For subscribers
From isolationist to warmonger: Will Trump’s Iran bet pay off?
The US President may have the political leeway to keep fighting but how long that window lasts will depend on Tehran’s response.
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
US President Donald Trump took the biggest gamble of his combined four and a half years in the White House on the night of June 21 in striking Iran.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
James Politi, Lauren Fedor and Steff Chavez
Follow topic:
President Donald Trump took the biggest gamble of his combined 4½ years in the White House on the night of June 21 in striking Iran and joining Israel’s war against the Islamic republic
If Mr Trump is right, he will have achieved a goal of US foreign policy spanning multiple administrations – the elimination of the Iranian nuclear threat – and done so at relatively low cost. But the move carries the huge risk of inflaming the Middle East further – jeopardising the security of the US and Israel, and backfiring on a president who had vowed not to draw America into new global conflicts.

