Amos Harel in Haaretz: ‘It's not over until it's over, but signs began to mount Saturday evening suggesting concrete progress in the indirect talks between the United States and Iran.’

And: ‘What all these reports share is the impression of diminishing Israeli influence over Trump's considerations.’

As well: ‘Where does such a scenario leave Israel? "The Iran war may end up as the single most devastating blow to Israel's security in its brief history," [Robert] Kagan writes. If the current trajectory continues, Iran will emerge much stronger from the confrontation than it entered it and with greater regional influence, thanks to the threatening steps that it took in the Strait of Hormuz. Other countries will be afraid to confront the Iranians and Israel will find itself more isolated than ever.’

Hubris, hubris, more hubris.

The end of hubris is always the same: defeat.

The question remains, what kind of defeat?

(a sf 2137)