It was a whirlwind weekend for people across the Middle East. A burst of stories came out on Friday suggesting that President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were thinking of resuming full-scale war with Iran, including Trump's long-threatened attacks on power plants and bridges. U.S. embassies warned Americans against travel in the Middle East. People on both sides of the Persian Gulf told me about the preparations for war: families stocking up on supplies, authorities throttling the internet, service members called up for duty.
On Saturday night, Trump suddenly reversed course. Despite being "locked and loaded" to unleash "Military Terror," he wrote on Truth Social, the U.S. was going to "cancel the attack" because "the perimeters [sic] of a deal has been agreed to. This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran's nuclear threat."
