Trita Parsi

You have trade, you have investment, you have other things that would benefit the American middle class and ultimately benefit the Iranian people as well.

I think that's a much better route to go and precisely the type of things that Trump likes to do.

The big mistake the Iranians have done, in my view, is that they have refused to talk directly to Trump.

I think if they were open to that, which they should be, and they haven't been, I think there could be a massive de-escalation.

Both sides could avoid a lose-lose war, and both sides could be on a path towards a much, much better future for both of them.

So unfortunately, there is a lot of that nonsense going on about where is the next place?

How does the shape of the table look like, et cetera?

And it's a big problem, undoubtedly.

I don't think it's the main problem, however.

The main problem is Trump needs to decide.

Is he going to pursue his own American red lines or is he going to adopt the Israeli red lines?

And the other problem is the Iranians are not talking directly to Trump.

If they were just to do that, I think he would have a completely different scenario taking place here.

And I think Trump himself, as you said, he is a dealmaker.

But the idea that the other side refuses to talk to him, I think is completely foreign to him.

I think, first of all, they have their own politics, and they have elements over there who don't like the idea of direct talks with the United States.

But at this point, I think, personally, they have to set all of those things aside, because this is now about war and peace, those type of considerations.

However, you've been in politics.

You know that a lot of politics are silly and not necessarily very rational.

But at this point, that kind of stuff needs to be set aside.