Inside the Chaotic Iran Talks That Let Trump Claim Victory, But Not Yet Peace

June 17, 2026 at 9:00 PM UTC

Updated on June 17, 2026 at 10:39 PM UTC

It was fight night on the White House lawn. Beneath a great steel canopy nicknamed “the Claw,” Justin Gaethje did a backflip off the caged ring in the center of the South Lawn after winning the Ultimate Fighting Championship title card . In the audience, the president, newly 80, had just announced that the Iran war was over, and the Strait of Hormuz was open.

Hours earlier, around when he was gathering for a birthday dinner with family inside the White House, Donald Trump had fired off a social media post announcing a deal to end the Iran War he’d started nearly four months earlier: “The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all! I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade,” he declared on Truth Social. “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”