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You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Trump’s Twists on Confronting Iran Confound Allies

Trump’s Twists on Confronting Iran Confound Allies

June 7, 2019 at 7:38 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump and his aides have sent a dizzying, seemingly conflicting set of messages to Iran in recent weeks, ordering more troops to the Middle East and a carrier to the Arabian Sea as military threats even while declaring that Washington is seeking new negotiations, not war,” the New York Times reports.

“Yet it appears Mr. Trump wants to play the role of neither conqueror nor courtier, walking a fine line between military threats and diplomatic outreach but committing to neither. At various points, he has warned that there is ‘always a chance’ of conflict with Iran while urging negotiations — with no visible plan to make them happen.”

Key takeaway: “As with so much about Mr. Trump, his diplomatic overtures to Iran amount to little more than performance.”

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Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Iran

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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