This is an adapted excerpt from the March 8 episode of “Ayman.”
In some surprising news, Donald Trump did something right last week — in fact, not just once, but twice. First, he sent a letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, saying that he wants to peacefully reach a deal on Iran’s nuclear program.
“Well, there are two ways Iran can be handled, militarily or you make a deal. I would prefer to make a deal,” Trump told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo. “I hope that Iran, and I’ve written them a letter, saying I hope you’re going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, it’s going to be a terrible thing for them.”
At the time, Obama was strongly criticized for talking to Iran, with some viewing it as a sign of weakness, arguing he was “caving” to terrorists.
Trump won’t like this comparison, but the last American president who kicked off his administration’s Middle Eastern diplomacy by sending a personal letter to Iran’s supreme leader was Barack Obama in 2009. That letter began a yearslong correspondence that led to the thawing of U.S.-Iran tensions and then to one of the biggest American foreign policy wins in decades: the Iran nuclear deal.
At the time, Obama was strongly criticized for talking to Iran, with some viewing it as a sign of weakness, arguing he was “caving” to terrorists. These attacks came from the usual suspects like Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and John McCain, but also from some Democrats.
But Obama turned out to be right. In a statement posted to X on Saturday, Khamenei rejected Trump’s call for talks. “Some coercive governments insist on negotiations,” the Iranian leader wrote. “Such negotiations aren’t aimed at solving issues. Their aim is to exert their dominance and impose what they want.” But Trump’s openness to speaking with Iran shows the president knows, like Obama did before him, that talking to adversaries is not a sign of American weakness. It’s a sign of American strength and prudence.
That brings me to the other item Trump got right last week. On Wednesday, Axios’ Barak Ravid reported that, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the discussions, Trump’s administration has been negotiating directly with Hamas, both over the release of U.S. hostages still held in the Gaza Strip and on the possibility of a broader deal.
This news did not go over well with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Netanyahu’s top aide, Ron Dermer, reportedly erupted in a call with Trump’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler, objecting to the talks and to making proposals “without Israel’s consent,” an Israeli official and a source with knowledge of the call told Axios. This exchange followed a report from Israeli news outlet Ynet, citing several U.S. sources, that Israel leaked information about America’s direct talks with Hamas with the intent of sabotaging the discussions.








