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'Not Clear' US Can Achieve Iran War Objectives, Says Former Ambassador
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6:58Now PlayingFormer US Ambassador Daniel Fried said there's at least a chance that US-Iran talks could bring an end to the war with Iran, but it's not at all clear that the US can achieve its original objectives, including regime change in Tehran. Fried also discussed the role of European allies in the conflict, saying that the statement put forward by the UK and other nations on the Strait of Hormuz could signal the beginning of a coalition.
The Trump administration is set to deploy more troops to the Middle East, even as it pushes for formal talks to end the 25-day conflict that’s upended global markets.
The US and a group of regional mediators are discussing the possibility of holding high-level peace talks with Iran as soon as Thursday, but are awaiting a response from Tehran, Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge of the discussions.
While US President Donald Trump said on Monday he’s refraining from US strikes on energy sites, giving the Islamic Republic five days to reach a deal, US Marines are on their way to the region, raising the prospects of ground operations. The Pentagon is planning to send a brigade combat team from the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division to the region to support operations, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing two US officials.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on reports of the status of peace talks, nor on the potential additional deployment.
Iran and Israel showed no signs of letup in the conflict. Iran turned back a container ship from the Strait of Hormuz and Israel kept up strikes on the Islamic Republic, with its Defense Minister Israel Katz saying the campaign would continue “at full intensity.” President Donald Trump signaled that Iran had offered a “present” as a show of good faith in negotiations the US leader has claimed are ongoing to end a 25-day conflict that’s upended global markets, even as he deploys more troops to the Middle East.
Trump wouldn’t detail the gift, “worth a tremendous amount of money,” but confirmed it was related to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz. A Thai ship passed through the vital waterway earlier on Tuesday, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported.
“We’re in negotiations right now,” Trump told reporters at the White House, noting that special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance are all involved. Still, Trump’s optimism contrasted with the Pentagon’s movement of more ground troops to the region.
Trump claimed again, as on Monday, that Iran was in agreement on some parameters of a potential deal — starting from the US insistence that the Islamic Republic is prevented from obtaining nuclear weapons.
“They’re talking to us, and they’re talking sense. It all starts with they cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “Nobody knows who to talk to, but we’re actually talking to the right people, and they want to make a deal so badly, you have no idea how badly they want to make it.”
There remained broad uncertainty about who the US is negotiating with, the structure of talks, and the outlines of any potential agreement.
The US and a group of regional mediators are discussing the possibility of holding high-level peace talks with Iran as soon as Thursday, but are awaiting a response from Tehran, Axios reported earlier, citing two sources with knowledge of the discussions.
While Trump said on Monday he’s refraining from US strikes on energy sites, giving the Islamic Republic five days to reach a deal, US Marines are on their way to the region, raising the prospects of ground operations. The Pentagon is also planning to send a brigade combat team from the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division to the region to support operations, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing two US officials.
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