Washington is divided over Iran. In 2018, President Donald Trump formally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration and swiftly reimposed sanctions. This “maximum pressure” campaign has not let up; a U.S. airstrike killed the Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani earlier this year, and the Trump administration is now considering additional sanctions on Iran’s financial sector. Joe Biden, meanwhile, has expressed his support for reentering a deal with Tehran.

What are the objectives of U.S. Iran policy? Would it even be possible to reach a new agreement if Biden were to win the presidency?

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo outlines Trump’s approach to confrontation and negotiation with Iran—an approach that Kian Tajbakhsh argues is better suited to realities on the ground than it first appears.

Mara Karlin and Tamara Cofman Wittes contend that the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the need for a new U.S. policy toward Iran and the Middle East as a whole. Puneet Talwar warns that obstinacy and misunderstanding are putting the two countries on a collision course—and Hadi Kahalzadeh points out that sanctions are more devastating amid a global health crisis. Finally, Sanam Vakil assesses the viability of a grand bargain, and Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon consider whether the United States and Iran can break their 40-year cycle of irrational hostility.

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