Trump Has An Iran Strategy, But It's Going To Be Difficult To Pull Off

Associated Press/Evan Vucci The Trump administration is sending mixed signals to supporters and opponents of the Iran nuclear deal. Managing all those signals requires a fully integrated strategy that coordinates the diplomatic, political, and communications lines of action. Making this strategy work will require that all US actors play their roles carefully. The Trump administration's game plan for Iran has a certain logic to it, but executing it will be the most difficult diplomatic gambit his team has attempted thus far. The administration is attempting to signal to supporters of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement US President Barack Obama negotiated with Iran, that President Donald Trump is willing to blow up that deal because he sees it as disadvantageous to the United States, while also signaling that the president is willing to not blow up the deal, provided that he gets his way on other elements of a counter-Iran strategy. At the same time, the administration is attempting to signal to opponents of the JCPOA that there is a way to address the weaknesses in the deal without blowing it up, provided that those opponents give the president some relief by revising the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA) to remove the 90-day certification requirement. Managing all of those contrary signals requires a fully integrated strategy that coordinates the diplomatic, political, and communications lines of action. In its most basic form, this is a boat-rocking strategy.