Hassan Rouhani

Iran’s military denied on Monday being behind attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week. But experts suggest that if Iran were involved, it would represent a calibrated yet risky pushback to the US.

Diplomacy is often awkward, stymied by translators, late nights and unsecured yurt communication (yes, that really happened). But diplomacy can also stop a war, as years of secret and not-so-secret negotiations between the US and Iran proved when the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was reached in 2015.

Iran announced on Wednesday it was scaling back curbs to its nuclear program, announcing steps that stop short of violating its 2015 deal with world powers for now.

Reformists have made some progress towards easing economic hardship, loosening social control, and initiating a temporary easing of tensions with the outside community. But the parlous nature of the political structure empowers the theocrats to manipulate the system and stymie any reform effort that promises a path to democratization.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday morning. At this address last year, he labeled North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “rocket man.”