Whatever be the reasons for Donald Trump’s U turns- Iran’s deft, resolute, and fierce resistance, the threat by Iran of choking the Strait of Hormuz that would have upended and presented a clear and present danger to the US president’s MAGA agenda, and so on- it appears that Trump has pulled out the proverbial rabbit out of the hat.

Having followed Trump’s trajectory since a while, and probed into his style and politics, the 47th president of the US surprised me too. But, for all intents and purposes Donald Trump is a canny fox who by letting and allowing himself to be ‘played ‘actually played everyone.

Trump appears to have understood the risks of his ‘great gamble’ – the upending of norms- constitutional, international, diplomatic etc- but with a few tweets and presumably behind the scenes cajoling and arm twisting, in terms best described by the Chinese philosopher Chuang Tse, ‘created something out of nothing’ – a ceasefire between the warring parties.

This conclusion, given that I am not privy to behind the scenes manoeuvrings can only be speculative. But given the denouement of the war, it seems to carry weight. This inferential conclusion can perhaps best be gleaned from the sequence of events and Trump’s interventions at pivotal moments.

At the outset of the war, when Israel attacked Iran, Trump encouraged the fighting saying the two sides must fight it out’. The statement, prima facie, given the motivated notion floated by some that Iran would fold and collapse at the slightest projection and use of force by Israel and quasi decapitation of its power structure was seen favoring Israel. The follow up tweets that threatened the elderly Ayatollah........

© Kashmir Observer