Tired of Iran, Trump refocuses on Ukraine

Jenna Amatuli· Host0:00

This is The Guardian.

Donald Trump· Soundbite0:01

[upbeat music] This was not easy.

Jenna Amatuli· Host0:11

Donald Trump finally got a deal to end the war in Iran, and is washing his hands of the whole thing.

Donald Trump· Soundbite0:17

We were focused on Iran. It's gonna be in the back, in the rear view mirror.

Jenna Amatuli· Host0:22

So now what? Well, this week, Trump turned his attention to Europe and Ukraine.

Donald Trump· Soundbite0:27

Yeah, I, I'm going to do whatever I can.

Jenna Amatuli· Host0:29

So how's it actually going for the peacemaker in chief? I'm Jenna Amatuli, in for Jonathan Freedland, and this is Politics Weekly: America. Andrew Roth is The Guardian's global affairs correspondent based in Washington, DC. Andrew, nearly every time I've looked at the headlines over the last several months, there's been this flip-flopping over whether or not we've signed or not signed a ceasefire deal with Iran. Talk to us a little bit about the deal this week and what's going on.

Andrew Roth0:57

Right. So it's been a really extraordinary week, uh, for the Trump administration's war because I think after about 40 times of saying that a deal is close, uh, Donald Trump has finally got his memorandum of understanding signed, uh, with the Islamic Republic of Iran. And on the face of it, it's a very big moment because finally, for the first time since February 28th when he launched the war, uh, there's some kind of an agreement to have negotiations, uh, and most importantly, to open the Strait of Hormuz that Iran had closed down, and