Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Robert Malley—a lead negotiator for Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal with Iran—and Robert Wright discuss what kind of deal between Trump and Iran is conceivable and what kinds of leverage both sides have.
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Exclusive Overtime discussion: nonzero.org/p/can-trump-and-iran-make-a-deal-robert
Join NonZero's Discord server: discord.com/invite/Zy4jAhTQMF
0:00 Rob’s role in the Obama nuclear deal
1:43 A deal that could work for both Trump and Iran
12:10 Iran’s security “guarantee” problem
19:38 Bob: If I were Iran, I would say…
24:36 What Obama’s negotiators had that Trump’s don’t
29:26 How unified is the Iranian side?
37:44 Is Iran’s Hormuz leverage running dry?
41:04 Heading to Overtime
Discussed in Overtime:
Trump’s three ways to end the war.
The pros and cons of Trump’s psychology.
Bibi’s true war aims.
Can the new “Quartet” play peacemaker?
America’s counter-blockade as cognitive empathy lesson.
What “poisoned chalices” can—and can’t—Iran accept?
Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Robert Malley (Yale - Jackson School of Global Affairs, Tomorrow is Yesterday). Recorded April 21, 2026.
Twitter: twitter.com/NonzeroPods
Robert Malley—a lead negotiator for Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal with Iran—and Robert Wright discuss what kind of deal between Trump and Iran is conceivable and what kinds of leverage both sides have.
Subscribe to The NonZero Newsletter at: nonzero.org/subscribe
Exclusive Overtime discussion: nonzero.org/p/can-trump-and-iran-make-a-deal-robert
Join NonZero's Discord server: discord.com/invite/Zy4jAhTQMF
0:00 Rob’s role in the Obama nuclear deal
1:43 A deal that could work for both Trump and Iran
12:10 Iran’s security “guarantee” problem
19:38 Bob: If I were Iran, I would say…
24:36 What Obama’s negotiators had that Trump’s don’t
29:26 How unified is the Iranian side?
37:44 Is Iran’s Hormuz leverage running dry?
41:04 Heading to Overtime
Discussed in Overtime:
Trump’s three ways to end the war.
The pros and cons of Trump’s psychology.
Bibi’s true war aims.
Can the new “Quartet” play peacemaker?
America’s counter-blockade as cognitive empathy lesson.
What “poisoned chalices” can—and can’t—Iran accept?
Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Robert Malley (Yale - Jackson School of Global Affairs, Tomorrow is Yesterday). Recorded April 21, 2026.
Twitter: twitter.com/NonzeroPods
