Trump pledged to be a 'peacemaker' in the Middle East — now the United States is entering a new war

Five months ago, President Donald Trump promised to beryllium a peacemaker and a unifier. Tonight, the United States attacked Iran, hitting 3 atomic sites successful Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan.

In his inauguration speech connected Jan. 20, 2025, Trump told Americans: "We volition measurement our occurrence not lone by the battles we triumph but besides by the wars that we extremity - and possibly astir importantly, the wars we ne'er get into."

He called his proudest bequest that of a "peacemaker and a unifier." Now, that bequest is nether crisp scrutiny.

The U.S. launched a nonstop subject onslaught connected Iran for the archetypal clip since the commencement of the Israel-Iran warfare earlier this month.

Trump confirmed the enactment successful a Truth Social post, saying the cognition dropped a "full load of BOMBS connected the superior site, Fordow."

Iranian authorities media reported casualties and infrastructure harm but did not instantly corroborate the grade of the assault, Reuters reported.

Saturday's cognition marks a beardown interruption from Trump's anterior promises to support the United States retired of war. The determination is besides a crisp crook from his 2024 run pledges to "prevent World War Three" and extremity "chaos successful the Middle East."

"I volition halt the chaos successful the Middle East, and I volition forestall satellite warfare three. You're precise adjacent to World War, you're precise close, and we person radical that are not the close radical to grip that. They are grossly incompetent," Trump told supporters astatine a rally successful Pittsburgh successful November past year.

Trump has antecedently been vocal astir preventing Iran from reaching atomic capability. In a code connected Election Day past year, helium said Iran "just can't person a atomic weapon."

That position, portion consistent, had been paired with vows to debar war. "I privation bid successful the Middle East. I privation peace. I did the Abraham Accords. I privation bid successful the Middle East," Trump said astatine a rally successful Greensboro successful October past year.

A week aft Israel launched its onslaught connected Iran, the latest U.S. onslaught puts Washington successful nonstop struggle with Tehran. The determination marks a crisp displacement from conscionable 48 hours ago, erstwhile Trump suggested the United States would hold "two weeks" to spot whether the struggle betwixt Israel and Iran could beryllium resolved diplomatically.

"Based connected the information that there's a important accidental of negotiations that whitethorn oregon whitethorn not instrumentality spot with Iran successful the adjacent future, I volition marque my determination whether oregon not to spell wrong the adjacent 2 weeks," Trump said Thursday successful a connection issued by the White House.

However, concerns implicit Iran's atomic ambitions are not new. Trump has agelong cited his 2018 withdrawal from the Iran atomic deal, formally known arsenic the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), arsenic grounds of his pugnacious stance connected Tehran. During a municipality hallway successful Georgia successful October 2024, helium called exiting the statement "the azygous biggest happening I did" and credited the determination with paving the mode for the Abraham Accords.

With U.S. bombs present falling connected Iranian soil, Trump's promises of bid are nether renewed scrutiny. As Washington moves deeper into a struggle it erstwhile sought to avoid, questions are mounting implicit what comes next—and whether this marks the extremity of diplomacy oregon the commencement of thing bigger.