Borzou Daragahi

Well, there was a sequence of events.

It seemed to have begun with Donald Trump posting really extraordinary news on his Truth Social social media account, saying that he had spoken to all these leaders from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, other Gulf states, Turkey, and they had convinced him to sign on to this

30 or 60 day memorandum of understanding with iran that a deal was very close it was very different from his usual language on his social media posts but then in reaction to that social media post there is this torrent of commentary criticism from certain voices in washington often referred to as the blob this kind of neoconservative

very pro-Israel consensus inside Washington, criticizing him, calling Trump a traitor, calling him a betrayer of the Iranian people and of U.S.

allies and so on.

And then after that, he seemed to back off.

And then the Iranians came out with messaging that seemed to be backing off from the news of an imminent deal.

well I think he is under pressure and I think that that is what a certain constituency in Washington would like this permanent state of war that includes the Israel lobby also includes defense contractors military people who make a lot of money off of these wars I think it also includes

oil interests who are Donald Trump's golf buddies.

This has been good for the energy companies, this state of scarcity because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the reduction in the supplies of oil and natural gas.

I think that's really the really good question, Claire.

What does the Trump administration actually want?

And the problem is that you have a deal that's there to be grabbed.

And the problem with that deal is that it looks like a lot like the one that Barack Obama signed with the Iranians in 2015, along with the rest of the international community.

Donald Trump doesn't want to be compared to Barack Obama.

Donald Trump thinks he's better than Barack Obama.

And so that is kind of the problem.

I think there are serious negotiators, though, right now on the American side that are trying to get a deal.

I think there is worry about the price of gas in the United States and the damage to the global economy that this standoff is causing.

And so they are trying to negotiate.