Month: Jun 2025

The multiple conundrum of the Israeli-Iranian conflict 

20/6/25

Dear Partners in Thought,

While not being an expert on Middle Eastern affairs and having stayed gradually away from the atrocities seen in Gaza as not being able to cope, I was asked to give my take on the current descent to hell between Israel and Iran. To do so, I chose to give a take on one hand from a European observer and, on the other, to cover the multiple issues facing Trump 2.0 and its core MAGA base, top officials and influencers. The best word to describe this dual and inter-connected topic is conundrum to remain polite and civilised in our new times.

Having grown up remembering the Shah and his wife Farah (I looked like their son when in my early twenties) and not being so aware of Iranian politics, I thought they presented rather well on their official pictures. But not all was going very well in the Pahlavi Kingdom and we had in the Paris suburbs the leader of the opposition, a cleric named Khomeini, whom President Giscard had allowed to stay while not waging an outright war against his regime. Then the Shah fell, and Khomeini became the Supreme Leader in 1979 – 46 years ago. It is clear that the then-new Iran was not always liked in the region, leading to a war with Iraq’s Saddam Hussein in the early 1980s, while the new theocratic regime became very hard on its own people, especially women who ended up with no rights. Demonstrations, when suppressed, led to numerous executions in a trend that lasted until today. It is clear that Iran became an international pariah that a few enemies of the west like North Korea and now Russia stayed close to but with some distance (while other powers like China needed oil). Looking at a war with Israel, no European country supports Iran today while many are worried about its rising nuclear capabilities given their clear military focus. Regime change would certainly be welcome (also by the Iranian people) but the way to reach it appears too dangerous for all parties and potentially leading to a messy regional destabilisation including in the thriving part of the Gulf. 

Israel is the child of the Holocaust, even if that region was populated by Jews since the early 20th century. Europeans naturally supported Israel in all of its conflicts since the Six Day war, as it was part of the western camp in an often-hostile region, but also as there was a feeling of moral obligation and at times, for some, Holocaust-based guilt. German premier Merz clearly and, for many, unsurprisingly supported Israel’s attacks on Iran in the strongest way, also given the goal of avoiding potential nuclear annihilation. There was no question for Europeans and the west at large that Israel was always the “good guy” in the region. The horrible October 2023 Hamas attack created universal western uproar, justifying a strong response that I also felt was justified. However, the situation degraded quickly, not making the Netanyahu government and leadership liked like Moshe Dayan was. It is clear that Iran created an unstable region by backing a dangerous Hamas that kept the Gaza people prisoners, while Lebanon was also seriously affected by an aggressive, if slightly more stable, Hezbollah (and then the Houthis of late in Yemen did not help). It is hard to understand rationally why Israel keeps destroying Gaza after nearly 21 months while depriving Gazans of basic and humanitarian-delivered food by killing so many people, including from aid organisations. It is sadly clear that Netanyahu is not keen on losing power and facing the courts on his multiple legal cases. The official mantra of stopping Tehran acquiring nuclear capabilities, even if rational, gets weaker as the crisis unfolds, even if one has to be impressed by the legendary skills of Mossad when eliminating the military elite of an enemy. It is also clear that Israel’s actions have lowered European support, that initially was strong, also leading from multiple condemnations from many key EU states. We are now faced with a conflict where Europeans do not know with whom to side, while developments involving a desperate Iranian regime could lead to very bad outcomes not seen since WW2, even with the Ukrainian return of history.  

While Europeans do not know where to stand and what to say on this conflict, Trump 2.0 keeps to its transactional ways. This time with very clear demands for an unconditional surrender of Iran that could only lead to a rebuke based on national pride, all the more as there was an ongoing US-Iranian treaty negotiation that Bibi rashly interrupted, having his own tactical reasons. Statements from Trump that the US “may or may not intervene” is of course textbook Trump 2.0 as during the back-and-forth tariff policies or the never-ending postponements of the TikTok ban. President Trump is leading the show but his MAGA elite officials, influencers and most of his base are not keen on foreign intervention as clearly – if not vociferously – stated by the likes of Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon. They all believe in “America First – and only”. The new “Lindbergh” JD Vance is not keen on this foreign adventure either while even the top national security and intelligence team is opposed to it. Tulsi Gabbard, the Putin-friendly National Head of Intelligence, who is not fond of her own intelligence teams, and Kristi Noem, the dog killer and loser of her Gucci bag and 3,000 dollars while visiting jail inmates, are also opposed to other “lost wars” (on a funny note, Gabbard called the Iranian Supreme Leader “Khomeini” in a March statement to the House Intelligence Committee, stressing (if it were needed) the quality of the top US executive team). In true Trump fashion, Gabbard was not invited to a Camp David meeting dealing with Iran this month. It is also funny to see Marjorie Taylor Greene, the odd MAGA hat- and t-shirt wearing US House Representative, going against the man that helped make her as she opposes an old interventionist America. The only senior Republican proponents of intervention seem to be the older US Senators like Lindsey Graham or Mitch McConnell or a colourful Ted Cruz who stick to old GOP foreign policy principles but do not reflect the majority of Trump supporters, even beyond the core MAGA base. However, it seems that, even with a two-week diplomatic window to reach a deal, there will likely be a US intervention to go after the “Fordow bunker” where the Iranian uranium his enriched and hidden. It is interesting to see how an old conflict and indeed now key US political conundrum could derail Trump 2.0’s core MAGA leadership and base at a time of an already 38% national approval rating in five months, even if three and half years will be a long time, while the mid-terms should hopefully bring the world some needed joy and America some hope. 

Warmest regards,

Serge           

The sad slide of America and its impact on the world 

17/6/25

Dear Partners in Thought,

Within nearly five months of Trump 2.0, we saw a deluge of executive orders often aggressively and erratically dealing with a wide number of issues at all levels, but going nowhere positively, while gradually destroying the core tissue of America and the world we knew.   

Trump 2.0 is not simply a political phase of public mismanagement or excessive policy making. It is the end of an era for America and the world. These unforeseen times – and indeed one man – have unleashed, however unwittingly, amazing developments such as the actual and attempted wide-scale assassinations of Democratic state representatives and their families in Minnesota as if all was now fair game for extremists. America is now sliding into autocracy, with the US ordering state national guards and even US Marines to deal with mostly pacific anti-deportation demonstrations, thus creating more violence as a result. The US executive style has now reached unseen lows, with descriptions of California Governor Newsome as “Newscum”, and the same for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. And in the midst of such rapid democratic weakening, almost unnoticed substantial self-enrichment appears to be a new and acceptable presidential attribute. While what matters in Trump 2.0 is mainly the news impact and, it appears, Russian-style military parades, all these events slowly but surely throw America back to the late 1850s when a civil war was looming.    

Trump 2.0 and its quasi-1930s Lindbergh protectionism have also empowered many foreign leaders to adopt aggressive moves against their enemies, knowing that President Trump will not mind or will be too weak to react, thus making the world more dangerous and even nuclear confrontations more possible. We know that history is repeating itself and that many of us have no memories of WW2 or even the Cold War as more than 50 per cent of Americans today were not born in 1985. The degree of passivity about Trump 2.0 of many in America is still surprising, notably within the business community, though we see that this is likely changing as enough is indeed enough. 

The MAGA base, often but not always poorly (if at all) educated and living in often empty areas, naturally wants a king (hence the fair point with the No King demonstrations) as they look for quick executive decisions implemented without the often-slow pace and intricate process of liberal democratic governments. Populists the world over play on this colourful electoral selling of quick and simple change and anti-elite feeling, often taking advantage of the fact that democracies are slow-moving. In the case of America, the excesses of diversity or woke drives and substantial illegal immigration – two areas that are not “black and white” in essence as the US economy would agree on the latter – sent Trump back to the White House where he could be even more himself this time, mostly surrounded by obedient servants.

As belonging to an early Gaullist family, having worn a “Giscard at the top” tee-shirt on the Champs Elysées at age 14, and having been a member of the national youth team of Chirac’s neo-Gaullist RPR party under the helm of a then-young Sarkozy, I am no raving leftie. I am for law and order – though in their fair versions, unlike what we see across the pond today. I know what matters and the value of fairness and professionalism in politics, something which is missing in the American executive today, all while their voters will be the first ones to pay for the misdeeds we keep witnessing. It is hard to believe that one man, who is treating his country and the world as if it were an episode of The Apprentice, is behind all the chaos we see and we may pay for. Trump 2.0 will be a treasure for political writers for generations to come, assuming we still have a going world.  

As a French-born transatlantic European who enjoyed his visits at Yorktown, I feel we need to assist the Trump opposition while both traditional parties remake themselves as they badly need. We need the strong America we knew with its Western leadership, soft and real power, all based on values and principles that strengthened democracy globally. 

One thing is sure for the geopolitical risk thinker I am: America may have become a risk for many, including itself. Trump may also have unwittingly served the interests of some of the many rivals or competitors he naturally dislikes under the misguided and self-harming banner of his America First. 

Warmest regards,

Serge