IRAN/MILITARY/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Days after he redirected warships toward their coast and spurred talk of U.S. military action against them, President Donald Trump says he wants to hold nuclear talks with the Iranians — and that he can help their economy get ‘back to great shape.’ Trump’s call for talks, uttered at least three times in roughly 24 hours, suggest that the president isn’t fully on board with his aides’ hawkish approach to Tehran’s Islamist rulers. And they further the impression that Trump is sometimes at odds with his hawkish national security adviser, John Bolton, which the president acknowledged in comments today. Trump’s promises on Iran’s economic potential also echo the approach he’s used, unsuccessfully so far, to push North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons…The president even hinted that the 12 conditions his administration has outlined for talking to Iran weren’t set in stone. Those conditions go well beyond demanding Iran give up its nuclear program, covering everything from releasing detained U.S. citizens to ending its support for proxy militias beyond its borders.”
–Nahal Toosi, “Trump to Iran: Call me, maybe,” Politico, May 9, 2019 5:26 pm