Failure of US-Iran talks was all too predictable — but turning to military strikes creates dangerous unknowns

Silence from the US side after a third round of indirect talks and frustration expressed by President Donald Trump set the stage for military strikes.

By: Nina Srinivasan Rathbun, University of Toronto; USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: March 1, 2026

Words: 1,350

Last Updated: 1 week, 2 days ago

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By Nina Srinivasan Rathbun, University of Toronto; USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Three rounds of nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran failed to persuade President Donald Trump that a solution to the two country’s nuclear impasse lay in diplomacy, rather than military action. A perceived lack of progress in the last of those indirect negotiations on Feb 26, 2026, was enough to prompt Trump to green-light a massive onslaught …

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