Trump pushed Iran to the brink — but did we win anything that lasts?

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. National security analyst Rebeccah Heinrichs discusses negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, possible extraction of nuclear material and opening the Strait of Hormuz on 'Varney & Co.' After 21 hours of talks in Islamabad last week, Iran walked away without a deal. Trump announced a naval blockade, then said Iran wants peace "very badly" and has "called." Both things are probably true — and together they define the problem. Wars do not end when the shooting stops. They end when the political objective is secured. That is the standard Carl von Clausewitz set, and it is the standard by which the current conflict with Iran must now be judged. By that measure, as this phase of the war draws to a close, the answer is deeply unsatisfying. An American man I recently met who had lived inside Iran offered a blunt forecast. China will pressure Iran to accept