Wikipedia deems Iran war a “victory” for Tehran as peace deal talks cancelled
Wikipedia has listed Tehran as triumphant in the Iran war as both the U.S. and Iran claim to have come out on top in the monthslong conflict, even with negotiations on a final peace deal hanging in the balance.
The popular online encyclopedia described the outcome of the conflict, sparked by joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran from February 28, as a “political and diplomatic victory” for Tehran as of early Friday.
While President Donald Trump has celebrated the initial deal signed this week, his critics say the agreement skirts the most contentious issues like Iran’s nuclear program and its ballistic missile stocks, as well as offering Tehran financial lifelines to keep its ailing economy afloat even before a final accord is reached.
Tehran has said the U.S. was “forced” to ink the deal, while the regime’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said Trump has signed the agreement “out of desperation.”
Anyone can alter entries on Wikipedia, and the free encyclopedia says it has nearly 267,000 active editors. But Wikipedia’s verdict echoes what several military experts and geopolitical watchers have told Newsweek.
With America’s relations with key allies like Israel frayed, 13 U.S. service members killed, billions of dollars spent and costly weapons stockpiles depleted, U.S. lawmakers and global analysts question what the U.S. has actually accomplished in more than 100 days of war.
“It is difficult to make the case that this war achieved any significant positive result for the United States,” retired U.S. Navy admiral and former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, James Stavridis, told Newsweek.
“There is a relative consensus worldwide, even in the United States, that Iran has won the war and President Trump lost this war,” added Fawaz Gerges, a professor in international relations at the London School of Economics.
Early Signs of Jeopardy for the Deal
The memorandum of understanding started a 60-day timer to hammer out the final terms of a peace deal, but progress hit an early roadblock as Vice President JD Vance—who is heading the U.S. negotiating team—called off a planned visit to Switzerland for the start of new discussions on Friday.
Also complicating the progress is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to keep his forces in southern Lebanon for as long as it is deemed their presence is necessary.
Iran has demanded an Israeli withdrawal from the chunks of southern Lebanon it has deployed troops to fight Tehran-backed militant and political force Hezbollah.
The memorandum of understanding outlined the “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon” and for Lebanon’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty” to be respected.
But Israel and Hezbollah are not signatories to the memorandum of understanding and Israel is widely thought to have been cut out of discussions on the deal, raising fears its operations in Lebanon could derail a future final agreement.
Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 18 people had been killed in Israeli attacks in the early hours of Friday across Lebanon. Another 33 were injured, according to officials.
Israeli drones were spotted over Beirut’s southern suburbs—which have been heavily targeted by Israel, which says the area is a Hezbollah stronghold—and parts of south Lebanon on Friday, the country’s state-run National News Agency reported.
Israel’s military said on Friday four of its soldiers were killed overnight during a Hezbollah attack on a village in southern Lebanon, later adding another five Israeli troops were injured in a separate incident hours later.
Israel’s far-right security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, then said “all of Lebanon must burn.”
Israel struck more than 80 sites it says were used by Hezbollah and killed “dozens” of alleged Hezbollah operatives in strikes on Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley, the Israeli military said. The Beqaa Valley sits roughly 20 miles east of Beirut.
