A few weeks ago, in a public act at the White House, with Benjamin Netanyahu at his side, surprised, Donald Trump – the man whom the prime minister and his followers are convinced they have in their pocket – announced that the United States was opening direct, high-level talks with Iran. The gap between what the U.S. president is doing…

President Donald Trump’s instinct for disruption and tendency to shoot from the hip has caused chaos, opposition and abrupt reversals. But this week, Trump reminded us that sometimes his willingness to take risks and think outside the box can shake up tired old ways. In Saudi Arabia, he surprised everyone by meeting with Syria’s new leader (a former jihadist) and…

In trying to rein in Iran’s nuclear program, the Trump administration faces a thorny dilemma. Part of it is of the president’s own making: In 2018, President Trump pulled out of the existing nuclear deal — the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — after calling it the “worst deal ever.” In the intervening years, Iran has vastly expanded its nuclear…