Why does Trump beg mediators?

By Ehsan Baqeri

TEHRAN - According to a Pakistani source, Prime Minister Imran Khan will travel to Iran and Saudi Arabia to mediate between Tehran and Riyadh. 

Also during their meeting on the sidelines of UN General Assembly in New York in late September, Khan accepted Trump’s request for mediation between Tehran and Washington. 

In addition to Islamabad, Trump has asked other actors such as Doha, Baghdad, Ankara, Tokyo, and Washington’s allies to make every effort regarding the mediation. 

What has really happened to the U.S. foreign policy? Has Trump – given his particular personality- become well aware of Iran? Has the major American goal of “transforming Iran’s political system” changed? The answer would be definitely no!

The truth is that events, such as the dismissal of National Security Adviser John Bolton and Trump’s constant efforts to negotiate with Iran, originate from a disaster in examination of U.S. foreign policy and Washington’s frustration with Iran. What prompts Trump to negotiate with Iran is not a change in strategy or approach by the U.S. government, but rather it is a strategic necessity that Trump is dealing with. 

Trump knows that he is deeply mistaken in examining the costs and interests of maximum pressure strategy against Iran. In such a situation, our diplomacy and foreign policy should maintain Trump’s frustration against Iran as an achievement. 

Trump knows that any agreement with Iran (and its magnification by U.S. news media) can pave the way for his victory in the next year’s presidential election. A sharp decline in Trump’s popularity over the swing states, such as Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin has shocked the U.S. president. One of Trump’s weaknesses in American citizens’ view is his failed and unbalanced foreign policy. Trump assumed that the dismissal of Bolton can solve this problem by itself, but the result of polls indicates that Americans believe that the White House’s foreign policy is disappointing and costly. Today, Trump begs potential mediators from the region, East Asia, and Europe for negotiation with Iran. It is because on the one hand he cannot afford the great costs of Iran’s military reaction, and on the other he sees himself only a few steps away from failure in the 2020 election. The best plan at the moment is to maintain or even increase Trump’s need for an agreement with Iran. Now, it is the time for Trump to see the consequences of three-year confrontation with Islamic Republic of Iran!