Is There A Growing Sentiment In Iran To Engage In Direct Talks With President Trump?

President Hassan Rouhani of Iran with his foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, this month in Tehran.CreditCreditOffice of the Iranian Presidency

New York Times: In Iran’s Hierarchy, Talks With Trump Are Now Seen as Inevitable

In the power circles of Tehran, where “Death to America” is regularly chanted, the idea has taken hold that Iran must eventually negotiate with President Trump, according to several people with knowledge of the shift.

These people said Iran’s leadership had concluded that Mr. Trump could be re-elected and that the country cannot withstand six more years of the onerous sanctions he has imposed.

It is a remarkable turnabout for the political establishment in Tehran, which for the past 40 years has staked its legitimacy on defiance of the United States but has been particularly hostile toward Mr. Trump.

President Hassan Rouhani of Iran teased a possible meeting with Mr. Trump earlier this week, indicating he would be willing if it would benefit Iranians.

Mr. Rouhani reversed himself within 24 hours, suggesting he may have been overruled by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But the people with knowledge of the Iranian hierarchy’s thinking said Mr. Rouhani’s behavior should be viewed as part of the emerging new strategy.

They said the strategy was following two parallel tracks: displaying a more defiant position on Iran’s military and nuclear energy policies to irritate Mr. Trump, while signaling a willingness to talk under certain conditions, appealing to what are seen as his deal-maker instincts.

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WNU Editor: Nothing lasts forever. The U.S. and Iran will enter into talks sometime in the future. The question that remains unanswered is when, and under what terms? 

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