FOR all Donald Trump`s vows that he will not involve the US in any more wars, he did just that by ordering military strikes on Iran`s nuclear facilities. By joining Israel in its military campaign against Iran, the US flouted international law and the UN Charter and plunged the region into uncharted territory, holding the danger of further escalation. It was unprecedented for two nuclear weapons states to have attacked a nonnuclear, NPT-member nation. Its lessons will not be lost on either Iran or other countries.

Days before the US bombing, speculation had intensified that while preparations were afoot for kinetic action with American military assets moved in the region, Trump was keeping the door open for a negotiated solution. He himself said he would take a decision within two weeks, implying there was time for diplomacy. But this turnedouttobe aruse and anotheractofdeception and duplicity. As US warplanes hit Iranian nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, it blew to smithereens Trump`s claim that he wanted to be a peacemaker. It also put to shame those who believed him. In a late-night address, Trump announced the strikes were a `spectacular success` and the Iranian facilities had been `completely and totally obliterated`. He also warned Tehran that any retaliation against the US would be met with even greater force.

Iran`s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, condemned the attack as an outrageous violation of international law, which will have `everlasting consequences.` He said his country `reserved all options to defend its sovereignty and its people`. Tehran vowed to continue its nuclear programme and there is likelihood it will discontinue cooperation with the IAEA. Iran has also called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. UN Secretary General António Guterres called the US attack a `dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge and a direct threat to international peace and security`. He also pointed to the risk that the conflict could `rapidly get out of control` with `catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region and the world`.Although Iran had anticipated the US entering the war, the situation leaves its leaders with difficult options. Although Tehran warned in the past it would attack US bases and facilities and cause `irreparable damage` if Washington got directly involved in the conflict, it will not be in its interest to widen the war or risk another US attack. It will likely continue what it is already doing in response to persisting Israeli attacks.

After the US bombing, Israel launched a new wave of missile assaults and Iran too doubled down on missile attacks on Israel.

What may be a factor in determining Tehran`s response is the extent of damage inflicted by the US bombing of Iran`s nuclear facilities. So far Iranian officials have said there is limited damage and no danger to residents living in the vicinity of facilities attacked by US bombers. Tehran in any case had time to move some of the nuclear material elsewhere. If Iran is able to show the damage was limited and there were no casualties it can argue military retaliation against the US (for which it doesn`t have the military capacity) is unnecessary and focus instead on nonkinetic and diplomatic responses. Closing the Strait of Hormuz to disrupt shipments is an option that can send the oil price skyrocketing and spark an energy crisis. Although that has apparently been recommended by Iran`s parliament, it too entails costs which Tehran may not want to incur. So, for now, the Iranian priority might be to avoid provoking Trump into taking any more military actions.

If the US-Israeli escalation poses dilemmas for Iran it is also a high-risk gamble for Trump.

Not only because of its unpredictable outcome but also because it could mire the US in classic `mission creep` and eventually even in a quagmire with no easy way out. Although America`s disastrous Iraq experience should have served as a sobering lesson it has been willfully ignored by Washington. Trump has threatened to expand the military campaign against Iran, if ne cessary, that is if Tehran doesn`t accept US terms for a `settlement`. If `peace` does not come quickly, he has said, the US will go after other targets inIran. By this he means capitulation by Tehran and completely giving up its nuclear programme.

But with Iran`s refusal to surrender the question is will the US get drawn in even more in a war of choice? If that happens it would lead to disastrous consequences both for the US and the Middle East.

One of the biggest casualties of the latest developments must surely be a collapse of faith in diplomacy. Who can trust Trump`s America when the administration has used subterfuge and deception right from the time it engaged Iran in Oman-mediated negotiations, ostensibly to reach a deal? From what Trump has now said it is obvious the US was all-in with Israel from the very start and was negotiating in bad faith with Iran. Referring to the Israeli prime minister, Trump said he was working with him `as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before`.

Israel`s unprovoked attack on Iran on June 13 came just days before another round of talks in Oman between the US and Iran. By his own admission, Trump had advance knowledge of the Israeli assault. Not only did he do nothing to stop it but gave Netanyahu a green light to go ahead while pretending to pursue a diplomatic path. As Iran`s foreign minister put it: `Last week, we were in negotiations with the US when Israel decided to blow up that diplomacy.

This week, we held talks with the E3/EU when the US decided to blow up that diplomacy.

Any return to negotiations was now meaningless, he said.

While it is too early to say how the crisis will play out with the situation in such flux it is more than likely that the US-Israeli joint military campaign will, over time, push Iran to do what it can to acquire nuclear weapons capability. It has been left with no choice but to pursue that path once it is able to ride out the current crisis.

This would mark an epic failure for both the US and Israel.

The writer is a former ambassador to the US, UK and UN.