Rose Kelanic, director of the Middle East Program at the think tank Defense Priorities, told the Washington Examiner that “Trump likes to keep everyone guessing, so the lack of information is both surprising and not.”
“Trump most likely declined to offer details on Iran to avoid boxing himself in, which suggests he is undecided about a U.S. attack and keeping the options open for a diplomatic breakthrough in Geneva—a wise move given the major costs and risks of a war with Iran,” Kelanic said.
Kelanic told the Washington Examiner that “some of the more fatalistic analysts” were concerned heading into the State of the Union that Trump could actually use the opportunity to “announce the start of a U.S. attack on Iran.”
“Right now, the Islamic Republic is at the literal barrel of a gun—and it’s still talking, which demonstrates the regime’s willingness to compromise to avoid war,” Kelanic told the Washington Examiner. “The problem is trusting the U.S. is hard, and Trump’s military buildup, coupled with his sometimes-talk of regime change, has so rattled the Iranians that they fear the U.S. plans to attack regardless of any concessions offered, which isn’t conducive to agreement.
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