Can the U.S. find the strategic patience needed to end war with Iran?
6/21/202611 min
High-stakes negotiations at the Lake Lucerne summit in Switzerland between the U.S. and Iran have been strained from the start. Former Ambassador Ryan Crocker says Iran is settling in for the long haul, so the U.S. needs “strategic patience” if it wants long-term stability in the Middle East.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsPien Huang· Host0:00
It's Consider This, where every day we go deep on one big news story. Vice President JD Vance went to Switzerland to hold talks with Iran at a mountainside resort. They're trying to move forward the interim agreement to end the war.
J.D. Vance· Soundbite0:13
The question before us now is how much more can we accomplish together? Can we turn over a new leaf? Can we change relations in the Middle East permanently?
Pien Huang· Host0:21
The high-stakes negotiations were strained from the start, despite what seemed like momentum last week.
Donald Trump· Soundbite0:27
We have, uh, an agreement that was signed last night, and it's, uh, 60 days. They have to make a deal, otherwise we, we will do things that won't make them happy.
Pien Huang· Host0:37
President Trump had signed a memorandum of understanding after the G7 Summit in France, and soon after, Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a limited ceasefire that could keep Iran at the negotiating table. But the fighting in Lebanon resumed over the weekend. The Iranian military said it was closing the Strait of Hormuz in response, though US Central Command has disputed that it's closed. Consider this, Vice President Vance warned that he could only stay in Switzerland for, quote, "A day or two," but the US and Iran remain very far apart. Former Ambassador Ryan Crocker told me that Iran is settling in for the long haul, so the US needs strategic patience if it wants long-term stability in the Middle East. [gentle music] From