Rosemary Kelanic, the director of the Middle East program at Defense Priorities, likewise saw Trump’s lash out as “an expression of frustration” rather than a real bargaining position from the United States.
“Trump’s position is weakening, but then, as a result of that, [Iran is] pushing for more concessions from Trump,” Kelanic told The Hill. “But more concessions is harder for Trump to give, so he’s going to be less willing to give them. So, it’s quite possible that no agreement comes out of this, and we don’t get much further.”
But even as the president is frustrated by a lack of offramp to a deeply unpopular, six-month war, he appears more driven by desire to make the best deal for himself, according to Kelanic.
“He wants to feel like he’s gotten something out of this. He’s the guy at the casino that’s gambled it all on red on the roulette wheel and he’s trying to gamble himself back to breaking even or doing better,” Kelanic told The Hill. “There’s always that temptation or that that haunting fear that he could take a bad deal today, but maybe he’s missing out on some opportunity to find some way to get a better deal in the future.”
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