Washington Examiner Investigations editor Sarah Bedford said President Donald Trump is “playing his cards close to the vest” on the Iran deal, offering little insight into what a possible deal could look like.
“A lot of the time when the media starts to catch on to how negotiations are, he’ll say something that kind of throws them off the scent to maintain that strategic confusion,” Bedford said on the Hugh Hewitt Show Wednesday.
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With a fragile ceasefire still in place between the United States and Iran, details from Trump remain unclear, though discussions surrounding a possible agreement appear to be gaining momentum.
“It is not clear whether that’s what Trump is doing now, if there are a lot of sticking points,” she said. “But the reporting is that Iran and the U.S. are nearing some sort of two-page, 14-point agreement that would end the hostilities.”
AS IRAN MULLS US ONE-PAGE PROPOSAL, TRUMP SAYS ‘IT’S VERY POSSIBLE THAT WE’LL MAKE A DEAL.’
Bedford emphasized that Trump is adding maximum pressure to Iran to accept whatever is in that deal. Trump addressed the ceasefire with optimism but acknowledged that if negotiations fail, bombing will continue and more intensely.
“We’re doing well, and we have to get what we have to get, and if we don’t do that we’ll have to go a big step further,” Trump said Wednesday.
AS IRAN MULLS US ONE-PAGE PROPOSAL, TRUMP SAYS ‘IT’S VERY POSSIBLE THAT WE’LL MAKE A DEAL.’
Bedford said the longer the Strait of Hormuz blockade continues, the greater the economic and military pressure builds on Tehran.
“I think it’s true that the longer things like the blockade of Iran and the Strait of Hormuz goes on, that pressure compounds,” Bedford said. “It’s not just the military pressure the Trump administration has put on Iran, it’s also the economic pressure, which the effects of that compile everyday passes with the successful blockade.”
