As he announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran with just 90 minutes to spare before his deadline, Donald Trump was already claiming victory.
Earlier that day, he had promised Iran’s “entire civilisation would die tonight” if they failed to agree to a deal to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8pm EST (1am GMT) on Tuesday.
“We have already met and exceeded all Military objectives,” the US president declared as he announced the ceasefire.
But the president’s deal has a hole in it. A giant, nuclear bomb-shaped hole.
At the start of the war on Feb 28, Mr Trump had framed the US-Israeli bombing campaign as an existential fight to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
He had three other main objectives: to destroy the country’s navy, deplete its drone and missile arsenals and wreck its defence systems. Regime change, he insisted, was not an objective – although he initially said the country would be the Iranian people’s “to take”.
Buried in the rubble at its mountain bases, the Islamic Republic is still thought to possess around 440kg of uranium enriched to 60pc purity, a short step away from weapons-grade material at 90pc.
Iran, in other words, is just as close to developing a nuclear weapon as it was when the war began.
On Tuesday night, shortly after agreeing to the ceasefire, Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said his country “fully commits to not seeking possession of any nuclear weapons” in a 10-point plan adopted by the regime.
According to Iranian officials, the 10 points were agreed upon by the US president. Indeed, Mr Trump reposted Mr Araghchi’s statement to his Truth Social page.
However, this has been Iran’s longstanding position.
The assertion that the country, which has been rumoured to have been secretly enriching uranium and storing it in underground bunkers, does not want a nuclear weapon has always been treated with scepticism by the US.
And within those 10 points agreed upon on Tuesday, Iran appeared to make no promises when it comes to enriching uranium.
Of course, this is just the start of negotiations, not the end – but throughout the conflict, Iran’s diplomatic hand has been strengthened even as its military was shredded: now it knows it can hurt Mr Trump by closing off the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran did not have that leverage during previous negotiations, which also failed to yield a breakthrough. When the Iranian diplomats meet their American counterparts at the negotiating table on Friday, they will have new cards to play.
The Americans, on the other hand, appear to be in much the same position they were when they first sat down for talks.
One key question at this stage is why Iran has chosen to let go of the Strait of Hormuz right at the moment of maximum pressure. Is the regime more fragile than it appears?
More likely, the answer lies in the kind of concessions and assurances offered to the Islamic Republic as part of the ceasefire. Whether those include an agreement on the level to which uranium can be enriched remains to be seen.
Nevertheless, Mr Trump told AFP that Iran’s uranium would be “perfectly taken care of” under the deal, although he did not specify how.
And, without question, the ceasefire deal is significant.
It is the first sign of a possible end to the 39-day war, and for now, Mr Trump, the so-called “dealmaker-in-chief”, seems buoyed by being released from Iran’s economic chokehold.
In February, US officials described Iran’s nuclear deal, handed over following talks in Geneva, as “Swiss cheese”, given it was so full of holes.
Mr Trump, perhaps, may want to examine his victory a little more closely.