THREAD Trump embraced traditional, long standing US foreign policy objectives regarding Iran, but adopted a radically different strategy for seeking to achieving them. Judge the success of the strategy based on outcomes, not aspirations. 1/
"Compared to three years ago: we have no nuclear agreement with Iran, let alone a more comprehensive one; 2/
we have enabled greater Iranian influence in the region, especially in Syria and Iraq, not less;" 3/
"and we have seen the Islamic Republic’s theocratic order become more repressive and entrenched, not more open or democratic." 4/
Maybe it's too early to judge results; maybe Trump's latest actions will accelerate our ability to achieve our goals. If so, I'll give thanks to the Trump administration. But so far, we are further away, not closer, from obtaining our core objectives. 5/
For details see "The Minimal Value of Trump’s ‘Maximum Pressure’ on Iran" nybooks.com/daily/2020/01/… via @nybooks 6/ END THREAD
