Big ultimatum and then a pause: Why Trump shifted course on Iran & what happened in between
US President Donald Trump’s abrupt shift from a 48-hour ultimatum to a five-day pause on striking Iran’s energy infrastructure has exposed the competing pressures shaping Washington’s strategy in a rapidly escalating war. Just days after threatening to “obliterate” Iranian power plants if Tehran failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Trump stepped back, citing “very…