Trump’s primary wager is that Iran and its proxies in the Middle East have been so weakened that the US president can cast his intervention as both limited and successful. It is also a bet that a cowed Tehran will swiftly seek a settlement rather than retaliating.

Trump said the U.S. hit the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. Iran’s top diplomat called the attack “outrageous” and said it would have “everlasting consequences.”