Washington’s rhetoric and mixed signals are turning the Iran conflict into a wider test of US power – and of global trust in American leadership Peace does not seem to be on the horizon in the Middle East, though genuine de-escalation and a credible movement towards peace is sorely needed in the interest of all the parties to the conflict, and the rest of the world, which is suffering from the consequences of this war. Donald Trump’s war decisions announced off the cuff in press conferences and in his nocturnal Truth Social posts are a highly disconcerting way to deal with a major regional war with grave global consequences. This also suggests the absence of any serious institutional process in decision making in the administration. The vocabulary used by Trump himself and even more so by his senior cabinet appointees such as the treasury secretary have reached a level of coarseness that is bewildering.…