A note from our Editor-in-Chief:
I am delighted to re-introduce Harrison Mann to Zeteo. A former Middle East analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and a former US Army major, he has written for Zeteo before but now, thanks to your support and paid subscriptions, he’s officially a Zeteo contributor. As the US gets closer to a ground war in Iran, Harrison will be bringing his expertise and experiences to Zeteo readers. If you’re not already a paid subscriber, please become one today to avoid the paywall and to support independent journalism in a time of war.
-Mehdi
Trump and Rubio speak to reporters on March 20, 0226. Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images
This week, President Donald Trump launched a one-man diplomacy blitz to end his war with Iran – maybe literally “one-man,” because it’s unclear if Trump was negotiating with anyone but himself.
On Monday morning, just two days after he threatened to bomb Iranian power plants – a likely war crime – Trump posted about “VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES,” between unnamed American and Iranian negotiators. On Tuesday, he both tacked on the puzzling claim that Iran had given him a “very big present,” and reportedly sent Iran a 15-point ceasefire plan similar to US demands already rejected before the war.
Pakistani intermediaries confirmed they had delivered Trump’s messages to Tehran. Iranian officials denied talks had taken place – and made their own demands.
Whether or not Tehran has opened Trump’s DMs, the sad truth is that Trump’s own actions have made negotiating a peace nearly impossible in the immediate term. The good news is there’s still a lot he can do to speed up the end of his war. But let’s start with what he can’t do: