President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he doesn't want war with Iran, which would likely put him at odds with his more bellicose advisers like John Bolton.
That being said, the president clearly believes he can bully Iran into unconditional submission to whatever the United States demands. And Iran is having none of it, escalating its own acts of maritime aggression and proclaiming they have missile technology capable of striking U.S. aircraft carriers.
On CNN Tuesday, correspondent Fred Pleitgen broke down the two key things Trump is hoping to accomplish in his standoff with Iran — and how he is accomplishing neither of them.
"The Iranians clearly don't believe that pressure campaign is working," said Pleitgen. "Hassan Rouhani, the country's president, today went to an event and said that — first of all, Iran doesn't want escalation with the U.S. But told the people that one of the things they need to be aware of is the Iranians are dealing with people in Washington who really are very inexperienced. A clear swipe at the Trump Administration."
"And if you look at this maximum pressure campaign, there is essentially two things that President Trump said it would achieve very quickly," said Pleitgen. "He said the Iranians would come back to the negotiating table, and they would be weakened militarily in the Middle Eastern region. Well, the Iranians just last week, in the form of the Supreme Leader, rejected talks two the Trump administration, and their military, clearly from the posture, is as strong as it was at any time before.
Watch below: