In Donald Trump’s first term, he famously kept his promise to pull out of the nuclear deal that the Obama administration had made with Iran, calling it a “disaster.” Officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Trump rightly described it as “a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made.” He contended, “It didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will.”
So, why, seven years later, is his administration now engaged with Tehran in an effort to come to a nuclear deal that would allow Iran to use nuclear power for civilian purposes but prevent it from building a nuclear bomb?
Is this not a fruitless effort given Iran’s history? Just this week, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, effectively poured a bucket of cold water on the Trump administration’s recent proposal, declaring it “100% against our interests.” He added, “The rude and arrogant leaders of America repeatedly demand that we should not have a nuclear program. Who are you to decide whether Iran should have enrichment?”
Yet Tehran is willing to entertain a potential deal as it would love to get the crippling sanctions lifted, so long as it gets to continue its uranium enrichment efforts, all under the guise of needing it for its nuclear plants. Never mind the fact that Iran is an oil-rich country.
Trump, on the other hand, recently reiterated that uranium enrichment in Iran is off the table, writing in a social media post, “The AUTOPEN should have stopped Iran a long time ago from ‘enriching.’ Under our potential Agreement — WE WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM!”
Minutes later, he added, “Just had a great talk with our Military Leaders. It is the strongest Military we have ever had, including the fact that we are stockpiling weapons at a rate never seen before by our Country. Hopefully, however, we will never have to use them!”
Once again, this seems to be a waste of time. As the White House reiterated, “President Trump has made it clear that Iran can never obtain a nuclear bomb.” However, “Special Envoy [Steve] Witkoff has sent a detailed and acceptable proposal to the Iranian regime, and it’s in their best interest to accept it.”
The truth is that a new nuclear deal with Iran is not Trump’s primary goal. Rather, his focus is on his ongoing efforts to reset U.S. policy across the Middle East. Trump is attempting to establish peace deals between Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Israel.
Iran remains the biggest threat to establishing peace in the region, specifically due to its antagonism toward Israel. And the closer Iran gets to developing a nuclear weapon, the closer the region gets to war, as Israel will not sit by and allow Tehran to get the bomb.
This negotiation with Iran is part of Trump’s deal-making efforts. He’s willing to do the deal-making dance and will indeed make a deal with Tehran if it aligns with his policy agenda.
His show of good faith toward Syria, lifting sanctions against the country and legitimizing its new leader — a former enemy of the U.S. — may have given the people of Iran, not necessarily the nation’s leaders, hope that if they were to rise up against their government and oust the Ayatollah, they could expect to see similar actions from Trump.
The point is that there is a lot more going on here than merely seeking a new nuclear deal with Iran.
