In their game of chicken, Trump and Iran tap the brakes at last

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/03/23/trump-iran-war-negotiations-hormuz/

But a pause is not a peace, and the real victims are still waiting.

When bargaining about war and peace, the strategist Thomas Schelling wrote, you’re more likely to win concessions “if you get a reputation for being reckless, demanding, or unreliable.”

This game of chicken paused Monday morning, just hours before the expiration of Trump’s ultimatum to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants unless it agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump made a surprise announcement that he’d had “very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.” He said he would delay the power plant strikes for five days.

Trump has made similar claims about negotiating breakthroughs before, only to reverse course and attack. He did that in late February, on the eve of this war, and back in June 2025 before the 12-day conflict. But an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed that messages had been received through “friendly countries” seeking negotiations to end the war

That’s the problem with Trump’s way of war: You can’t bluff your way to a decisive victory. After Iran closed the strait, it became increasingly clear that Tehran had a potentially ruinous squeeze on the global economy. Trump has a high risk tolerance, until he reaches an unacceptable pain threshold.