Al Jazeera English This is America: How US diplomacy with Iran collapsed days before strikes began

In this episode of This is America, hosted by Anna Burns-Francis, Al Jazeera examines whether the US war with Iran was avoidable, tracing the collapse of diplomatic talks just days before the first strikes on February 28.
White House correspondent Kimberly Halkett reported that President Trump’s pivot from a 10-day negotiation window to open calls for regime change marked the moment diplomacy “failed.”
State Department correspondent Manuel Rapalo noted that while US officials described early talks as “positive,” the negotiating team—led by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner—lacked technical nuclear expertise, setting the process up to fail.
Oman’s foreign minister, who mediated the back-channel discussions, expressed dismay, saying a deal was “within reach” before the US abandoned talks.
The programme featured former Pentagon official David Des Roches and former senior US diplomat Alan Eyre.
Des Roches argued that Iran confined talks to the nuclear issue while Trump’s aim was broader regime change, making compromise impossible.
Eyre countered that diplomacy was never given a “fair chance” by either side, noting the US lacked technical expertise and Iran refused direct talks.
Both agreed that Iran is now more militaristic under new hardline leadership, and that any future diplomacy would face even greater obstacles.
Media coverage reflected the divide: Fox News cited envoy Steve Witkoff claiming the US “bent over backwards” for Iran, while CBS played Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi insisting Tehran offered major concessions.
The New York Times called the war “the ultimate war of choice,” and Tucker Carlson’s interview with former intelligence official Joe Kent—who resigned in protest—revealed claims that war planning was a “foregone conclusion.”
As Trump returns to diplomacy with a five-day pause, the question of whether war could have been avoided—and whether it can now be ended—remains unresolved.

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