The Cost of Treachery

Reneging on important international agreements has real consequences for future diplomacy.

Khamenei doesn’t care about the letter that Trump sent him:

While Araqchi and Gargash were meeting, Khamenei told a group of university students that Trump's offer for talks was "a deception", state media reported.

"When we know they won't honour it, what's the point of negotiating? [bold mine-DL] Therefore, the invitation to negotiate ... is a deception of public opinion," Khamenei was quoted as saying by state media. Khamenei said he had not yet seen the letter.

Reneging on important international agreements has real consequences for future diplomacy. When the U.S. breaks its promises as it did when Trump reneged on the nuclear deal almost seven years ago, it signals to other states that negotiating with our government is a fool’s errand. The president’s reputation for treachery is a serious problem for our government’s ability to conduct successful negotiations. The Iranian government would have a hard time trusting the U.S. no matter who the president was, but it is that much more difficult when the president has gone out of his way to violate past U.S. commitments to Iran.