Obama-Rouhani phone call

Regarding President Obama's phone call with President Rouhani, please also peruse my recent posts on Iran (as provided below). 

I'm concerned.

I'm worried that this call will reinforce Iranian perceptions of the US as weak - and that those perceptions will drive a negative Iranian negotiating strategy. 

Let's be clear; on paper, a phone call makes sense - it offers a reinforcement of trust and it broadcasts a mutual willingness to move beyond previous hostilities. As I said, good on paper. Unfortunately however, flowing alongside the ongoing US debacle over Syria, I fear that the message of this call will be heard differently in Tehran and Washington. That the theocrats will increasingly believe that the US lacks the willpower to prevent their nuclear ascendancy.

If the Iranians believe that the US is buffing over the threat of military force, they'll call that bluff.

2 Presidents and 3 diplomatic delusions regarding Iran (Blog)

4 Takeaways from the Filkins study of Qassem Suleimani (Blog)

Is the US-Russia deal on Syria the right move? (The Guardian)

Iran, the US and the UN - A skeptical take (Blog) 

Iran plans retaliation if US strikes Assad (Blog)

President Rouhani and the continuing risk of conflict (Blog)

The geo-strategic impact of Iran attaining a nuclear weapons capability (The Commentator)

How domestic politics influences Iranian, US and Israeli foreign policy (Blog)

How Iran will use brinkmanship to protect its nuclear program (The Guardian)

Israel could attack Iran without causing a major war in the region (The Guardian)

Iran and Diplomacy (Blog)

Strategic interplay in the Near/Middle East (The Daily Caller)

Netanyahu at the UN (Blog)

Netanyahu's strategy on Iran (The Daily Caller)

Iran plots against US and How US should have responded (Blog)