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Trump's 'Olive Branch' Is No Such Thing

Trump's 'Olive Branch' Is No Such Thing

Every time Trump opens his mouth about this subject, he proves that he has no interest in finding a diplomatic solution.

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Daniel Larison
May 14, 2025
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Trump's 'Olive Branch' Is No Such Thing
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The president talked about offering an “olive branch” to Iran in his Riyadh speech yesterday, but his remarks today confirm that he doesn’t really want to reach an agreement:

President Donald Trump told Gulf leaders on Wednesday he urgently wants “to make a deal” with Iran to wind down its nuclear program but Tehran must end its support of proxy groups throughout the region [bold mine-DL] as part of any potential agreement.

Trump frequently vacillates between saying that the only thing he cares about is preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and tacking on a bunch of other unrelated demands that Iran will never accept. If nonproliferation were his only concern, he would not make demands about irrelevant issues. Every time Trump opens his mouth about this subject, he proves that he has no interest in finding a diplomatic solution.

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