Bowen: Trump has no better option than to talk to Iran

Donald Trump’s recent statements on Iran and the chances of reaching a negotiated agreement should be taken seriously, as he is, after all, the president of the United States.

This is what he said at the NATO summit in Turkey.

“I don’t want to deal with them anymore, they’re crooks. You know what a scandal is? They’re dirty, they’re sick people, they’re run by sick people. And they’re mean, violent.”

“And if they had nuclear weapons, they would have used them. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”

But are his last words on the matter? Definitely not. He has been commenting on the war and the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) being negotiated. His words turned claims of victory into threats to destroy Iran’s civilization in favor of negotiations.

After doubling down on recent threats, the United States will “hit them harder tonight,” adding, “I gave them a little warning. We’ll hit them again tonight.”

There is no doubt that America’s ability to strike Iran is causing serious damage. But what he has failed to do is undermine the regime’s willingness to drop any of its fundamental demands, from controlling transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

Buried in his recent verbal onslaught is an acknowledgment that the talks will continue. In the year

Trump has been asked whether the exchange of violence between the US and Iran – and some of America’s Arab allies in the Gulf – has ended negotiations between them.

“I don’t care, they can talk. But I think they’re wasting their time,” he said, referring to chief negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Then on the Iranian regime: “They are a bunch of liars.”

That could be read as another admission by the US president that they have no better option than negotiations. Along with Israel, America has tried and failed to destroy the Iranian regime.

But the negotiation process is weak. A source among the mediators who tried to make them work described what happened as a “definite failure”. The atmosphere is said to be “very tense”.

This is a diplomatic way of saying that the events of the past few days are a formidable backdrop for talks between two powers that have no faith that they will keep their word if they reach an agreement.