Trump’s “Deal” Looks a Lot Like … the One Obama Struck 11 Years Ago
That was such a good deal that the Omani foreign minister mediating the talks flew to Washington on February 27 to brief Vice President JD Vance on the deal. Britain’s national security adviser Jonathan Powell said that he was surprised at how good the offer was—and added that he didn’t think it was their final offer.
But Trump got greedy. He listened to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and attacked. Trump thought there was no need to negotiate, he could overthrow the whole regime. He failed. Now he is back at the table trying to get the same deal he could have gotten without the war.
This is nowhere near the original goals of Trump’s illegal war. It is not regime change, or liberation for the Iranian people, or unconditional surrender, or weakening Iran, or eliminating its entire nuclear program. But it could still be a good deal. It would put Iran back to where it was under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, before Trump ripped it up in 2018.