In a sense, the administration’s threats of an arms embargo, and its recent diplomatic blitz aimed at achieving a ceasefire deal, are part of a long line of hapless American initiatives to bring peace to Israelis and Palestinians, many of which have had bloodstained consequences. The British journal Fathom, in the first of a series of conversations with people involved in these efforts, speaks with Elliott Abrams, who played a role in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority during the George W. Bush administration. Abrams describes how disconnected these negotiations often were from reality, and the folly of pushing for a two-state solution in the near future. (Interview by Alan Johnson and Calev Ben-Dor. Video, 50 minutes. Audio-only format and a transcript are available at the link below.)

Yesterday, the Iranian foreign minister flew to Geneva to meet with European diplomats. President Trump, meanwhile, indicated that cease-fire negotiations might soon begin with Iran, which would presumably involve Tehran agreeing to make concessions regarding its nuclear program, while Washington pressures Israel to halt its military activities. According to Israeli media, Iran already began putting out feelers to the U.S. earlier this week. Aviram Bellaishe considers the purpose of these overtures:

The regime’s request to return to negotiations stems from the principle of deception and delay that has guided it for decades. Iran wants to extricate itself from a situation of total destruction of its nuclear facilities. It understands that to save the nuclear program, it must stop at a point that would allow it to return to it in the shortest possible time. So long as the negotiation process leads to halting strikes on its military capabilities and preventing the destruction of the nuclear program, and enables the transfer of enriched uranium to a safe location, it can simultaneously create the two tracks in which it specializes—a false facade of negotiations alongside a hidden nuclear race.