Robert Malley

It is.

And as I'm trying to do, but I found most impossible to achieve, is to ignore everything the president says, because the same day he'll say that, he'll say that we are an inch away from a deal.

He'll say that there's no need for a deal because Iran has been vanquished.

And he'll also say that the Iranian leaders with whom he's dealing are very smart.

So...

Pick your poison or your choice among all those statements.

I think what really matters is what he'll decide to do in the coming days.

And at this point, I would surmise it's as likely as we'll reach a deal as it is that we are headed towards another round of warfare.

Well, I mean, I suspect that they don't take it as seriously as it is at the beginning because there have been so many of these announcements that have not been followed up.

I think every time he threatens utter destruction at this point, it's part of the background noise.

I mean, not that they don't

fear that at some point they might be victims once again of massive attacks, but there's no correlation in their mind between

what the president does, thinks, and what he might do.

So I suspect that they are just as prepared for a possible resumption of hostilities, and they've had time to do whatever they could to try to maximize their own retaliation and minimize their own losses, but also preparing themselves for the possibility of a diplomatic breakthrough if that's what the president decides he would rather do.

So let me first say, you know, nothing will justify in my mind a war that was unlawful, unnecessary and unjustified from day one.

Now, when you ask, can the president, can the United States claim victory?

Well...

The metrics upon which it could have claimed victory were available basically from week two or three of the war.

In other words, it is true, and the president has said it, that the United States has dealt Iran a very formidable military blow in terms of some of its capacities, in terms of its nuclear program, in terms of its leadership, which it has decapitated, in terms of the economic cost that Iran is going to have to contend with once the war ends again.

All of that was true very early on in the war.