While there are no concrete signs that the Iranian regime is any more likely to cut a deal now than they were at the beginning of the week, administration officials are pitching the president’s two-week timeline as a chance to let diplomacy play out.
“Trump is not a warmonger,” one senior official told ABC News. “He wants to give the Iranians some room to come to their senses.”
Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi have been in communication during recent days, but as of now, there are no plans for the two to meet, another official said.
Officials have also pitched Trump’s move to give the Iranians breathing room as necessary because of the heavy losses sustained among its senior leadership and nuclear policy experts who would be involved in the making and implementing of any deal.
European diplomats are set to hold talks with Araghchi in Geneva over the weekend. But some administration officials say they don’t see a whole lot of promise in the talks, seeing the Europeans as having a weak track record when it comes to handling Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his hawkish compatriots have long seen negotiating with the Iranian regime as a fool’s errand. And while Netanyahu may say the Israelis don’t need any help to accomplish their operational goals in Iran, at the very least, it would make it much easier.
However, even though Israeli officials have been pushing their case plenty, the “special relationship” between the country and the U.S. doesn’t translate to leverage over the Trump administration.
-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston
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