During a press conference in Tokyo on Monday, President Donald Trump said he is not looking for “regime change” in Iran. “These are great people – has a chance to be a great country with the same leadership…we’re not looking for regime change, we’re looking for no nuclear weapons,” Trump said of Iran at the press conference after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
These seemingly diplomatic comments are a change in tone from what has been coming from the hardliners in the Trump administration, most notably Mike Pompeo and John Bolton. But despite Trumps comments on Monday, the administration has taken a hardline approach against Iran in recent weeks.
This month the Trump administration has deployed an aircraft carrier close to Iran, signed off on sending an additional 1,500 troops to the region, and tightened economic sanctions on the country.
Trump has said he wants to make a better deal with Iran, but his “art of the deal” negotiating style is not working on Tehran since he tore up the nuclear deal over a year ago. Trump should trust his instincts, practice real diplomacy with Tehran and stop escalating tensions with the country – he is the President after all.
Dave DeCamp is a freelance journalist based in Brooklyn NY, focusing on US Foreign policy and wars. He is on Twitter at @decampdave.
Trump threatened Iran with annihilation, not his subordinates. He did the same thing last year. He’s also said more than once that we don’t want regime change. Does he not know he’s not suppose to be playing both the good cop AND the bad cop roles?
People with that grand mal grade level of megalomania just make things up as they go along. This is why Putin was too smart to make Bibi’s mistake of investing in such a human dumpster fire.
The dude is also bipolar.
I got friends who are bipolar. That dude is not bipolar. He is something way more lethal.
I honestly don’t think Trump has any control over that administration anymore. I think they (Pompeo, Pence, Bolton, Etc) have stopped telling him sh*t because he can’t keep his mouth shut and he just signs anything they send him to save face. His hostility towards Iran certainly predates these influences but I don’t think his Saudi-Israeli sponsors trust him to carry it out anymore.
Magnificent analysis.
Trump negotiating with Iran is not going to happen. Trump’s “better deal” as articulated by his advisers amounts to complete surrender by Iran to US demands – which is never going to happeneither.
His “we don’t want nukes” trope is the same crap the US has been talking about for the last twenty years (and Israel for the last thirty years). Since there is no Iran nuclear weapons program, obviously this trope is just an excuse for regime change (for Israel’s benefit almost entirely since the US has no real reason other than hegemony for opposing Iran.)
So once again – anything Trump says is irrelevant. What he “wants” is irrelevant. What he and his advisers are doing is the only thing which is relevant. And what he and the Pentagon are doing is preparing for an attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon – to be followed by an Iran war.
That’s true; DJT’s negotiating with Iran just isn’t going to happen .. Iran’s President Rouhani even said so. His “better deal’ as articulated by the 2 scumbags – Pompous Pompass and Bonkers Bolton – amounts to total surrender by Iran to US demands, which won’t happen either.
You’re right; anything DJT says is irrelevant .. the same with what he “wants”. And, as you said, what he and the Pentagon are doing is preparing for an attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon – to be followed by a war with Iran.
Good grief! This is total lunacy on the part of the Pentagon and the Trump administration .. Worse yet, this is suicide.
I prefer the handle Porcine Pompass.
“Trump should trust his instincts.” Which? They seem to change from day-to-day and from speech-to-speech.
By now Tehran trusts nothing coming out of the mouth of our Presidents and is unlikely to trust anything soon if ever.
What happened in Tokyo is most likely this.
Abe: “Japan rejects your Iran policies.”
Trump: “These are great people.”
And then there is this ludicrous statement: “we’re looking for no nuclear weapons.” WE do not have to look for nuclear weapons because the IAEA is still doing that under the 4+1 agreement for WE.
Why don’t you come out and state exactly why you walked out of that 5+1 agreement. You have stated it before: “I want an agreement in which a CIA Jeep can drive into a military base of Iran and spy on the Iranian military. And President Obama was an idiot for not demanding it”
No nukes? So why did he follow BIBI and toss out the JCPOA which kept the Israelis with the only nukes in the region?
Does it really matter? Whatever the narrative is, the outcome is the same.
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY
.. to be made mmoving assets around to “address danger”, and dragging more military into Middle East. Unless they stay on ships, there is no place that will receive them. Qatar has been invited to Saudi Arabia — as Qatar has relations with Iran, there is clearly some communicating going kn — not dependent on electronics, but all in person, and probably far from listening devices.
Trump’s messaging is so erratic, it really begs a question — who is in charge.
Okay, so let’s pull our fleet out of the Persian Gulf and close out all the bases we’ve planted on the Iranian border. Lift all sanctions against Iran, normalize diplomatic relations and open a new embassy. Cease and desist with all threats of war. In return, Iran can cease and desist with all threats of ‘death to America’ and Trump and Rouhani can shake hands on a deal for Iran to not pursue nuclear weapons in return for a non-aggression pact with the US. You want the ‘art of the deal’ there you go- make a damned deal and be done with it.
John, Your common sense and sanity are out of place here. You will confuse people and cause them to try to think rationally. In the age of Trump this is likely to be disorienting, not to say challenging, and may cause distress or possibly psychic injury. If you must comment, please be gentle, and go slowly.
Trump yammers and twits away. Bolton, Pompeo and company make him look like a fool again and again. Many somehow think Trump is a strong POTUS…. I don’t get it.
If that’s his Monday tweet, let’s see what he has say on Tuesday.
“We’re not looking for regime change…..but we’ll do whatever Bibi tells us.”
Comrade,
I must admit it’s been illuminating for this conservative to follow you.
I guess open mindedness has its virtues, right?
Best,
David