Iran war shows what is next for India on trade

US President Donald Trump's war against Iran seems confounding, defined by contradictory remarks, an improvisational strategy, and a tolerance for risk that would paralyse a traditional commander-in-chief.

- Vivek Wadhwa

But as my friend Jeffrey Sonnenfeld argues in his new book, Trump's Ten Commandments, we should not be surprised. Trump's approach reflects the consistent execution of a playbook he has relied on for decades.

Sonnenfeld’s most important advice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to internalise this playbook, because the same patterns driving the recent US strikes on Kharg Island will shape the next phase of Indo-US trade and relations.

The insight, shaped by decades of observing Trump across business, media, and politics, is that his behaviour is predictable. Whether in real estate, the White House, or now in Iran, he returns to the same methods again and again.

Sonnenfeld has known Trump since the early days of The Apprentice, when he publicly challenged the show for distorting what leadership entails. He was later offered the presidency of Trump University, an offer he declined. Over the past 30 years, I have watched Sonnenfeld build the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute into what is effectively the Davos of the US, only more serious and far less performative. At these gatherings, Fortune 500 CEOs, cabinet officials, and heads of State engage in unscripted discussions about power and crisis. Sonnenfeld has had a complex relationship with Trump, at times charmed by him and at other times organising resistance to his excesses. That combination gives his analysis unusual credibility.