There’s a reason Trump set his 48-hour deadline on a Saturday. It had nothing to do with Iran

March 25, 2026 — 2:00am

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Lessons have been learnt by all parties involved in and affected by the Iran War in the past 48 hours.

The pro-US Gulf states have learnt that the Iranian government isn’t going to collapse any time soon. They will have to deal with the regime as a neighbour indefinitely. For its part, Iran has received confirmation of something it had suspected but couldn’t be certain about – its ability to control the Strait of Hormuz is the true centre of gravity of this conflict. On this rests the stability of pro-US Gulf states and parts of the global economy. It will have to be careful not to overplay its hand, for instance by demanding an immediate US withdrawal from its bases in the region.

What US President Donald Trump has learnt remains unclear, but it is no accident that he issued his 48-hour deadline for bombing Iran’s electricity infrastructure on a Saturday morning. Doing so gave him – not the Iranians – a decision point by Monday morning US time, when the financial markets opened. Carrying out his threat would have risked Iranian retaliation against the Gulf states’ energy infrastructure and desalination plants. It would have risked a crisis in manufacturing sectors in many parts of the world,........

© WA Today