Analysis by WorldTribune Staff, March 3, 2026 Real World News

There’s a war going on in Iran, but stateside the focus is as usual on the unpredictable President Donald J. Trump.

Many have weighed in, claiming expert insights on why the president green-lighted the decapitation strike on the Iran regime. Domestic critics have been scathing, from one-track Democrats to Tucker Carlson conservatives wary of U.S. foreign policy alignment with Israel.

But not knowing his thinking is integral to Trump’s strategy in relating with hostile anti-U.S. nuclear powers that include China, Russia and North Korea.

Overlooked in the spin war are 1) a primary if unspoken target of both Trump ‘combat’ initiatives in Venezuela and Iran: The Chinese Communist Party; and 2) the Gaza Board of Peace which stands to be a regional game-changer if, and only if, Iran and its proxies make a “deal.”

Related – Trump’s one-two punch to China’s grand strategy: Iran as Middle East proxy, March 1, 2026

Reporting for the upcoming edition of Geostrategy-Direct.com, Richard Fisher noted that “both the United States and Israel have delivered a powerful blow to the regional power ambitions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its China, Russia, Iran, North Korea (CRINK) dictatorship alliance.”

In 2023 Iran became a “full member” of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), “a China-dominated proto-alliance whose main product is very large military exercises, and is a key tool in China’s attempt to create a new security structure in the Middle East replacing that led by the United States and Israel,” Fisher wrote.

Furthermore, China is a major buyer of Venezuelan and Iranian oil. Trump’s actions threaten Chinese access to cheap, sanctioned oil, forcing the Xi Jinping regime to consider writing off billions in loans and investments.

Last week, Trump convened the inaugural meeting of his newly formed Gaza Board of Peace at the United States Institute of Peace headquarters, unveiling funding pledges and outlining plans for Gaza’s reconstruction.

The meeting brought together Trump, who serves as chairman of the board, Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and representatives from participating countries.

Trump opened by praising board members and criticizing allies who have not joined the initiative, accusing them of “playing cute.”

Key takeaways from the meeting:

• Trump vowed $10 billion U.S. commitment

• Trump announced that the United States would contribute $10 billion to the Board of Peace.

• Trump announced that nine countries had pledged a combined $7 billion toward Gaza relief.

“The Board of Peace is showing how a better future can be built, starting right here in this room,” the president said.

Meanwhile, Secretary of States Marco Rubio on Monday said the United States attacked Iran only after learning that ally Israel was going to strike and fearing Teheran would retaliate against U.S. forces.

“We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties,” Rubio told reporters.

Rubio, who was preparing to brief key U.S. lawmakers, said that Iran had told field commanders to respond automatically against U.S. forces in the event of an attack.

“If we stood and waited for that attack to come first before we hit them, we would suffer much higher casualties. And so the president made the very wise decision” to hit alongside Israel, Rubio said.

Asked if the United States faced an imminent threat from Iran — a key threshold in the United States as Congress constitutionally has the power to declare war — Rubio again pointed to the Israeli plans.

“There absolutely was an imminent threat, and the imminent threat was that we knew that if Iran was attacked — and we believed they would be attacked — that they would immediately come after us,” Rubio said.

“We were not going to sit there and absorb a blow,” Rubio said, adding that if Iran hit U.S. forces first, “we would all be here answering questions about why we knew that and didn’t act.”

As for critics like Carlson, Trump said the former Fox News commentator has “no impact” on his decisions.

“I think that MAGA is Trump — MAGA’s not the other two,” Trump said of Carlson and Megyn Kelly, who have publicly questioned the rationale for war with Iran in recent days.

“MAGA wants to see our country thrive and be safe. And MAGA loves what I’m doing — every aspect of it,” Trump continued. “This is a detour that we have to take in order to keep our country safe and keep other countries safe, frankly.”

Carlson told ABC’s Jon Karl that he believes Trump’s strikes on Iran were “absolutely disgusting and evil.”

Carlson reportedly visited the White House three times in the last month to lobby Trump against attacking Iran.

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  What was Trump thinking? Overlooked factors include China and the Gaza Board of Peace, WorldTribune.com