US probity, not tricks, would convince Iran

With the first round of renewed US sanctions against Iran due to come into effect on Aug 7, Washington-Teheran ties would further deteriorate throwing the Middle East into chaos. In response to US President Donald Trump's statement on Monday saying he would "certainly meet" with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and without preconditions if Rouhani were willing, Iranian officials said on Tuesday that if Trump wants talks, he should rejoin the Iran nuclear deal that he pulled out of in May.

Trump's willingness to hold talks with Rouhani, after the war of words between the US and Iran, is a silver lining. But the question is: Will the US rejoin the Iran nuclear deal and hold back the sanctions?

To stress its strong objection to perhaps the most severe US sanctions, particularly the ban on its oil exports, Iran has turned to "brinkmanship", by threatening to prevent other Persian Gulf states from exporting oil. That Teheran has threatened to destroy the capital cities of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and Trump's earlier threat that he would make Iran "suffer consequences... which few throughout history have ever suffered" show the two sides have raised their intimidation levels to a historic high.