US-Iran deal eases uncertainty over the war - but there is much still to play out

Finally, after what have seemed like countless false starts, a deal has been agreed by the US and Iran. Both sides have predictably claimed victory. President Trump has boldly declared: "This Great Deal will bring Peace and Security to the whole Region."Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi hailed what he called his country's military achievements as he confirmed that the Memorandum of Understanding had been signed. All sides, including the mediator, Pakistan, are saying that the deal will see the lifting both of Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz and The US blockade of Iranian ports, although this may not be immediate. That will go some way to relieving pressure on President Trump over the harm to the global economy caused by the former, while Iran's collapsing economy will gain some relief from the latter. The Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif - who was the first to announce the deal - has said that the agreement also calls for the "immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon". That could be a tall order. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shown no sign so far of being prepared to end Israel's current offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Indeed, twice in just the past week, Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut in response to Hezbollah rockets crossing into northern Israel have come close to derailing the whole process. Iran only just pulled back from responding with another missile attack on Israel in order to get the deal across the line.