Trump Cancels Iran Strikes, Claims Peace Deal Near

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

President Trump has canceled planned strikes in Iran, claiming, once again, that a peace deal is near.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It should get done over the next few days. Probably have a signing maybe in Europe.

KELLY: This latest pronouncement comes hours after Trump threatened the key Iranian site of Kharg Island in a bellicose social media post. And this is just the latest salvo in a series of whiplash proclamations when it comes to the U.S.-Israel-led war in Iran, a war that has hamstrung global economies and caused inflation to rise to its highest level in years. NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson is here to discuss. Hey, Mara.

MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Hi there.

KELLY: Forgive my skepticism here, but have we not heard this before?

LIASSON: Yes, we have. For months, since the war began at the end of February, President Trump has constantly been saying both that a peace agreement was at hand or, alternatively, he's about to bomb Iran so hard their civilization will be wiped out and never be restored.

KELLY: Yeah.

LIASSON: It just keeps on going like Groundhog Day. He's literally promised that a deal is near dozens of times. In recent days, he preemptively announced strikes from the U.S. - a new escalation after Iran downed an Apache helicopter earlier this week. The two troops were rescued, and they were unharmed. Then he posted on Truth Social that the U.S. would, quote, "at some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island and other oil infrastructure points." Then hours after that, he was on Fox News saying this about a potential military operation on Kharg Island which would require ground troops.

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TRUMP: I don't know that America has the stomach for it, to be honest with you, you know, to make a fortune. But I don't know that America has the stomach. I think they'd like to see us come home.

LIASSON: So that's just the latest example, even before he announced that a deal is in hand, promising that, quote, "time and place of the signing to be announced shortly."

KELLY: So he says this, and then he says that, and then he says this. I'm just going to ask the quiet thing out loud. If the president keeps contradicting himself, why are we talking about it?

LIASSON: Because he is the president of the United States, the leader of the most powerful country on the planet - but you raise an important question. What does it mean that this powerful person acts this way, doesn't seem to have a clear plan or strategy? Even if the strategy is meant to be disorienting four-dimensional chess, so far, it has not yielded a deal. And it matters because even as he keeps on saying things that don't turn out to be correct, all of our enemies, all of the U.S. enemies, all of the United States' allies are wondering how much credibility the U.S. still has.

KELLY: I mean, it leaves me wondering, Mara, whether part of this back-and-forth between extremes may reveal how frustrated the president is that he can't just end this war, can't just move on from it, and all the headaches it has brought, things like high gas prices that are hurting him politically.

LIASSON: Absolutely. He's in a box of his own making. He wants the war to end. It is hurting him and his party politically, but the only way out is to do things he promised not to do and attacked President Obama for doing, like providing funds to Iran. And for their part, the Iranians also are looking for a face-saving off-ramp, something they can get in return for opening the Strait of Hormuz. So neither side can figure out the solution to this - a face-saving plan for the U.S. and Iran. Meanwhile, we get this Trump dance - threats one day and backing off the next day.

KELLY: NPR's Mara Liasson - thanks, Mara.

LIASSON: You're welcome.

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