Donald Trump has a plan |
To the untrained eye, ceasefires in the Middle East can look a bit like war at a lower intensity. US Central Command spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins has confirmed that American forces conducted what were described as self-defence strikes in southern Iran in order to protect US personnel from Iranian threats during the ongoing ceasefire. Two Iranian vessels were also caught laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz and were subsequently destroyed. A surface-to-air missile site in Bandar Abbas that was reportedly targeting American aircraft was struck. But American officials have stressed that they do not signify the end of the ceasefire.
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Meanwhile, Mojtaba Khamenei, the Islamic Republic’s Invisible Leader (previously known as ‘Supreme Leader’) has declared that ‘regional countries will no longer serve as shields for American bases, and the US will no longer have a safe haven anywhere in the region’, adding that ‘chants of “death to America” and “death to Israel” must become prevalent among all Muslim nations. The shaky zionist regime and the cancerous tumour of Israel have also drawn near to the final stages of their ill-fated lifespan.’
Over recent days, the assumption across much of the region had been that Washington is increasingly desperate for an off-ramp. A proposed framework involving the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, phased negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, sanctions relief, and wider ceasefire arrangements created an impression that the United States was now primarily interested in stabilisation rather than coercion.
But through all this supposed indecision, what President Trump has also shown is that he is not in a massive hurry to make a deal, but nor is he in a hurry to resume full scale war. The United States has........