Michael Barbaro

You started it.

We're not going to help you quickly end it.

And you had suggested at the beginning of this conversation that that could be a function of pride or strategy.

Let's try to get to the bottom of that question.

If President Trump is offering Iran an end to a daily barrage of attacks that took out its supreme leader, have decimated its military, have crippled a lot of its infrastructure, why isn't Iran somewhat eager to take up that offer?

Those nuclear sites, yep.

Right.

Negotiations are kind of a cover for the U.S.

to attack Iran.

David, can I ask you, because you've covered a lot of diplomacy in your day, is it understood that if you attack people, not once but twice during formal negotiations, you're really disincentivizing them from ever seeing diplomacy as anything other than a Trojan horse?

Okay, so that's a major reason why Iran would be reluctant to engage in negotiations.

But beyond that, what does Iran gain from the war lasting any longer, given that the pain of it is so disproportionately felt by that government?

Interesting.

So not necessarily just pride, but kind of a strategic understanding that the longer the war goes on, the more likely it is that Iranians alienated from this regime might start to look to it as a source of strength or see it as the victim of U.S.

excess.

And in that sense, time is just on their side.

David, just play that out.

So let's presume that the 15-point proposal from Trump is actually something that represents the US position in any negotiations.

And Iran has the war play out for a few more weeks, maybe even longer.

Oil prices stay really high.