War has a way of turning up at the least convenient moment. One minute you’re lobbying your government for an extra $50bn to fund the next generation of fighting vehicles, the next, your driver is outside honking his horn, reminding you that you are booked on a flight to somewhere in Arabia, mission: “Destroy Iran”.
The gulf – literally, in this case – between what America’s generals, and allies, think is feasible and reasonable in respect of Iran and the wilder fantasies of Donald Trump and his advisers is both broad and deep. The President looks at Iran and sees a rogue state that dares to interfere in a region of the world that, against all geographical logic, he regards as America’s backyard.
