When all else fails with Donald Trump try flattery. That’s exactly what Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif did on Sunday. Because for Iran and North Korea that is, honestly, all that is left.
First it was North Korea, saying talks could resume but only if President Trump’s staff were no longer around.
This weekend Iran took to the airwaves with an interview on Trump’s favorite network, Fox, likely the only thing he’s allowed to watch along with CNN. Good cop/bad cop as it were.
Zarif made his way around the Sunday talk show circuit to make his case to the U.S. establishment. These appeals were to Trump himself to come out from behind his staff and broker honestly with both countries.
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“They have all shown an interest in dragging the United States into a conflict. I do not believe that President Trump wants to do that, I believe President Trump ran on a campaign promise of not bringing the United States into another war. But I believe President Trump’s intention to put pressure, the policy of maximum pressure on Iran in order to bring Iran to its knees so that we would succumb to pressure, is doomed to failure.”
IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER JAVAD ZARIF ON FOX NEWS SUNDAY
At the same time Iran and North Korea both understand that if Trump doesn’t do this they are moving on with their lives regardless of what the U.S. does next.
Russia is openly preparing for war if need be.
Since the beginning of the Trump administration there has been almost zero interaction between U.S. and Iranian foreign offices. The lack of diplomacy and professionalism of the Trump administration has been quite evident from the beginning.
Any attempt to engage in diplomacy was roundly rejected by Trump himself. Why do you think Rex Tillerson was fired? It wasn’t because he called Trump an “Idiot.” Though Rex was right about that.
He was fired because he actually engaged in diplomacy with both North Korea and in intervening to stop the Saudis from invading Qatar in 2017.
He was also a supporter of the JCPOA, knowing that that deal was as good as it would get until the U.S. stopped all regime change activities around the world. And that was the breaking point.
It was time for the neocons, specifically Sheldon Adelson, the Saudis and the UAE, to push for a new foreign policy. They had to stop Trump from making a deal of substance with North Korea because it would undermine the goal of destroying Iran.
Peace might have broken out in the Middle East and U.S. troops might have come home. The Horror. The Horror.
Remember North Korea and Iran are linked in the minds of the Israelis, Trump and the Neocons because of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
Reprinted with permission from Gold Goats ‘n Guns.
