Aaron David Miller & Lauren Morganbesser
As Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump’s “envoy for everything,” sits down again with a top Iranian diplomat this weekend, he confronts one galactic diplomatic lift. In Rome, Witkoff will face off against Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, a skilled nuclear negotiator from a repressive authoritarian regime that has been badly weakened by Israel and is in no mood for dramatic concessions, let alone capitulation to Washington.
At home, Witkoff is surrounded by the president’s hard-line advisors—who don’t believe an agreement is possible—and an impatient, impulsive president who wants a quick deal and is threatening the use of force if he can’t get one. The first meeting, in which everyone seemed to abide by Emily Post’s guide to good table manners, will be unlikely to be repeated this coming weekend as the diplomatic bromides give way to much tougher positions.
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