Russia, Iran, and Trump’s Shock-and-Awe Foreign Policy
In the past week, President Donald Trump hinted at new attacks on Iran after the midterm elections, said that the United States will buy diesel fuel from Russia while American officials warned Europeans about a possible cutoff of weapons, and announced an energy cease-fire that appeared to catch Kyiv by surprise. He also mused publicly about resuming hostilities against the Houthis and called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to step aside. The commentary states that Trump has seen Iran as a threat since the 1980s and believes that an Iranian nuclear weapon or Iranian domination of the Persian Gulf's energy resources would threaten American interests.
Why it matters: The commentary reads the week's announcements as an expression of the president's convictions about Iran, Russia, energy and Europe, which bears on Foreign Policy analysis of coercion and alliance management.