Iran's Weak Attack Is an Offramp. Trump Should Take It.
So far, Iran's ballistic missile attack on a U.S. military base in Qatar on Monday appears to have been more of a face-saving measure for Tehran than an opening salvo for full-blown war with America.
With no reports of American casualties or severe damage, the attack presents President Trump with a clear offramp from tit-for-tat tensions. He should take it. There's now an opportunity for both sides to restart diplomatic efforts, rather than escalate hostilities.
It's not surprising that Iran's leaders felt they had to do something in retaliation for the U.S. bombing mission against three of their nuclear sites over the weekend. What they evidently came up with was an underwhelming missile strike on one of the most fortified U.S. military bases in the world. Tehran warned the Qataris that the strikes were coming, ensuring that its short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles would be intercepted by American air defense systems — which they were.
In a social media post, Trump seemed to seize the chance to cast Iran's 'very weak response' on the base as more symbolic than destructive, even thanking Iran for giving the U.S. notice: 'Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same.'
U.S. forces in the region must remain on high alert, of course. But if Monday's attack is any guide, Tehran does not want to enter a wider war with the United States, and its leaders, too, may yet choose to pursue a concerted diplomatic effort with the United States to discuss the future of whatever is left of its nuclear program.
Several rounds of talks this year between the United States and Iran have gone nowhere, and Trump's latest efforts to talk to Iran after Israel's began its air campaign this month reportedly fizzled. But the threat of war may propel both sides to work more earnestly to get back to the negotiating table.
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