Israel's assault on Iran was discussed with Washington before it was launched. "There were no surprises here," said Fox News anchor Brett Bair after an interview with US President Donald Trump last Friday.

The US government has made clear that it was not actively involved in the attack, though questions arose on whether this would remain so when the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was rerouted from the South China Sea to the Middle East. And on Tuesday, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social that the US knew the exact location of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

"He is an easy target, but is safe there," Trump wrote. "We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now."

On the campaign trail ahead of the 2024 US presidential election, Trump never tired of repeating that he had no desire to allow the US to get caught up in global military conflicts. In his January 2025 inaugural address, Trump called himself a "peacemaker," pledging to use the might of the US to "stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity" to the world. Speaking in Saudi Arabia in May, he announced the dawn of a new era of peace in the Middle East.

Not much remains of this peaceful attitude in the wake of Israel's full-on assault on Iran. On Monday night, Trump wrote on Truth Social........

© Deutsche Welle