Damian Paletta, of The Wall Street Journal, has identified some keys to watch to see if the deal with Iran is a real one.

The Strait of Hormuz. Trump suggested that the Strait of Hormuz…would be opened after the deal is formally signed on Friday.

We’ll see. Iran has a long and hoary history of welching on its deals.

The blockade. The White House has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ships, with the goal—essentially—of economic strangulation. … If the blockade is removed, Iran might be much more likely to continue negotiating with the White House on other things, as it could ease pressure on their economy.

Paletta’s interpretation is wrong. With pressure taken off, the men and women of Iran’s government and of its shadow government, the IRGC, will be much less willing to do any serious negotiation. They will, instead, be much more likely to continue tapping us along.

Israel. One of the biggest strains on the talks in the past months has been Israel, which has continued bombing inside Lebanon. Iran has said this was a deal breaker. Trump initially brushed aside concern about Israel’s strikes against Iran, but in recent weeks he has become furious that Israel wouldn’t stand down.

This is President Donald Trump’s (R) mistake. The fight between Iran and Israel, with the former using its satrap Hezbollah for its continuing fight, is an entirely separate war from the conflict between the US and Iran. Trump needs to openly recognize this and refuse any connection between the Israel-Iran war in Lebanon and our own conflict with Iran.