Ben Rhodes: Trump Is Getting a Terrible Deal
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What is the current state of U.S.-Iran relations?
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How has Trump's approach impacted Iran's global leverage?
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Hello and welcome to the Bullard Podcast. I'm your host, Tim Miller. Delighted to welcome back to the show the former Deputy National Security Advisor for Barack Obama, co-host of a show called Pod Save the World, and author of a forthcoming book, All We Say, The Battle for American Identity, released in May. Pre-order it now. It's Benjamin Rhodes. What's up, Ben? Tim, awesome to be here as always. Thank you so much for doing this. Obviously, the news this morning with the Art of the Deal from our president in Iran brings us to an area of expertise and experience for you. So I'm grateful for your presence. I just want to lay out for folks what we know at the time of the taping here. It's about... about 11 in the east.
Israel and Lebanon had a 10-day ceasefire that went into effect overnight. That led Iran to say that they would open the strait. Trump said that's good, but was still keeping the blockade until we had a final deal. We now have a proposed deal.
What were the terms of the original JCPOA deal with Iran?
That's not finalized. U.S. and Iranian negotiators are likely to meet Sunday in Islamabad. But Trump is already doing victory laps about it. Axios reports the outlines unfreezing $20 billion of Iran assets. And the U.S. in the last round of talks was demanding a 20-year moratorium on uranium enrichment. Iran counted to five years. Now they're claiming that in exchange for the $20 million, we would actually get the uranium moratorium. So we'll see if that's how that shakes out. That said, there's a second U.S. official talking to Axios. I wonder who that is, a second U.S. official. Feels kind of like Jared Kushner to me because it's not an administration official. It's a U.S. official. If it's Barack Ravid, it's Jared Kushner.
Yeah, it seems like it's Jared Kushner. A little less bullish than, let's just say, potentially their father-in-law. They're saying that Iran wants the $20 billion and a lot more. They want to sell oil at free market rates without sanctions. They want to participate in the global financial system. They also want to still have their nuclear program. They want to fund terrorists, and they don't want to give that up enough to get the things we're offering. So, you know, maybe the victory laps a little early for Trump. TBD, we'll see.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the current state of U.S.-Iran relations?
0:00–1:29
2
How has Trump's approach impacted Iran's global leverage?
1:29–3:08
3
What were the terms of the original JCPOA deal with Iran?
3:08–4:26
4
How does the new proposed deal differ from the JCPOA?
4:26–6:43
5
What are the implications of the U.S. military presence in the Middle East?
6:43–9:17
6
How is the Democratic party positioning itself regarding war and peace?
9:17–10:40
7
What are the potential consequences of the recent U.S.-Iran deal?
10:40–13:26
8
How does the guest view the future of U.S. foreign policy?
13:26–1:08:38
Speakers
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