Trump gathers Cabinet as he looks to seal deal to end war : NPR

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump will meet with his Cabinet on Wednesday at a precarious time for talks aimed at ending the war with Iran, just days after insisting that his administration and Tehran had “largely negotiated” a deal, but the negotiations are still in a state of flux.

As he prepares to meet with his top advisers, Trump projects confidence that he is moving closer to a deal that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and give him a credible argument that Iran’s nuclear capability has been diminished enough for him to declare victory, ending a conflict that has been politically unpopular with Republicans.

But as things stand, Trump also risks ending his war of choice with an unsatisfactory ending.

The emerging deal postpones many critical issues to be resolved later and has already exposed the president to fierce criticism – including from some of his own supporters – that Iran’s hardline leaders will emerge from the conflict battered but emboldened. It all comes to a head just as midterm elections to determine control of Congress loom large and as Republicans fear that rising fuel costs and prices are darkening the mood of the American electorate.

The talks became further complicated after U.S. forces on Monday carried out what the Pentagon called “defensive” strikes against missile launch sites and mine boats in southern Iran. The United States said it acted with “restraint” in light of the week-long ceasefire, while Iran condemned the action as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that talks with Iran on reopening the strait and extending the ceasefire – a period the administration said could be used to discuss the finer details of a nuclear deal – will take several more days. “Either you make a good deal or you don’t make a deal,” Rubio told reporters.

Trump, for his part, took to social media on Tuesday to complain that even if Tehran offered a complete surrender, the media would describe the end of the conflict as Iran achieving “a masterful, brilliant victory.”

Some Trump supporters are skeptical

While Trump insists that a deal is possible, there appears to be a clear light between the United States and Iran on several key issues. The president also faces scrutiny from his Republican allies, including Sens. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Ted Cruz of Texas, who have said the terms appear too favorable to Tehran.

They oppose aspects of the deal that have come to light publicly and that they say bear too much resemblance to former President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, which Trump scrapped during his first term.

Under the potential deal, Tehran would agree to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium – a key Trump demand – in exchange for sanctions relief. That’s according to two regional officials and a senior Trump administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the delicate negotiations.

A regional official with direct knowledge of the negotiations said how Iran would give up uranium would be subject to further talks over a 60-day period. Some of it is likely to be diluted, while the rest will be transferred to a third country, the official said.

Iran has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60% purity, a small technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran has not publicly committed to giving up its uranium.

Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday that the uranium, believed to be buried under nuclear sites hit by US airstrikes last year, would be delivered to the United States or “destroyed on site or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, witnessing this process and event.” The comment signals a softening of Trump’s previous insistence that the United States take control of Iran’s uranium reserves.

How Trump’s plan affects Israel’s war in Lebanon

Another key unresolved question is whether the ceasefire will also cover Israel’s operations against Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon. Iran has insisted that Lebanon must be covered by any ceasefire agreement negotiated with the United States.

The administration appears to leave some room for maneuver on the Lebanon issue. The emerging memorandum of understanding calls for a ceasefire between the United States and its allies against Iran and its proxies, such as Hezbollah, but also underscores Israel’s right to act against imminent threats and in self-defense.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday that the Israeli military is “deepening its operation” in Lebanon.

Jonathan Conricus, a former spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, said Israel hopes Iran will act quickly to direct any sanctions relief toward restoring its military capabilities and boosting allied groups, including Hezbollah and Hamas in Gaza.

“We are not done fighting, because the Iranian regime is not done,” said Conricus, who is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hardline think tank in Washington.

‘Shocked silence’ as Trump links Abraham Accords to Iran deal

Trump said Monday that any agreement to end the Iran war should include a requirement that several additional countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan, join the Abraham Accords, the agreements negotiated by the United States during Trump’s first term aimed at normalizing diplomatic and economic relations with Israel.

Trump’s optimism that other Middle Eastern and Muslim-majority countries could soon sign the agreements may be too ambitious.

For example, Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s biggest power and long considered the biggest prize for the normalization effort, has insisted that establishing a guaranteed path to a Palestinian state remains a precondition. It is something that Israel vehemently opposes.

Trump pushed the Abraham Accords during a call with leaders of his Middle East allies over the weekend.

Barbara Leaf, a retired U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and a senior State Department official during the Biden administration, said officials from Gulf countries who were on the call told her that Trump’s speech was met with a “stunned silence.” A person familiar with the call disputed that characterization and that some regional allies responded positively to the president’s call to join the agreements. The person spoke on condition of anonymity about the private conversation.

Leaf, a distinguished diplomatic fellow at the Middle East Institute, said U.S. allies in the Middle East recognize that Iran will likely use any money from sanctions relief to bolster its military capabilities. Still, they have supported Trump seeking to end the conflict.

“They see no other way out,” Leaf said of U.S. allies in the region. “And they see no other way out because of many of these early mistakes that the president and the administration made in conducting the war.”