Israel’s warplanes were in the air barely two hours after Donald Trump, the US president, had laid out the case for continuing talks with Iran at the weekend.

“We remain committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue,” he posted on his Truth Social site. “My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran.”

Had Benjamin Netanyahu, the headstrong prime minister of Israel, not got the memo? Or was he sending a clear signal to Washington that he was not going to take orders from anyone.

As ever in the Middle East’s quagmire of religious strife and decades of power struggles, it was all a lot more complicated than that.

The Americans had been forewarned that Israel had run out of patience with Iran and its deadly pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Just a day earlier, the State Department had announced it was reducing its diplomatic footprint in Baghdad and other regional facilities, Mr Trump warning the Middle East “could be a dangerous place”.