'Trump's high-stakes political theatre: US winning conventional war, Iran winning asymmetrical war'

AFP / France 24
by FRANCE24
April 22, 2026
3 min read

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An expert suggests President Trump uses "theatrical instability" to coerce Iran, but this approach has diminishing returns.

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Dr. William Lawrence, Senior Academic and Research Fellow-in-Residence and Director of the North African Area Studies Program at the National Council on US-Arab Relations, views current US actions as a deliberate embrace of chaos and unpredictability. Dr. Lawrence, a former US diplomat, suggests President Trump uses hyperbolic and chaotic tactics to coerce Iran to the negotiating table. However, he explains that this "theatrical instability" as a modus operandi carries diminishing returns. The headline frames this dynamic as the US winning a conventional war while Iran wins an asymmetrical one. Iranians are reportedly responding to Trump's approach with mockery and bravado.

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