US President Donald Trump cuts short his visit to the G7 Summit in Canada to deal with the escalating situation in the Middle East. In the next couple of hours, Trump will have to take a call on what his next step will be, go for war or peace.
Trump, as is well known, is not a war monger. Throughout his election campaign, he called for Americans to get out of foreign wars. His MAGA base is on the same page as well.
This is why, when Trump left in a hurry, expectations were that a ceasefire deal might be in sight. More so as Saudi Arabia, Oman and other Gulf countries had been working the phones over the weekend to push for an end to air strikes and getting back to diplomacy and negotiation.
There are reports that Trump had asked Steve Witkoff, his Middle East envoy, to remain in touch with the Iranian negotiators and perhaps meet them later this week. Many in the administration believe this is a good time to strike a deal with a much weakened Iranian establishment.
Trump gave no indication of what he had in mind as he left Canada. But, France’s Emmanuel Macron later claimed that the US leader was aiming to get a peace deal through. However, Trump quickly declared that the French leader was wrong, and posted that the reason for his return to Washington was 'much bigger than that'.
This has led to speculation that the US may enter the war. It has been bolstered by the fact that the US is moving its Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East, and this has 28 refuelling planes leaving the US on Sunday.
In an ABC interview, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said that Trump and the people of the US must understand the need to "take a stand against evil", and added, "Look, I understand America First. I don’t understand America Dead. That's what these people (Iran) want.’’
So, will Benjamin Netanyahu get his wish to bring the US into the war?Israel has been urging America to do just that. Drawing in its main arms supplier and ally into the war was always a part of Netanyahu’s aim. It is well known that while Israeli airstrikes have damaged much of Iran’s nuclear facilities, they have not been able to penetrate the Fordow enrichment facility hidden deep in the mountains.
This can be done only with bunker-busting bombs that are loaded in bomber aircraft that the US has. No one knows what Trump will decide finally, though there are signs that the US President may move towards involvement to completely destroy Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
