On sanctions – Zvi Bar'el in Haaretz:

‘Following the NATO summit meeting in the Netherland, U.S. President Donald Trump, as is his wont, held another one of his long, combative, admonishing and occasionally amusing press conferences, at the end of which no one knows where he's heading.’

(…)

‘If the objective of a new accord was to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and if the Israeli-American attack, particularly the massive attack on the Fordow installation with bunker-busting bombs, totally wiped out Iran's nuclear capabilities, there is no need for an agreement. But given the dispute among U.S. intelligence agencies regarding the "total obliteration" of Iran's nuclear capabilities, which caused Trump to launch an unbridled attack against the media, the issue of Iran's ability to rebuild its nuclear capabilities remains relevant.
It seems that Trump himself, despite his dismissal of the need for an agreement, recognizes its importance.’

(…)

‘The direction Iran is heading toward may be discerned from a resolution taken by Iran's parliament, according to which the government will not cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors Iran's nuclear program and installations. This resolution was not a final one, as it formally requires ratification by a committee charged with examining the nation's interests. This is a committee with much authority and influence, which can ratify, reject or demand an amended formulation of parliamentary resolutions.’

(…)

‘The war has removed, at least for the time being, Iran's deterrent factor and thus its major leverage, offering a nuclear deal in exchange for lifting the sanctions, leverage it held for the purpose of attaining its goal. Ostensibly, a situation in which Iran needs an agreement with the U.S. more than the U.S. needs one, as indicated by Trump, affords the U.S. president an opportunity to bring up critical issues that he hadn't planned on discussing.’

(…)

‘Pezeshkian, incidentally, has been in favor of dialogue with the U.S. since the beginning of his term. He has called on American businessmen to invest in Iran and has even now received the backing of Khamenei. While the Iranian administration is deliberating over how and what it should talk about with the Americans, Iran has already received a free gift from Trump, who declared that China can purchase unlimited amounts of oil from Iran, thereby removing with one fell swoop one of the cornerstones of the maximal-pressure policy used on Iran.
Maybe one shouldn't wonder. According to Trump's logic, if Iran has no nuclear program, you don't need sanctions.’

Read the article here.

No nuclear program, no sanctions. Logical thinking for beginners.

Regime change wasn’t on the table in the first place.

The neocons have not disappeared completely, they made a comeback, but regime change was not part of the comeback.

What the war achieved is not clear and might not be clear for months to come.

And Trump is still aiming for the Nobel Peace Prize, so much is for sure.

I say: the odds ae in his favor.