Historian and director of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), Thomas Gomart has explored the contemporary world's geopolitical risks and French diplomacy through his research. He has authored numerous books, including L'Accélération de l'histoire. Les nœuds géostratégiques d'un monde hors de contrôle ("The Acceleration of History: The Geostrategic Nodes of a World out of Control") and Les Ambitions inavouées. Ce que préparent les grandes puissances ("Unspoken Ambitions: What the Great Powers are preparing"). In this interview with Le Monde, he reflects on the United States' bombings of Iranian nuclear sites, conducted alongside Israel, and on the ceasefire that Washington is now trying to impose.

With its strikes, known as Operation Midnight Hammer, has the US restored the credibility of its deterrence, as it has claimed?

It must be acknowledged that Donald Trump has an undeniable sense for catching people off guard. In the summer of 2021, Joe Biden withdrew American troops from Afghanistan in a hasty manner, leading to a strategic setback for the West, which was, notably, exploited by Iran and its "axis of resistance," as well as by Russia and its "special military operation" in Ukraine [launched in February 2022]. Four years later, Trump bombed Iran in Israel's wake, against all expectations. In doing so, the MAGA ["Make America Great Again"] rhetoric of military non-intervention has shifted toward the line held by neoconservatives, for whom the preemptive use of force is the surest means of domination. Deterrence consists of rhetoric and capacity, but, above all, it is a willingness to act. In this sense, Trump reasserts the US's strategic centrality.

Is this the return of US hyperpower in the Middle East, and even beyond, or is that a false impression?

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