Indeed, Trump’s opposition to the Iranian nuclear deal was born out of his desire to play domestic politics, and that continues to this day.

In a more normal administration, dealing with both Iran and North Korea — as different as the situations are — would be seen as part of a general nonproliferation strategy. And as flawed as the Iran nuclear agreement may have been, parts of it could have been seen as highly functional instruments for dealing with the challenge of North Korea’s nuclear program for which the United States has no comprehensive solution.

The irony of the current situation is that despite the constraints on dealing with Iran — many imposed by Trump himself — the President still seems to hold open the possibility of engaging Iran, and one gets the sense that if the Iranians, however unlikely, reached out, Trump might respond, despite the views of his hard-line advisers.