The Wall Street Journal urged President Donald Trump not to make a “bad deal” with Iran in a new editorial characterizing such an agreement as a “betrayal.”

Under the headline, “Will Trump Bail Out Iran’s Regime?” the Journal observed that the “basic problem” with the construction of the deal, as it has been reported on in the press, “lies with ending U.S. pressure before dismantling the nuclear program. If the blockade ends and Iran can sell its oil, all that’s left to coerce it into nuclear concessions is the threat of renewed war.”

“But Mr. Trump wasn’t willing to do that after Iran reneged on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and attacked U.S. forces and Gulf allies. How credible will the threat be 60 days closer to midterms, when it would trigger a new Iranian blockade of Hormuz? A pledge not to build a nuclear weapon means nothing because the regime has always said that while doing the opposite,” submitted the right-leaning editorial board.

It continued:

The U.S. and Iran also have yet to agree on how long Iran would be banned from enriching uranium. The question may be academic because the regime only has to wait out the Trump Administration to gain a freer hand. Iran’s history is to drag out negotiations, and this preliminary deal is no doubt part of that strategy.

Reopening the Strait will reduce oil prices, but in the President’s reluctance to do so by force, he has signaled that Iran holds the trump card. Even if successful, the deal would leave that card intact and looming.

Iran insists that no deal will restore the Strait to its status quo ante. It could allow the passage of a prewar number of vessels, state media says, but on Iranian terms and under its control. Recall that tanker traffic decreased after Iran had promised a gradual reopening with the April 7 cease-fire.

This is reason enough not to give Iran sanctions relief up front. U.S. officials say relief will be tied to performance, and they will need to hold to that to get a decent final deal.

“A bad deal would leave him worse off politically, even if gas prices fall. Even a half victory by Iran would hurt America’s standing—and Mr. Trump’s,” concluded the Journal. “Iran’s regime went into this war facing domestic political and economic crises. War has made these worse. Saving such a regime now with an economic bailout would be the real betrayal — of the U.S. interest even more than the Iranian people.”

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