Fawaz Gerges

You know, 40 times CNN counted that the president and the vice president have made statements about imminent breakthrough four times in the past three months.

So my first instinct is to say we have to be cautious.

We have to be careful.

But what we have seen in the past 48 hours is that a flurry of reports in the U.S.

media and international media that a memorandum of understanding is almost, almost finalized.

And I think the reason why there is something happening because the first time that the Iranian media have spoken about progress, even though the Iranian media says that it's not finalized,

But there is a kind of a general understanding on the broad contours of what the memorandum of understanding will include.

Remember, this is a memorandum of understanding.

It's not a final solution.

But the final peace treaty or peace settlement will take at least 60 days to negotiate between Iran and the United States if and when

The memorandum of understanding is signed.

So I think there's a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

And I think we are seeing de-escalation as opposed to escalation as we have seen in the past few days.

Do you think in previous cases where he has said this deal is so close and you cited CNN saying it's happened nearly 40 times from his administration, that there was a strategy there, there was an idea we need to calm the economy, we need to calm the markets here?

Well, I don't think President Trump ever thinks strategically, with all due respect to President Trump.

I don't think he's a strategist.

I think he's temperamental, he's chaotic, he improvises on the go.

But I think what he was trying and what he's trying to do is to reassure the world economy and the American economy and the energy industry, because he's in a very strategic bind.

The war is very, very unpopular in the United States.

More than 60% of Americans say that the war should not have taken place.