Virtually no serious observer of Trump-Tehran diplomacy believes that a deal favorable to the president will result from the current negotiations, at least not anytime soon. Yet President Trump’s commitment to this unlikely outcome has transformed his policy toward the region.
Until recently, Trump’s strategy had been one consistent with his first term, where the United States organized a counter-Iran coalition among its traditional allies. Now he’s embraced an approach that strongly resembles the Obama-Biden way of dealing with the Middle East: restraining allies while seeking accommodation with Iran.
