IRAN/NUCLEAR/OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Donald Trump has long trashed the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement as ‘the worst deal ever,’ a ‘disaster’ that didn’t cover nearly enough of the Islamist-led country’s nefarious behavior. In recent weeks, however, the president has indicated that the Barack Obama-era deal might not be so bad after all. Trump has repeatedly urged Iran to engage in negotiations with him, while saying that Tehran’s nuclear ambitions are his chief concern — ‘A lot of progress has been made. And they’d like to talk,’ Trump asserted Tuesday [7-16-19] at the White House. His aides and allies, meanwhile, have recently suggested that Iran and other countries should follow the guidelines of a deal they themselves have shunned as worthless. At times, analysts and former officials say, it sounds like Trump wants to strike a deal that essentially mirrors the agreement that his White House predecessor inked — even if he’d never be willing to admit it. Iranian officials seem willing to egg him on, saying they’ll talk so long as Trump lifts the sanctions he’s imposed on them and returns to the 2015 Iran deal.”
–Nahal Toosi, “Trump’s better deal with Iran looks a lot like Obama’s,” Politico, July 17, 2019 5:05 am