Trump, Netanyahu battle to control war narrative amid Israel-Iran truce

Both keen to take credit but leaked report suggests Iran's nuke capabilities remain

- Jonathan Eyal

LONDON - There is little doubt that US President Donald Trump has emerged much strengthened as a result of his handling of what he calls the "12-Day War" between Israel and Iran.

By ordering US jets to bomb Iranian nuclear installations, Mr Trump has reaffirmed America's close strategic bonds with Israel.

Yet the US leader also managed something all his immediate predecessors in Washington had failed to achieve: get Israel to stop fighting at a time of America's choosing.

After what a visibly angry Mr Trump described as an "extraordinarily tough and direct" phone call with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on June 24, the Israeli leader ordered his jets to turn around in mid-flight and stop hitting Iranian targets.

A ceasefire is now in force in the Middle East, and it appears to be holding. So, the American leader can claim with some justification that his immediate strategic objectives were met.

"It was my great honour to Destroy All Nuclear facilities & capability, and then, STOP THE WAR!" Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social, his favourite platform.

The snag for Mr Trump is that at least some people in the US intelligence community do not believe Iran's nuclear capabilities have been destroyed.

And the current ceasefire is unlikely to give the US much respite, either.

The US administration is embarrassed by a leaked report apparently compiled by the Defence Intelligence Agency, a branch of the American military, which seemingly suggested that Mr Trump's claim that Iran's nuclear facilities were "obliterated" was overstated.

US and Israeli raids on Iran's nuclear facilities — the leaked report allegedly concludes — may have succeeded only in delaying Iran's quest for nuclear weapons by around six months.

Ms Karoline Leavitt, the White House spokeswoman, rushed to dismiss such claims as "flat-out wrong" and as "a clear attempt to demean President Trump".