A 'reckless' act or a 'courageous' decision? Papers divided over US strikes on Iran

Press Review

PRESS REVIEW – Monday, June 23: First, we look at global front pages reacting to US President Donald Trump's intervention in Iran. Next, papers are divided over the US bombing of Iran – it's an "illegal" act for some, but an opportunity for peace for others. Meanwhile, the Iranian press condemn Trump's move, saying the US "will pay". Finally, we look at illustrators' takes on the ongoing war.

The news that the US has struck Iran's nuclear sites is making front pages worldwide. Spanish daily La Vanguardia headlines with "Trump goes to war". British paper The Financial Times writes that "Trump declares victory with massive air strikes". It then quotes Trump, who says that the US is "not at war with Iran but with its nuclear programme". "The gamble of the bombs", reads the headline in French conservative newspaper La Croix. The paper says that the attack marks a new phase in the ongoing conflict. Israeli right-wing daily The Jerusalem Post writes that "History remembers those who stand tall". The paper says that Israel and the US stand "shoulder to shoulder in defence of the free world". French left-wing paper L'Humanité takes the opposing view, with an apocalyptic front page of the bombings entitled "Peace according to Trump". The paper says that the latest actions are plunging the Middle East into chaos.

Inside, papers are also reacting differently to Trump's decision to intervene. An editorial in the British daily the Guardian says that Trump's bombing is "an illegal and reckless act" and that "the world is likely to pay a steep price". The paper says that Trump's move is "handy for leaders like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping" who might want to carry out similar attacks. And although an immediate crisis in the Middle East "can be contained", the cost of his reckless act may not be fully felt and understood "for decades". Belgian left-wing paper Le Soir writes "Here lies the international order, blown up by the law of the strongest", adding that it isn't clear at all what's next. A column in Politico says that the strikes are showing us what kind of president Trump actually is. Politico says it's "hard to define Trump's foreign policy" because he has made many "contradictory moves". The paper says his latest decision shows that he is in a phase where he's willing to take "enormous risks with little concern about the blowback".

However, some analysis pieces are defending and praising Trump's move. The New York Times has an opinion piece entitled "Trump's courageous and correct decision". The article says that many US presidents have promised they will stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, but it was Trump who demonstrated that "those pledges were not hollow". The columnist writes calls it "a courageous and correct decision that deserves respect, no matter how one feels about the president". The Wall Street Journal has a similar opinion piece entitled "Trump meets the moment on Iran". It says that his actions "spare the world from an intolerable risk", adding that it creates "an opportunity for a more peaceful Middle East".

The US intervention is of course the major story in the Iranian press, with all the papers condemning the move. "You will pay" writes the state-controlled Tehran Times – that's what Iran vowed after the US officially entered the war. According to the paper, Trump is wrong about the effectiveness of his attack. Iranian state-owned channel Press TV quotes the country's foreign minister, who says that the US attacks "mark an unprecedented collapse in international relations", warning that this could have "disastrous consequences". The opposition website Iran Wire reports on a division that's forming in Iran – hardline Iranian officials are calling for retaliation against the US, while many citizens blame their own government and its nuclear ambitions for bringing the war to Iran.

Finally, we look at illustrators and their cartoons in Cartoon Movement following the US strikes on Iran.

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