Iran has reacted to president’s White House return with a mixture of bluster and attempts at rapprochement
JERUSALEM – One of the features of the Trump administration – and which perhaps differentiates it from the first time he served in the White House – is how tightly the messaging has so far been controlled. With the exception of the president and Vice President J.D. Vance, other top officials seem to be diligently attempting to correct the mess the Biden administration left them and actually not saying too much.
Contrast this approach with the Islamic regime in Iran, which seems to be offering pronouncements – sometimes in conflict with each other – about a myriad of issues, as it seeks to test the diplomatic water with regard to President Trump and the rest of his administration.
One is left with the impression the regime in Tehran is deliberately trying to muddy the waters, and having played former secretary of state Anthony Blinken among others like a fiddle, they are trying to repeat the trick with the Trump administration. By calibrating the mixed messaging – by turns aggressive and conciliatory – they are attempting to obfuscate what their intentions truly are.