Forcing crisis after crisis is a tactic, one that the Trump administration deploys on fronts both foreign and domestic. But the tactic is in service of a dangerous strategy of brinkmanship. The last crisis with Iran, which centered on the downed American drone, was averted only after Mr. Trump said he had called off a military strike at the last minute.

A standoff where only the other side’s robots are shot out of the sky may be the future of warfare. But in this crisis, the risk of human bloodshed — and with it, obligatory demands for reprisal — is high.

Though no longer president, Mr. Ahmadinejad still wields considerable influence in Iran, which is why his offer of a grand bargain shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand.

Mr. Ahmadinejad, according to The Times, proposed that the rival governments should discuss a number of disputes between the two nations that have flared up since the Iranian revolution in 1979, including the role that both countries play in regional conflicts.