Fighting continued in the Middle East Monday, a little over a week after the U.S. hit Iran with airstrikes targeted at the nation’s nuclear facilities. As the future of the region hangs in the balance, U.S. President Donald Trump slammed a nuclear deal with Iran brokered during former President Barack Obama’s tenure.
“Tell phony Democrat Senator Chris Coons that I am not offering Iran ANYTHING, unlike Obama, who paid them $Billions under the stupid ‘road to a Nuclear Weapon JCPOA (which would now be expired!), nor am I even talking to them since we totally OBLITERATED their Nuclear Facilities,’” said Trump in a Monday Truth Social post.
He was referring to Coons of Delaware, who mentioned CNN’s reporting on a potential Iranian nuclear deal with Fox News, per The New Republic. The Hill noted that Trump has denounced reports that his administration is considering a $30 billion deal with Iran that would allow for the development of civilian nuclear facilities. That outlet also said the plan was hashed out in secret by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and partners in the Gulf and presented a day before the U.S. strikes on the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday that Witkoff has been in communication “both directly and indirectly with the Iranians,” per an ABC News report. While Trump continues to call the U.S. attack on Iran an “obliteration” of its nuclear capabilities, USA Today reported this week that the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog chief said Iran’s nuclear program was not totally damaged and could by up and running within months. Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have downplayed the damage.
As for the the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA, that deal that Trump mentioned in his post, was hammered out by the U.S., China and Russia in the 2010s. Speaking on it with Audacy this May, Bruce Jentleson – a professor of public policy and political science at Duke University who has previously worked in the State Department and on the Middle East peace process – said it wasn’t perfect but that it was working fairly well by the time Trump pulled out of it during his first term in 2015. He also said it probably would not be as easy for those couturies to come to an agreement today.
Over the past decade, Iran had moved closer to developing nuclear weapons and had stockpiled substantial supplies of uranium for the purpose of nuclear energy, Jentleson said. As of this May, he estimated that the country could have a nuclear weapon within the next two years.
While Trump hinted at an intention to enter into a nuclear deal with Iran earlier this year, increased tensions in the Middle East that have been ramping up since October 2023 seemed to impact his approach. Israel and Iran began exchanging direct fire this year.
Seyed Rahim Bathaei, a longtime CBS News employee in Iran, recently spoke with the outlet about the situation. He said he wasn’t surprised that Israel and Iran are clashing militarily. However, he was surprised at the U.S.’s foray into the battle – and he thinks Tehran was surprised too.
“I don’t think the Iranian leadership were ready, or believed that the U.S. might attack Iran on that level,” said Bathaei.
People in the U.S were also surprised by the attack, and many polled after the strikes were not in support of the action. Tyson polling showed that 75% of voters thought that, despite the Israel-Iran ceasefire, the conflict could escalate into a wider war and 46% thought some sort of Iranian attack on U.S. soil is now likely.
Going forward, Bathaei said he believes that Israel and the U.S. could bring down the Ayatollah’s theocratic government, though he thinks that would be a bad idea. He explained that it could leave a failed state vulnerable to harboring terrorists.
“That would be a disaster. We have already seen what happened in Libya, what happened to Syria. Iraq, actually, is a big example for us. That’s a disaster for the region,” Bathaei said. “There will be a failed state that there might be terrorism coming out of.”
There is some hope. CBS News noted that a ceasefire deal Trump brokered between Israel and Iran has held for around a week. Even so, Bathaei is concerned that the conflict is headed to “darker things.” To avoid that, he thinks both sides need to sit down and talk things out.
Al Jezeera reported this week that fighting in Gaza continues, with “Israel launching dozens of air strikes across Gaza with northern Gaza City in its crosshairs after the military issued forced evacuation threats, raising fears of an intensified ground assault.” It also reported that Israeli officials were expected to be at the White House for a meeting this week.