Senior Iranian officials in Switzerland yesterday, as reported by Ali Vaez, an Iran specialist at the International Crisis Group, explained that they know that Trump is erratic and unstable, having attacked them during previous negotiations. But, in Vaez’s words: “This time, the Iranians are hoping that Trump’s experience of launching a war against them that failed to achieve many of its goals and that has wreaked political and economic damage in the U.S. will make a difference.”
He continued: “One of the reasons that they believe that Trump treated them the way he did was because he thought he could get away with it. But now, the alternative is no longer hypothetical, he has tried it and he knows it doesn’t deliver results. It delivers pain.”
So, now: “They see this as a test of whether Trump is willing to rein in Netanyahu, because at the end of the day Netanyahu could start bombing Iran again two months from now. This is why the Iranians insist on this MOU being a proof of concept for their ability to actually negotiate a more comprehensive agreement with the United States.”
