Trump tries gunboat diplomacy after wavering on Iran strikes

"At the same time, U.S. officials are skeptical that Iran's supreme leader is willing to go anywhere close to the conditions Trump has set for any potential deal. Flashback: The previous set of nuclear talks ended in war, with Trump first tacitly approving Israeli attacks and then directly striking I ran's nuclear facilities in June."

"Driving the news: U.S. officials insist Trump's decision to send his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for talks with Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, isn't cover for another surprise attack. But the U.S. has moved a wealth of firepower into the region in case Trump does decide on military action. He was on the cusp of launching strikes three weeks ago, over the killing of thousands of protesters, but held off. As Trump's "armada" moved into place, the protests were quashed, and the momentum was lost."

"Behind the scenes: There were doubts in the West Wing about whether U.S. bombs could really bring decisive political change. And there were concerns about Iran's threats of massive retaliation across the region. At the same time, Turkey, Qatar, Egypt and other countries undertook an intense diplomatic effort to defuse the situation, eventually producing the meeting planned for Friday in Istanbul. Turkey's foreign minister invited several Arab countries to attend as observers."

U.S. officials express skepticism that Iran's supreme leader will accept the stringent conditions sought by Trump. Previous nuclear talks collapsed after Trump tacitly approved Israeli attacks and then directly struck Iran's nuclear facilities in June, leaving deep distrust. A later U.S. attempt to use fears of "snap-back" sanctions to secure highly enriched uranium failed. The U.S. sent envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to meet Iran's foreign minister while deploying significant military firepower to the region. Trump nearly launched strikes recently but paused as protests were suppressed and diplomatic efforts led by Turkey and other states produced an Istanbul meeting. Israel viewed smaller strikes as insufficient, prompting consideration of more ambitious military plans.

Read at Axios