Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said renewed US airstrikes on Iran appear driven by retaliation rather than a clear strategy. In an interview with Al Jazeera cited in a report published on July 30, he said the strikes do not appear to be bringing Tehran back to the negotiating table. Parsi described restarting the war in Iran as a major mistake.

Parsi questioned what Trump ultimately seeks to achieve through the airstrikes, saying no purpose beyond retaliation is currently apparent. He said Trump’s military options are extremely weak and expressed surprise that the conflict was renewed without developing better alternatives. After 13 consecutive days of bombing, Parsi said, it has become apparent that there was no strong strategy behind the campaign.

According to Parsi, Iran’s own retaliatory response or escalation is a calculated strategy aimed at protecting itself. He said Iranians have concluded, whether rightly or wrongly, that Trump will not be serious about diplomacy until he fully recognizes that he has no military option. Parsi said the path to peace is therefore not proceeding directly through negotiations, but through removing the idea of a military option from Trump’s thinking.