Expert Says Trump Will Have To Negotiate With Iran For His Legacy

Donald Trump will have to negotiate with Iran for the sake of the global economy and his own legacy, according to an expert.

The US president has been attacking Iran for five days, hoping to erode the country’s ability to target vessels in the major shipping lane, the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump is also threatening to blow up Iran’s power plants and bridges next week unless they come to a deal, but Tehran has warned the war will spread if US attacks continue.

Dr Roxane Farmanfarmaian, a lecturer in international politics at the University of Cambridge, said the White House will have to negotiate soon – especially as the US mid-term elections loom.

“Iran is certainly very anxious to negotiate and I think its door is open,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, pointing out that its economy was already in a “dire” position before the conflict began.

She continued: “But by this time I think its trust in the United States has been completely lost.

“The United States, has once again – from [Iran’s] perspective – pulled out of the MOU [memorandum of understanding] just as he pulled out in his first term from the nuclear deal, the JCPOA.”

Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in 2018.

After working with Israel to launch strikes on Iran earlier this year, Trump and Tehran agreed to an MOU, where they vowed to reach a permanent ceasefire within 60 days.

That truce quickly ended after Iran attacked ships it accused of trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without their approval – and the US hit back with its own escalating strikes.

But Farmanfarmaian suggested the war cannot keep going.

She said: “I think there is a sense that [Iran’s] economy is certainly pushing them to the table.

“But by the same token, if they are able to put enough pressure on the United States and the global economy – the price of oil going up, inflation going up, fertiliser going up once again – this is going to push United States to the table as well.

“After all, Trump has an election coming up and this is going to be critical for his legacy if nothing else.”

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