The Iran Deal: A Turning Point in US Foreign Policy

The war between the US and Iran has been one of President Donald Trump's most significant foreign policy blunders to date.

It has strained the US's relationships with its oil-producing Arab allies in the Gulf, who will take years to repair their business model and find ways to coexist with Iran.

Privately, officials from these countries are discussing diversifying their allegiances and finding ways to live alongside Iran, which will be a crucial test of the US's ability to deter its enemies.

The US's agreement with Iran, assuming no last-minute hitches, ends a war that was based on a misreading of the strength of the Iranian regime in Tehran.

This will bring a huge sigh of relief to those whose lives have been turned upside down by the war, including civilians in the firing line.

The agreement reopens the Strait of Hormuz, reducing pressure on the global economy and the lives of hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

However, the war has had a devastating impact, with thousands of people killed, homes and businesses destroyed, and the fertiliser production that relied on shipments through the Strait significantly affected.

While the agreement is not a peace deal, it extends the ceasefire and lifts the US Navy's blockade of Iranian ports, and it defers the thorniest issues for future negotiations.

The deal marks a significant shift in US foreign policy, revealing the limits of American power and a more complex Middle East landscape.

The Iranian government's resilience has been strengthened by the US's failed attempt at regime change, and the hard men in Tehran have emerged emboldened.

Iran's nuclear programme and the level of sanctions relief it will receive in return for concessions will be discussed in future negotiations.

The agreement has brought to an end the war that the US and Israel started on 28 February, but it remains to be seen whether the deal can be extended into a broader agreement that could transform the Middle East.

The Iranian people, who were promised a vision of freedom by Trump, are still ruled by a ruthless regime that killed thousands of citizens for protesting in the streets in January.