A telephone call served to ensure that the White House was the one making the decision, but another decision, this one coming from Israel, changed everything and put the situation at a new peak of tension.
The president of the United States ended the weekend with a position of strength that quickly ricocheted. In an interview with , Donald Trump assured that he was the one who decided when, how and who to shoot in the Middle East, leaving Israel in an apparent weak position.
When Donald Trump spoke there was already confirmation that Iran had launched a direct attack against Israel, something that had not happened for more than two months, and that it was motivated by the continuation of Israeli operations in Lebanon. An operation that would have only been preventive, with all projectiles intercepted, even though some debris has already fallen in Israel, as seen in the cover photo of this article.
But the American president spoke and believed that everything had been said. “It won’t have any impact on the negotiations. I’m the one who makes the decisions, I’m the one who makes all the decisions. It’s not him [Benjamin Netanyahu] who makes the decisions”, Donald Trump told the British newspaper, guaranteeing that the Israeli Prime Minister was forced to accept an agreement, as he had “no other choice”.
The problem for Donald Trump, who seems more than ever willing to get out of the war without new confrontations, is that Benjamin Netanyahu understood things differently, so the early hours of the morning in Iran were filled with explosions in cities like Tehran, Tabriz or Isfahan.
In practice, the bombings returned to the center of Iran, in what is a clear escalation of the situation, leaving the Middle East facing an imminent return to total war, with no understanding of how the White House will react to this apparent disobedience by Israel, which has not attacked Iranian soil since April.
The Iranian agency IRNA confirmed “two strong explosions” in the capital, with another three being recorded in Isfahan, in addition to reports of explosions in Tabriz being confirmed, according to IRIB television.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ended up confirming the carrying out of attacks against “military targets” in western and central Iran, as the war in Lebanon also continues in force, which will have triggered the operation launched from Tehran, which has already said that any agreement requires the total withdrawal of Israel from that country.
Trump caught by surprise
Israel’s action against Iran will always come as a surprise to the White House, especially because Donald Trump had promised significant developments in the peace negotiations this week.
Furthermore, the conviction of the North American administration was the same, so much so that the portal, by the always well-informed journalist Barak Ravid, reported minutes before Israel’s attack on Iran that Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed not to attack.
The news refers to a “pseudo-agreement”, which ended up being confirmed, as the position that was conveyed to Donald Trump left the White House imagining that “the president [norte-americano] bought a little time,” as Axios writes.
“[Donald Trump] is quite convinced that we are close to a deal with Iran. I don’t think there is anything imminent in terms of an Israeli attack,” said a US official, who spoke at a “crucial moment” and admitted that an Israeli operation against Iran at this time could put everything at risk.
They will let you know
Even before seeing Israel respond, perhaps equally convinced that Tel Aviv was going to follow Washington’s instructions, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps indicated that the Israeli solo attack was merely a warning.
Tehran stressed that it kept its promise to the Lebanese people, having sent what it understood to be a strong message against the enemy, who shortly afterwards retaliated.
