Who Won the Middle East? Only the Dead See the End of War, and the Winner is Always the Survivor

Declaring an end to the war through a US-Iran memorandum of understanding is premature, especially as former President Trump has indicated that military options could be reinstated if Iran fails to comply.

The article questions the very notion of victory in war, noting that many conflicts have seen both sides claim triumph, often with devastating consequences. Historical examples, from the Soviet Union and Finland to Napoleon and Russia, and even recent conflicts like the Iran-Iraq war and the Yom Kippur War, illustrate how "victories" can be Pyrrhic, ultimately serving as a crime against humanity.

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it is too early to declare the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran as the end of the war. Even Trump states that the birthday memorandum "is not a final agreement and that the military option could return to the table if he assesses that Iran does not respect the agreement."

For Israel, the ongoing indirect conflict with Iran and its proxies is not merely a matter of recent skirmishes but an existential struggle that has spanned years. Victory in this context is not measured by the number of targets destroyed or leaders eliminated, but by the long-term security of the state. The article suggests that while it is too early to definitively identify a winner, the current situation reflects a complex geopolitical landscape where the definition of success is deeply tied to survival and sustained security.

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victory is always measured by whether the security of the state has been increased in the long term.