As President Trump lays out his foreign policy ambitions for 2025, one message stands out: he believes he can quickly broker sweeping deals where Joe Biden supposedly failed. Whether ending the war in Ukraine "in 24 hours" or striking a new nuclear agreement with Iran, Trump promises rapid breakthroughs through “tough” but “smart” deal-making.

But behind the scenes, Vladimir Putin and Iranian leaders are deliberately encouraging this belief — not in order to enable peace, but to entangle Trump in a diplomatic web advancing their own goals.

Both Moscow and Tehran are stringing Trump along, offering illusions of negotiation without intent to concede. Worse, they are coordinating this strategy to maximize leverage — using Trump’s eagerness for quick wins to box the U.S. into disadvantageous positions.

On Ukraine, Putin's hints at willingness to negotiate are tactical feints. Russia’s objectives — subjugating Ukraine, neutralizing NATO’s eastern flank and cementing its territorial gains — remain unchanged. Putin’s signals about potential “peace talks” are calculated to lure Trump into thinking a simple handshake could end the war. In reality, any ceasefire Russia entertains would........

© The Hill