After careening from one diplomatic extreme to another, President Trump finds himself with a fragile deal that is already showing signs of fraying.

April 8, 2026 https://archive.ph/zw4La

The victory lap started quickly: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declared on Wednesday morning that all their military objectives had been achieved in what Mr. Hegseth called “a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield.”

But less than one day after Mr. Trump had logged on to social media to announce a truce, the fragile accord was showing signs of fraying, in large part because the two nations would not publicly agree to a shared set of goals for ending the war.