On: Intemperate Trump brings chaos and confusion to Iran talks

Oh, to wake to such tidings! One can scarce credit the persistent disarray that attends Mr. Trump’s every pronouncement. It seems the man delights in a perpetual state of agitation, mistaking, one presumes, mere noise for consequence. To sow such confusion in matters of state, particularly concerning nations as volatile as Persia, is not merely ill-mannered, but profoundly dangerous. One shudders to think of the delicate threads of diplomacy, so painstakingly spun by sensible men, torn asunder by a single, intemperate tweet or a sudden, ill-considered declaration.

And to what end? To leave Tehran, of all places, with a clearer understanding of its own strategic advantages! It is as if a hostess, in her zeal to assert authority, merely highlights the superior position of her most troublesome guest. One can only hope that cooler heads, if any still reside in those lofty halls, might yet prevail and salvage some semblance of order from this bewildering chaos. One truly longs for the days when a gentleman’s word, once given, carried some weight, and when foreign policy was conducted with a degree of decorum, rather than resembling a particularly ill-tempered parlour game. The very thought of it quite puts one off one’s morning tea.