Why Trump Extended the Truce with Iran

CNN: “At the White House, Trump’s top aides believe a main reason they didn’t hear back was fractures within the current Iranian leadership, their understanding based partly on dispatches from the Pakistani intermediaries, according to the three officials. The administration’s sense is that the Iranians don’t have consensus on their position or how much to empower the negotiators on uranium enrichment and the country’s current stockpile of enriched uranium — a major sticking point in the peace talks.”

“Part of that complicating factor, the US believes, is whether the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is giving his subordinates clear directions — or if they’re simply having to guess what he wants without specific instruction.”

Wall Street Journal: “During the meetings, aides told Trump that Iran’s government wasn’t a unified entity, with hardline factions in Tehran unwilling to bend to the president’s demands. Questions were raised at the White House about whether Iran was really even in a position to negotiate and stick to any commitments.”