The Guardian | Simon Tisdall: The president�s misconceived Middle East policy has been laid bare, and few allies will rush to the rescue

They must be laughing their socks off in Tehran. The days following last weekend�s attacks on Saudi oil facilities, blamed by the US on Iran, have seen an almost comical display of indecision, confusion and bluster by the leader of the world�s most powerful country. As a result, Iran looks stronger � and Donald Trump looks like a clown.

If Iranian leaders intended to call Trump�s bluff, they have succeeded � for now at least. The president�s immediate reaction to the attacks was to declare the US �locked and loaded� for retaliatory strikes. Then he remembered he�s opposed to fighting wars in the Middle East and hopes to be re-elected next year.

Trump switched tack, saying the attacks were no big deal, even as global oil prices rocketed, because the US no longer needed Middle East energy. That�s not strictly true. Official figures show the US imported 48 million barrels of oil and petroleum products a month from the Gulf in 2018. Still dodging and weaving, he said what happened next was up to the Saudis � an extraordinary outsourcing of national security policy.

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