When he’s not threatening Iran with “obliteration,” Donald Trump has, of late, noted his preference for negotiations over war. He’s reportedly asked his advisers, including hawkish Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and ultra-hawkish National Security Advisor John Bolton, to “tone down” their rhetoric on Iran. His Iran envoy, Brian Hooks, has told Congress that the goal of the administration’s “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign is negotiations, not conflict.

Trump has gone so far as to say he’ll be Iran’s “best friend” — with one caveat: the Iranians give up any efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. “We’re not going to have Iran have a nuclear weapon,” he told reporters last weekend. “When they agree to that, they’re going to have a wealthy country. They’re going to be so happy, and I’m going to be their best friend. I hope that happens.”

So let’s take Trump at his word. Maybe he is interested in cutting a deal. Let’s further acknowledge that the administration might not be comfortable relying on Iran’s word (Tehran has insisted that it “will never pursue a nuclear weapon ”) or even on the word of US intelligence (which in a 2007 report concluded that Iran stopped what nuclear weapons work it was doing in 2003). What kind of agreement would it then be looking to negotiate with Tehran?