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Trump hits the stalemate phase of his international interventions, and it stings
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Iranians sense US President Donald Trump’s deep reluctance to restart combat operations deeply unpopular in the US, and most Iran experts say they expect Tehran to try to stretch the negotiations for months or years.
PHOTO: DOUG MILLS/NYTIMES
David E. Sanger
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump likes his military and diplomatic victories quick, clean and decisive.
On his desk in the Oval Office, he keeps models of the B-2 bombers that took out three Iranian nuclear sites in one night, not quite a year ago. In the opening weeks of the Iran conflict in 2026, he talked often about replicating his success in Venezuela – “The perfect scenario,” he said – shorthand for overthrowing a troublesome leader with one quick commando raid and replacing him with a pliant, American-friendly successor.
