Iran enlisted the help of psychologists to advise its negotiating team during indirect talks with US President Donald Trump, according to a report by Drop Site, in an unusual attempt to better navigate the US leader's behavior during discussions aimed at ending the conflict between the two countries.
Citing an Iranian official familiar with the negotiations, the report said Tehran added two "senior psychologists" to its advisory circle after the first round of bilateral talks in Islamabad in April. Their role was to help Iranian negotiators assess Trump's behavior and craft messages that would be relayed to him through regional mediators as both sides exchanged proposals for a potential Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
"We added two senior psychologists to the negotiations' advisory circle so that we can shape messages intended for President Trump from the perspective of managing what we regard as psychopathic behavior pattern," the report quoted Iranian official saying. He said the psychologists began assisting Iranian negotiators following the initial round of bilateral talks in Islamabad in April as the two sides began exchanging proposed terms for a potential MoU.
According to the official, the psychologists' recommendations were incorporated into Iran's written communications and negotiating strategy. The source claimed that Trump's responses became more constructive after those changes were implemented. "[Trump's] reactions have improved noticeably since we began incorporating the recommendations of these advisers into our messages and written communications," he added.
The official also suggested that Iranian negotiators were mindful that the communications exchanged during the talks could eventually become part of the historical record. "Because the exchanged texts will ultimately become part of the historical record, we conduct our negotiations in a manner that ensures the relative weight and sophistication of each party's negotiating techniques will be evident should these communications be made public in the years ahead," the official said.
The report emerged as scrutiny of Trump's health and decision-making continues in the United States. The Washington Post recently reported that 22 medical specialists participated in Trump's latest presidential medical examination, nearly double the number involved in previous checkups and the highest number of specialists to assess a US president during a single visit.
The revelation also comes at a significant moment in US-Iran relations. On Sunday, Trump and Iranian officials announced that they had reached a preliminary agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at easing tensions and ending hostilities. The agreement is expected to be formally signed in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 19.
