2 days ago
Could Trump win a Nobel peace prize? How he brokered ceasefire
Is the Nobel peace prize back on?
That's the accolade President Trump craves and his role in bringing Iran and Israel towards a truce was bringing fresh calls, at least from Republicans, for recognition from the Oslo committee on Monday night.
Trump ordered a high-stakes bombing raid on Iran 's uranium enrichment facilities, hitting the nuclear ambition that four predecessors failed to stop, then, in an audacious display of brinkmanship, apparently helped to engineer a truce deal between Iran and Israel.
Although Israel accused Iran of breaching the truce with a missile attack within hours of that message and threatened further reprisals against its arch-enemy, it is possible that hostilities between the two sides may yet die down.
Trump was not the only player in a drama that would have been hard to script. But it would not have happened without him.
An indispensable role was also played by the Emir of Qatar, even as his tiny Gulf state came under attack from Iran.
In one version of the story being briefed by a diplomat on Monday night, Trump persuaded Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to agree to a ceasefire formula to end the strikes between his country and Iran that Netanyahu started nearly two weeks ago. First, though, Netanyahu wanted to see proof of intent in the form of 12 hours of ceasefire from Tehran.
Trump is said to have asked the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, to present the plan to the Iranians. This came moments after Tehran fired a symbolic 14 rockets at Al Udeid, the large US air base in Qatar.
Iran — at least in the statements it has made — appeared to have accepted. The world is waiting to see if both sides follow through.
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Trump's boldness in seizing the initiative for a deal after he ordered a remarkable 37 hours of non-stop B2 bombing raids initially appeared to have won round one key constituency: the doubters in the anti-war wing of his party who had opened up cracks in his coalition. They were furious at the prospect of embroiling the US in another Middle East war.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia congresswoman who became the Maga movement's leading voice of dissent over his strikes on Iran, reposted Trump's ceasefire post approvingly last night.
'Thank you, President Trump, for pursuing peace!' she wrote.
These were high stakes moves that may yet unravel. But for now Trump can head to the Nato summit in the Hague on Tuesday having met his election promise to act as a peacemaker, not a warmonger.
Now, where's President Putin's phone number?
