By dragging out talks, Tehran aims to damage the US president politically, but some fear a bruised and weakened Trump could only prolong the conflict

Tehran has set out a protracted negotiating timetable designed to keep Donald Trump embroiled in the Iran conflict until the midterm elections, in the hope of inflicting the same ruinous blow on his presidency as Jimmy Carter suffered over the 1979-81 US embassy hostage crisis.

For many inside Iran, inflicting meaningful revenge on Trump is a legitimate and self-standing war aim, reflected in the mood of those attending the funeral of the late supreme leader Ali Khamenei where demands for retribution were ubiquitous.