Donald Trump says he is negotiating with Iran – but won’t say who with – while, at the same time, thousands of US marines are arriving in the Middle East.
Iran says reports of negotiations with the US president are “fake news” and it has placed mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
On today’s Daily T podcast, Camilla Tominey and Tim Stanley attempt to get inside the mind of Mr Trump and ask whether he truly is negotiating with Iran with the aim of pulling off an extraordinary feat of international statecraft, or is buying time to prepare for a ground invasion.
They also speak to Greg Swenson, the chairman of Republicans Overseas, who says the president does have a plan and does not want to telegraph his every move.