For years, Iran has mastered a familiar tactic: drag out negotiations, extract concessions, and continue advancing its military capabilities while the world talks. President Donald Trump appears determined to end that cycle.
Recent remarks by Elliott Abrams, Trump’s former envoy on Iran, point to a White House that sees diplomacy with Tehran not as an end goal, but as a test. If talks fail — particularly the quiet negotiations now taking place in Oman — that failure may not delay action. It may enable it.
Trump’s worldview on Iran is shaped by two deeply held convictions. First, that bad deals are worse than no deals. Second, that weakness invites escalation. In this context, endless negotiations that leave Iran’s missile program untouched are not “stability,” but strategic surrender.
The president has also shown something his predecessors largely avoided: direct rhetorical support for Iranian protestors. While even US officials acknowledge that demonstrations alone are unlikely to topple the regime, Trump clearly sees internal pressure as part of a broader strategy — not a substitute for force, but a parallel track.
