SATISH SHARMA - not just Rotigraphy.: THE U.S. HAS ENDED its attack on Iran, Donald Trump claimed yesterday--although no goals have been achieved.

https://x.com/NuryVittachi/status/2050379426727448895

Nury Vittachi

THE U.S. HAS ENDED its attack on Iran, Donald Trump claimed yesterday--although no goals have been achieved.

“The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated,” the US President wrote in a formal letter released last night.

However, there were no visible moves made to withdraw troops from Iranian waters in what leading Senator Chuck Schumer called “an illegal war”.

Trump’s letter was sent to the House and the Senate, the two top governing bodies. The termination was urgently required for Trump to avoid consulting Congress, as is required with any war lasting more than 60 days—the 60th day was yesterday, Friday May 1.

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WHAT WAS AND WASN’T ACHIEVED

Yet the main goal of regime change (which is in itself illegal under international law) has not been achieved, thousands of Iranians lay dead, and significant parts of the country’s infrastructure is in pieces after more than 20,000 airstrikes.

Even more wrecked is the US’s reputation, with the world, including the leaders of Spain and Germany, condemning the attack on Iran as unlawful. The US public also opposes the war, as shown by multiple surveys—and the bill for the war is already in the tens of billions of dollars.

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IRAN ASKS FOR PEACE

The confusion deepened when Pakistan revealed that on Thursday night it had passed an Iranian peace proposal to the White House – which had rejected it. 

But if hostilities have already been terminated, then peace has already been achieved, technically.

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A GULF IN THE GULF 

The puzzling gulf between Trump’s letter and reality in the Gulf region was highlighted by Jeanne Shaheen, senior member of the Senate armed services committee.

She said Trump’s declaration that the hostilities have come to an end “doesn’t reflect the reality that tens of thousands of US service members in the region are still in harm’s way, that the administration continually threatens to escalate hostilities or that the strait of Hormuz remains closed and prices are skyrocketing at home”.

She did not mention the thousands of dead Iranians and the wholesale destruction rained down on the country.

Normally, an unprovoked attack by one country on another will bring international condemnation and calls for reparations to be made. But few will dare to call for the powerful US to be brought to justice.