It is unclear whether the senator will meet with Zarif. He and his office declined multiple requests for comment. But the president’s willingness to tap Paul as the go-between with a top Iranian official is a demonstration both of his unorthodox approach to foreign affairs and his continuing desire, even as his aides threaten to squeeze Iran until it capitulates to U.S. demands, to entice the Islamic Republic’s leaders to the negotiating table.
. . .
The move smacks of desperation, said Mark Dubowitz, head of the hawkish Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which has pushed for a hard line on Iran.
"It’s a fine idea to make it clear you’re interested in negotiating and a diplomatic path, but you have to be selective and circumspect," Dubowitz said. "Right now, Trump has tapped everybody and their mother to be an emissary."
"The one thing that these guys don’t understand is the more desperate they look for a deal the more the Iranian regime will play hard to get," he added. "Then when it comes to the table it will be even more inflexible in its negotiating position. And the final result will end up looking like Obama 2.0."
When told that the president had blessed an outsider to reach out to Zarif, a Trump administration official familiar with Iran issues laughed and quipped: "He's given up on all of us!"
Iranian officials did not reply to requests for comment.
The British government said it is urgently seeking further information after a British tanker was seen to have suddenly veered off course and headed into Iranian waters, raising fears that it has been captured by the Iranian navy.
The Stena Impero, which was heading for Saudi Arabia, abruptly left the international sea lanes through the Strait of Hormuz and tracking data showed it heading north towards the Iranian island of Qeshm, where the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has a substantial base.
The British government said it was “assessing the situation following reports of an incident in the Gulf.”
The relatively modern 30,000 tonne boat is owned by Stena Bulk. The Ministry of Defence stressed it had ships in the area but could not provide any further details of what had happened.
The incident came on a day when the authorities in Gibraltar announced they were extending the detention of an Iranian tanker, the Grace 1, seized by Britain’s Royal Marines, on suspicion of shipping oil to Syria, in violation of an EU embargo. Iran has denounced the seizure of as an act of “piracy’.
Trump facilitated this by pulling out of the nuclear accord and imposing sanctions on Iran
Iran is backed into a corner trying to sneak oil around the world because of his embargo.
Britain is just doing its little lap dog routine to keep both the EU and the US happy.
"He's given up on all of us!" 
