Donald Trump has an unprecedented opportunity to bring peace and stability to the Middle East. Will he take advantage of it or make America Israel’s lawn guy for the foreseeable future? TBD.
What would I do in his position? I would take my case directly to the Iranian people. I would tell them that Iran can have normal–even friendly–relations with America, the EU, and its Arab neighbors if it is willing to give up its nuclear program and its missiles and stop financing its proxies. The choice would be peace and prosperity, or a grinding perpetual unsuccessful war with no meaningful assistance from Russia or China. Is that such a hard choice?
Ayatollah Khamenei, of course, might well pick the grinding perpetual unsuccessful war even if it puts his regime at risk. If he does, it is up to the Iranian public to override him. If that doesn’t happen, Iran will be responsible for what happens next.