Trita Passy, executive vice president and co-founder of the Quincy Institute, said Trump's rejection of Iran's latest peace proposal shows that the US president underestimated the leverage Tehran possesses.
Passy stated, "Trump is unwilling to lift the blockade on Iran because he believes the blockade will eventually force Iran to submit. He underestimates Iran's ability to escalate the situation, and therefore prefers to continue pressuring Iran until it surrenders rather than reaching a deal." Passy indicated that concerns about the upcoming US congressional elections in November are a significant driving force behind the current US strategy. He said, "The White House doesn't believe that a deal with Iran will be quick enough to lower oil prices and thus have a positive impact on the midterm elections. Instead, they believe it will only give Iran the opportunity to raise funds and prolong the time needed for its eventual submission. In my view, this is a serious miscalculation."
