MADRID - “America First” was meant to be simple. Donald Trump promised restraint abroad and clarity at home. The United States would reduce unnecessary commitments, avoid “endless wars”, and focus on its own national interests. Yet the war with Iran raises an unavoidable question: if America truly comes first, why does US policy appear to follow the strategic priorities of others?
SOUTH LEBANON—At first glance, there appears to be no direct connection between the publication of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation files and the United States’ decision to move toward war with Iran.
TEHRAN —The "shock and awe" Washington pursued in its 2026 war on Iran has been met with a different kind of astonishment: a political earthquake at home, where 59 percent of Americans now reject this war, where the president's own base feels betrayed, and where 46 senators are demanding answers about the massacre of Iranian schoolchildren in Minab.
In a commentary on Tuesday, the New York Times said in the lead-up to the surprise U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, President Donald Trump downplayed the risks to the energy markets as a short-term concern. The Times also said “the search for pathways out of the war has gained urgency since the weekend.”
TEHRAN -- A missile strike that martyred at least 175 people at a girls’ elementary school in the southern city of Minab has become one of the most controversial episodes of the United States’ ongoing war with Tehran, prompting accusations that President Donald Trump misled the public about responsibility for the attack.
