Trump calls off the new bombing raids

Keeping up with Donald Trump is like running a marathon where the final tape changes location every few minutes. You never know in which direction to go. Yesterday, Trump was definitely in bombing mood and mode. Today, he has had a change of mind. Something happened overnight which made him think maybe Iran would be sensible after all. I don't believe it, the sensible bit, but obviously the leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps read the runes and rang someone to plead for peace. Well, mot peace, but renewed peace talks. Whether anything comes of it we will have to see. But this brinkmanship diplomacy does work sometimes. Maybe the IRGC, basically the rules of Iran, believe it when Trump warned, as he does, that he was planning to destroy every energy plant and bridge and reduce Iran to a pile of rubble. Anyway, a lot of leaders took fright, not just the Iranian ones. Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, rang Trump and urged caution. Please, no escalation, he asked. Others, probably the Pakistanis, Qataris etc, also made phone calls. Trump is suggesting that the new talks will lead, or will have to lead, to the total unhindered reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and no nukes. And he wants the agreement to be rapidly concluded. It's fingers-crossed time for everyone, especially for Trump.

Trump poised for more bombing

There has been a relatively quiet period for a few days but all the signs and signals in Washington are that Donald Trump wants to return to bombing Iran big time. He has been promising to knock out all of Iran's bridges and power plants and it might be on the cards for this coming week. Many of his advisers will be cautioning against it. For a start, it will be devastating for the Iranian people whom he promised to protect and help after the savage regime killed thousands of protesters in the streets of Iran's cities. But also, what will Iran's response be? It will inflame the whole of the Middle East. But Trump is getting more frustrated every hour as he sees the regime in Tehran staying resilient and unmoving. Perhaps Trump hopes that by warning of a massive bombardment in the comping days, the Iranian generals and mullahs will give in and start negotiating again.But if they don't and the bombing starts, no one, especially, Trump, will be able to predict the consequences.