US strikes on Iran: The impact ripples on, from Baghdad to Beijing

China and Russia are among those having to revisit their strategic calculations.

- Jonathan Eyal

Mr Donald Trump can manage both war and peace in 48 hours. Or at least that's what the American President recently told the world.

One day, US stealth jets hit Iran's nuclear facilities, dropping on them some of the heaviest conventional bombs ever invented. But the very next day, Mr Trump proclaimed that the "time for peace" had arrived.

Of course, the President can do little to please his domestic critics, especially those in the American media. If he acts decisively on the global stage, he is accused of exceeding his constitutional powers and being reckless. But if he does not act, he is dismissed as just a coward; "Trump Always Chickens Out" or Taco — as journalists have branded the President.

Yet the response outside the US has been quite different. Regardless of what they say in public, every Middle Eastern decision-maker now takes Mr Trump seriously. The American President's two-day odyssey between war and peace bears profound implications for almost everyone.