Washington and European capitals are watching with nervous anticipation as the U.S., Israel and Iran prepare for peace talks over the weekend aimed at ending a month-long war that has caused shockwaves through the global economy and left thousands dead.
But even as the first hours of the ceasefire ticked by earlier in the week, Donald Trump’s warmaster Pete Hegseth delivered a diatribe to members of the media that some could take as creating a permission structure to ease the acceptance of future operations — including, possibly, the deployment of a ground force — in the weeks to come.
