\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"collections__card-image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/iran-war-protest-getty.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/iran-war-protest-getty-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/iran-war-protest-getty-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/iran-war-protest-getty-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/iran-war-protest-getty-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/iran-war-protest-getty-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/iran-war-protest-getty-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/iran-war-protest-getty-793x500.jpg 793w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/iran-war-protest-getty.jpg\" alt=\"Thousands of people gather at Revolution Square to protest the attacks launched by the US and Israel on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, on May 30, 2026.\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"collections__card-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek\">\n<p>If the pointless war on Iran is a historical marker equivalent to Suez in ignominy, the question becomes, what do we do with this \u201cDecline of Empire\u201d moment?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"knockout \">\n                                                                            <a class=\"collections__author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/van-gosse\/\">Van Gosse<\/a>                                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"collections__card   \">\n            <a class=\"collections__card-image-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/world\/gaza-world-cup-dispatch\/\" aria-label=\"The Joy of Watching the World Cup in Gaza\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"collections__card-image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284138076-1.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284138076-1-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284138076-1-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284138076-1-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284138076-1-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284138076-1-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284138076-1-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284138076-1-793x500.jpg 793w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284138076-1.jpg\" alt=\"Palestinians wave Egyptian flags as they gather to watch Egypt\u2019s World Cup match in Gaza City, on July 4, 2026.\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"collections__card-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek\">\n<p>For 90 minutes, the World Cup gives us something the genocide has tried to take away: a sense of community, a sense of normality, and a moment of pure celebration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"knockout \">\n                                                                            <a class=\"collections__author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/hassan-abo-qamar\/\">Hassan Abo Qamar<\/a>                                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"collections__card   \">\n            <a class=\"collections__card-image-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/world\/cuba-market-socialism-economic-reforms-us-sanctions-private-sector-foreign-investment\/\" aria-label=\"Cuba Moves Toward Market Socialism Amid the US Assault\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"collections__card-image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/cuba-car-sanctions-getty.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/cuba-car-sanctions-getty-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/cuba-car-sanctions-getty-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/cuba-car-sanctions-getty-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/cuba-car-sanctions-getty-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/cuba-car-sanctions-getty-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/cuba-car-sanctions-getty-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/cuba-car-sanctions-getty-793x500.jpg 793w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/cuba-car-sanctions-getty.jpg\" alt=\"An old car drives past debris from a demolished house occupying part of the seaside promenade in the Centro Habana neighborhood, in Havana on June 9, 2026.\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"collections__card-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek\">\n<p>As unprecedented US sanctions push Cuba deeper into crisis, Havana is embracing sweeping market reforms while insisting it is not abandoning socialism.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"knockout \">\n                                                                            <a class=\"collections__author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/marc-frank\/\">Marc Frank<\/a>                                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"collections__card   \">\n            <a class=\"collections__card-image-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/world\/rahm-emanuel-israel-speech-democrats-us-israel-policy-gaza-palestine-foreign-policy\/\" aria-label=\"Rahm Emanuel\u2019s Speech in Tel Aviv Breaks With a \u201cNo Daylight\u201d Approach\"><br \/>\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"collections__card-image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/rahm-emanuel-portrait-getty.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/rahm-emanuel-portrait-getty-275x173.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/rahm-emanuel-portrait-getty-768x484.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/rahm-emanuel-portrait-getty-810x510.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/rahm-emanuel-portrait-getty-340x215.jpg 340w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/rahm-emanuel-portrait-getty-168x106.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/rahm-emanuel-portrait-getty-382x240.jpg 382w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/rahm-emanuel-portrait-getty-793x500.jpg 793w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/rahm-emanuel-portrait-getty.jpg\" alt=\"Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel attends the dedication ceremony for the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in John Lewis Plaza on June 18, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois.\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"collections__card-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek\">\n<p>Though the speech broke from a failed approach toward Israel, it was still based on flawed and tendentious attitudes and history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"knockout \">\n                                                                            <a class=\"collections__author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/matthew-duss\/\">Matthew Duss<\/a>                                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>        <!-- Tag ID: thenation_btf_medrec --><\/p>\n<p>\t\t        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"tpContentAuthor\" value=\"David Faris\"\/><br \/>\n        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"tpTags\" value=\"armed-conflicts,executive-branch,foreign-policy,government,middle-east,republicans,us-wars-and-military-action,war-and-peace,world\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"c96216d3d9d9d01a3c4694d9-text\/javascript\">\n\t\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n\t\t{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n\t\tif(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n\t\tn.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n\t\tt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n\t\ts.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script', 'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n\t\tfbq('init', '233793277040432');\n\t\tfbq('track', 'PageView');\n\t\t\t\t<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An expensive, ruinous conflict resumes for no other reason than one octogenarian narcissist\u2019s inability to face reality. Ad Policy President Donald Trump arrives at the White House on Sunday, July 5, 2026. (Aaron Schwartz \/ CNP \/ Bloomberg via Getty Images) Nearly five months since it launched its war of choice against Iran, the United&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2284217522.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[2087,126,2088,289,1556],"class_list":["post-1021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-admit","tag-iran","tag-lost","tag-trump","tag-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}