The question should be answered by insiders of the administration. But may I present some wild ideas?
-The Sunnis are now al-Qaeda and ISIS. Both are very dangerous. Are they more so than the Shiites?
-Turkey has become the great sponsor of ISIS, while it has become less reliable under Erdogan. Is there a need to hedge Ankara vs. Tehran by playing a balance of power game?
-The Washington pundits (say they’ve) managed to find the method in Iran’s madness. Since Freud, we know that madness is not absence of logic but the perversion of it — which with patience could be unraveled. Angelo and Norman have said something along these lines in previous posts.
-Iran is an important stepping stone for the Chinese New Silk Road. So as Beijing talks to Burmese Aung San Suu Kyi, so Washington talks to the Ayatollahs …
-(Is this part of) the old adage: Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer?