Alarm in Washington: Trump is being left isolated in the war in Iran
We've had three weeks of bombing in Tehran—and in Tel Aviv, and Beirut, and Riyadh, and Doha...—and the war, the third Gulf War, has entered a thorny phase for Washington.
The current scenario could be summarized as follows: The operation against the ayatollahs is not going as Trump did. The ultimate goal is a mystery; the global impact of the war is already palpable everywhere; the Tehran regime resists, responds, and evokes the strength of martyrdom; Netanyahu doubles down in Lebanon and creates a parallel war; contradictions abound in the White House, and division grows within the Republican ranks; polls insist that a majority of Americans do not support the war; the unease of Europeans and other American allies increases as they prepare for the impact of a longer-than-expected conflict.
Against this backdrop, an interesting question has gained traction in Washington in recent days: Is the United States becoming isolated? The question has become urgent after the refusal of American partners, especially the Europeans, but also those in the Gulf.to participate in an international mission to reopen the strategic Strait of HormuzThe US has been heavily fortified by Tehran with the aim of straining the global economy and putting pressure on Trump's administration. New York Times He was making puns on Wednesday: theAmerica First mutated into America Alone (America alone).
The message that European foreign ministries have sent to the White House this week has been forceful and, in some cases, surprising: "This is not our war," he repeated, with varying degrees of clarity.From Brussels, Paris, London, Rome, or, of course, Madrid. Special mention for Berlin. Germany, which from the beginning of the war had aligned itself completely with Washington—and always with Tel Aviv—shifted its position on Tuesday with words from its Defense Minister, the Social Democrat Boris Pistorius: "This is not our war, we didn't start it." Is this a change of stance by the Merz government? It seems so, but we shouldn't jump to conclusions because Berlin has proven to be the most transatlantic city in Europe. Just ask the very German Berlin. Von der Leyen, expert genuflecter in front of Trump.
Bonus question: Does the refusal to cooperate in Hormuz represent a change in Europe's stance toward Trump? Here, even greater caution is needed. The European Union, and the United Kingdom as well, has no interest in this war continuing, but it remains in a position of dependence and, therefore, weakness vis-à-vis Washington. European leaders will not confront Trump while Another war with a complicated solution, the Ukrainian one, is underwayAlthough the focus is now on Tehran, in Brussels they still believe that the future of the continent is decided in Kyiv.
"We don't need anyone's help!"
The press with ears in the White House says that the Gulf countries' lukewarm response to the US-led war has particularly irritated Trump. The Republican had expected a stronger reaction from the friendly monarchies—especially after their territory was targeted by Iranian attacks—but the region's position had been clear from the start: Nobody was interested in a war that would destabilize their emerging economieswho see tourism as a future alternative to oil. For the Gulf governments, however, the Iran-Iraq War has presented a geopolitical lesson that we in Europe know all too well: dependence means vulnerabilityThe distrust of the United States under Trump has led several countries to seek alternatives, such as purchasing military technology from Ukraine.
"We don't need anyone's help!" Trump retorted, in a fit of pique, after being rejected by his allies. Perhaps he's right, and perhaps the question we should be asking is whether Trump needs company to wage war in Iran, Cuba, or Greenland. Or perhaps he's wrong, and the bombs against Tehran—his riskiest foreign policy action to date— ultimately precipitate the degradation of the United States' international image to a scenario of global reconfiguration in which, probably, the biggest beneficiary may end up being its biggest competitor: Beijing.
"We are an oasis of certainty in a world full of uncertainty." This is one of the many pronouncements I heard this week at the Chinese consulate in Barcelona, at a meeting for journalists, but with microphones off. It is interesting to visit the other side of the international chessboard to get a complete picture. The summary scenario, in this case, is simpler: Trump's unpredictability is reinforcing the Chinese narrative; Beijing is fine-tuning its diplomacy to seduce the world as a guarantor of political and economic stability; we are only a year and a bit into the four-year term of the Republican's second term; the complexity of the global moment is acute.
