The tense tussle over Trump's Iran strategy

On May 25, President Donald Trump excitedly declared that a nuclear deal with Iran was just around the corner. Three weeks later, the president is noticeably more sanguine about reaching an agreement. “Iran is acting much differently in negotiations than it did just days ago,” Trump commented to Fox News this week. “Much more aggressive.”

The negative vibes extend to the Iranian side. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, still stung by his experience in 2018, when Trump pulled the United States out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, and re-imposed additional sanctions on Iran, is giving lectures that trusting the Americans is a fool’s errand.