In a recent interview, Pompeo admits that the administration has no interest in negotiating with the Iranian government:

QUESTION: When you talk about the leadership of Iran as well, you’re dealing with zealots, and I’ve heard those say because of that, you really don’t have the ability to negotiate in a normal fashion. Is that true?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Well, the previous administration took a swing at that by entering into a nuclear agreement, which was just destined to fail. We have not endeavored to engage with them [bold mine-DL]. It is the case that it is a revolutionary regime, not normal in that sense. And our mission set has been to empower the Iranian people. You would know this: The people of Iran are educated, they’re talented, they have a rich history. We want to restore their capacity to live their lives the way they want to.

One of the many lies that the Trump administration has told about its own Iran policy is that it is aimed at securing a “better” deal with Iran. That isn’t possible when the administration’s chief diplomat dismisses engagement with Iran as a waste of time. The administration’s goal is to force Iran to capitulate on a wide range of issues and ultimately to destabilize and topple the regime. They aren’t trying to negotiate anything with Tehran, because they wrongly believe that they can simply strangle Iran’s government into submission. Their idea of a “normal” country is one that bends the knee to the U.S. and does whatever they are told, and Iran is never going to be that kind of country. Administration officials don’t openly talk about regime change, but regime change is what they are always really talking about.

Another lie that the Trump administration keeps telling the public is that they want to “empower” the Iranian people, but everything they have done since Trump entered office has been aimed at depriving the Iranian people of opportunities, cutting them off from the outside world, and restricting their access to goods and services. First they banned Iranians from coming to the U.S. at great cost to Iranians and Iranian-Americans on spurious national security grounds, and then they reimposed sanctions that are destroying the Iranian middle class, wrecking the currency, and depriving the sick of essential medicine. The administration’s actions show that they clearly have nothing but contempt for the Iranian people, but the administration continues to promote this Orwellian propaganda that they are on the side of the people. I’m not sure why they try to maintain the charade, since it certainly isn’t fooling anyone in Iran, but the more that they strangle Iranians with cruel and pointless sanctions the more they boast about “empowering” the people they are harming.