Iran ‘Can Easily Trick Him’

The Trump administration is still hunting for a deal with Iran. United States Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is in Oman right now negotiating with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. This comes after massive protests against the Iranian regime erupted in December, the regime murdered tens of thousands in response, and U.S. President Donald Trump threatened military force and regime change.

The talks are supposed to diffuse tensions. But circumstances suggest that Iran could diplomatically outwit the U.S.

• The U.S. wanted the talks to be held in Turkey, monitored by representatives of Arab countries. Iran initially agreed, then insisted on uninviting observers and moving the talks to Oman. The U.S. acquiesced.
• The U.S. wants the talks to include Iran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missile program and its sponsorship of terror group proxies. Iran insists it will only negotiate on its nuclear program.
• Witkoff is a concerning choice to lead negotiations. His efforts to convince Russia to end its war on Ukraine have yet to bear fruit. When negotiating between Israel and Hamas, Witkoff admitted that Hamas “duped” him in talks. Mohsen Sazegara, a founding member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, bluntly told the Telegraph: “If Iran wants to sit around a table, especially if Witkoff is at the other end of the table, it sounds like they can easily trick him. The Russians did.”

President Trump is known for his unpredictability and may yet take forceful action. “If Trump attacks Iran,” analyst Melanie Phillips wrote for Jewish News Syndicate, “we’ll finally know that he realizes that deal-making among nations has its limits.” But she noted that “the fact that he keeps being persuaded to continue with these talks, however reluctantly, has created fears that he’s being played by the world’s supreme masters of tactical concessions, delay and manipulation.”

In the May-June 2025 Trumpet, executive editor Stephen Flurry said President Trump’s peace negotiations have a “fatal flaw.” That flaw is seen in Witkoff’s negotiation style, which assumes the best about the world’s worst actors. Iran has a history of manipulating the U.S. in negotiations. The fact that President Trump continues to let Iran “play its usual game” is a concerning sign.