OUCH: Vance Lost His Iran Talks Because He Became a Figure of Ridicule in Tehran.

“Losing gambler energy, can’t walk away from the table,” wrote Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. “Boss is prepping the next war phase while America teeters on an Israel-First cliff. Skip the TED talk. Why not say this to your boss?”

“Losing gambler energy” and “skip the TED talk” are not what you want to hear publicly from your negotiating partner. Just to remind ourselves how besotted with the Iranians Vance had become, here’s how Vance described the state of play back in June:

“One of the interesting things about what’s happened just over the last few months is that our relationship with Iran has fundamentally transformed.”

Specifically, Vance said, that means “you see people, both the hard liners but also the more political people, saying our relationship with the United States over the past 47 years has been a mistake. Let’s turn over a new leaf.”

There are no other leaves in Tehran.