During his election campaign, US President Donald Trump promised to end the world's worst conflicts and bring peace to the world. But nearly five months later, amid Israel's attacks on Iran and ongoing violence in Gaza and Ukraine, those expectations have been dashed.
US-allied Israel carried out strikes on multiple Iranian targets on Thursday in a wide-ranging, multi-pronged operation that experts say could eventually escalate into a full-scale war in the region.
The attacks appear to be a challenge to Mr Trump, who has repeatedly called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from attacking Iran, even as the president has threatened to bomb the country if nuclear talks fail.
“Trump diplomacy”
“Trump's diplomacy was one of the first victims of these attacks,” said Brett Bruen, a former foreign policy adviser to Democratic President Barack Obama.
“He has struggled to achieve even a temporary ceasefire (in Gaza), let alone peace in any major conflict. Iran looked the most promising – but Netanyahu blew it.”
The White House, the Israeli Embassy in Washington and Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the situation.
The strikes also are a rebuke to Steve Witkoff, Trump's special representative to the Middle East and a close aide who has been actively engaging Iranian negotiators in seeking a diplomatic solution to curb Iran's nuclear program.
Mr. Witkoff tried unsuccessfully to persuade Mr. Netanyahu to be patient while the US-Iran talks continued. Those talks have stalled.
Some Trump allies privately acknowledge that his diplomatic efforts were already failing even before the Israeli attacks.
His second term began with what appeared to be a foreign policy success. Shortly before Mr. Trump’s inauguration, Mr. Witkoff worked with aides to then-President Joe Biden to broker a long-awaited cease-fire in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Hamas militants.
However, the agreement fell apart after just a few weeks.
The United States has also made little progress in seeking a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, a conflict that Mr Trump promised to resolve before taking office.
His administration has also taken no visible steps to expand the Abraham Accords, a landmark pact reached in Trump's first term to establish diplomatic relations between Israel and several of its Arab neighbors.
“Escalation of conflict”
As Mr. Trump has sought to broker peace deals, his administration has been divided over foreign policy. Dozens of officials, from the National Security Council to the Pentagon and the State Department, have been fired amid internal squabbles.
Even before the Israeli attacks, some in the administration had begun to privately wonder whether Mr. Witkoff, who despite his lack of diplomatic experience had become Mr. Trump's chief negotiator, had abused his position.
On Thursday, as Israel began striking, some prominent Democrats expressed anger that Trump, during his first term, had scrapped an agreement between the United States, Iran and European allies that had been reached during the Obama administration.
Mr Trump and Republicans have denounced the deal, arguing it would fail to prevent Tehran's nuclear threat. Democrats accuse Mr Trump of failing to offer a credible alternative.
“This is a disaster of Trump and Netanyahu’s own making, and now the region risks sliding into another deadly conflict,” Democratic Senator Chris Murphy wrote in a post on Platform X.
It remains unclear whether Thursday's strikes will spark a regional conflict. However, analysts suggest that Tehran may view U.S. assets in the region as legitimate targets.
For example, the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen could resume attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
