President Trump must ‘give up something’ for Iran deal: CNN's Fareed Zakaria

Senior American journalist and renowned author Fareed Zakaria has said that United States President Donald Trump would need to “give up something” to secure a deal with Iran to end the conflict. The US and Israel began the war on February 28 with aerial bombardments of Iran, and one of the first strikes in Iran killed over 170 people, many of whom were children. The conflict quickly spread to Gulf states that host US military bases and to Lebanon after Hezbollah launched retaliatory strikes against the Israeli attacks on its territory. Pakistan has since played a key role in mediation efforts to cease hostilities and secure a permanent peace deal. In an interview on Express 24/7 programme 'Full Frame' with host Fahd Husain, Zakaria said President Trump would want a deal that placed him in a stronger position than former US president Barack Obama. “He cannot accept that he went through all this high drama, pulling out of the nuclear deal, bombing the nuclear programme, bombing Iran essentially going to war with Iran and all he ends up with is what Obama was able to get through negotiations,” he said, adding that Trump would try to frame any outcome as an improvement over the Iran nuclear deal. “It’s clear now Donald Trump got into something that is more complicated than he imagined …. But cannot get to the outcome he wants, which is an Iranian surrender.” He noted that the US president would have to make concessions, such as easing sanctions or restoring some level of diplomatic engagement. Zakaria added that Trump’s approach to negotiations, including his dealings with China, showed a degree of pragmatism. Zakaria said the US president would ultimately have to accept that he must also “give up something”, such as sanctions relief for Iran or some level of diplomatic re-engagement. He said Trump could be capable of doing so, citing his negotiations with China as an example where he acted more practically. He described recent developments and the announcement of talks as a hopeful sign, saying it appeared that both sides wanted a deal. “So, both sides in a sense, need a deal but they are finding it very hard to get to guess,” he said, adding that there was deep distrust between US and Iranian negotiators, with both sides having legitimate reasons to be distrustful. Describing recent US and Israeli strikes as the "most devastating blow" to Iran’s military, nuclear programme, and basic command-and-control system since 1979, he said the country’s economy was also in extremely bad shape, with rising public discontent. Zakaria, who also hosts CNN’s 'Fareed Zakaria GPS', praised Pakistan’s mediation efforts. “Quite frankly, Pakistan’s mediation has been very positive and very helpful because you need some facilitator when you have this much accumulated distrust.” He also warned that miscalculations could derail the process and push the situation back towards violence. Calling the confrontation with Iran a turning point, he said the US was not basing its military action on any sense of upholding an international order or rules-based system. He added that the approach reflected sentiments among parts of the US public that the country had borne the burdens of upholding global order for too long and should instead act in a more self-interested, short-term and transactional manner. “One thing to remember with Trump is that he is right now the most unpopular president in American history, more unpopular than Richard Nixon was when he resigned after Watergate,” he said, adding that Trump still retained substantial support from around 35% of the population who strongly believe in his approach. Turning to Pakistan’s role, Zakaria again praised its mediation efforts, while stressing the importance of domestic development. He said Pakistan needed to improve the lives of its people to ensure a sustainable path to growth, calling it the most important source of strength. “The real path to sustain power and influence on the world stage is economic growth and technological progress. You have to have the weight on the world stage to have the voice,” he concluded.