After their victory laps over Iran, now it is our duty to crown U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the trio, for their international success in entertaining the world. Actually, only the Zionists, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her “Brussels sprouts” at the E.U. headquarters seem to be entertained. Still Netanyahu, happily sabotaging Trump’s “Peaceful Solution to Iran’s nuclear program” and Trump, seemingly happy to have his Iran plan sabotaged by Netanyahu, displayed enormous success in the field of stagecraft, as well as duping the world; and last but not least, the mullahs sitting on a Persian carpet and acting as if they have nukes under it.

There are some critics of stage arts who think only Trump deserves an award for his role. For instance, Kanwal Sibal, a retired Indian foreign secretary and former Ambassador to Russia, Türkiye, Egypt and France, suggests that “From bunker bombs to Nobel dreams” is a good title for his saga: “Trump’s war for peace, choosing a military solution over a negotiated one in dealing with Iran” was an excellent performance. But what we just saw was an exceptional performance that needed two other performers, too. This trio needed each other to put up a show to satisfy their respective audience, but many stagehands had to help them. Let’s provide a short list of assistant performers.

An Oscar for Vaults

Gen. Caine Vaults, the new top honcho at the helm of the U.S. Armed Forces, as the new chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acted flawlessly in sending a bunker-busting bomb to Iran, but not really busting any bunkers! If his B2 bombers really destroyed any weapon-ready quality and quantity of enriched uranium, why has not one person in the 90 million Iranian population been impacted by radiation? The so-called leaked papers saved the general from answering this question, claiming that, actually, no bunkers were bombed, so there was no radiation. However, the general explained later that their bombing was actually very effective, but probably there was no uranium stored in the bunkers; those cunning mullahs had already removed it to a safer place.

Whatever! As the Jerusalem Post says, it was a remarkable victory for Netanyahu, for his “30-year dream has been realized,” that is, his pressing onward at the U.S. Congress or the United Nations general assembly with the lie that in two weeks Iran would have an atomic bomb ready. This reminds us of the late president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein’s “having chemical weapons of mass destruction,” and the late leader of Libya, Moammar Gadhafi’s any sort of weapons of mass destruction. Which they never had. But they still paid the price of Netanyahu’s lies with their lives and the dismemberment of their respective countries.

I agree with the editors of the Jerusalem Post that Netanyahu’s victory in Iran is remarkable. But what it calls “the whole fiasco that preceded it” was the part of the play, which the editors could not fathom!

Another goes to Rutte

Perhaps no one deserves an award more than Mark Rutte, the 14th secretary-general of NATO since October 2024, who previously served as prime minister of the Netherlands for more than a decade. While referring to Trump’s use of an expletive while comparing Israel and Iran to schoolchildren in a playground fight, he said: “Daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get them to stop.”

If I may briefly remind the “expletive” issue: Trump, hoping that the whole world was about to celebrate his forcing Iran and Israel to a cease-fire, Netanyahu thought that he could keep bombing Iran as part of their sham fight! But, no! Having his peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear issue sabotaged by Netanyahu and thus, having suffered a palace coup in his own White House to order bunker busters bomb Iran, Trump was very angry. He emphatically dropped an F-word on camera, expressing frustration that Israel and Iran appeared to be violating the cease-fire. “They don’t know what the (expletive) they’re doing,” Trump said.

The next day, at a bilateral meeting during the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Trump likened the countries of Israel and Iran to “two kids fighting in a schoolyard.” Rutte, a long-time politician, stole the role from Trump and interjected, “Daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get them to stop.” Kudos go to the NATO secretary-general, who taught a lesson to all on how to stroke someone’s ego! Trump couldn’t have done without someone courting favor!

Let us not forget the press

The Economist magazine also deserves an award for its bootlicking role. The editorial’s title was so impressive, perhaps they should have the Best Supporting Media Oscar forever: “Trump has managed to bomb Iran’s nuclear program and immediately impose a cease-fire, without a single American casualty.” It praised Trump’s actions as a “vindication over those who, like this newspaper, feared that Iran would lash out.” Its inclusion itself among the sceptics makes their praise look so sincere, only a liberal and free media do it! The Washington Post and The New York Times have a lot to learn from The Economist’s kowtowing.

Well, perhaps we should exclude The New York Times this time because its Ami Ayalon, Gilead Sher and Orni Petruschka could have all of Israel’s sins forgiven and forgotten. They said, “Israel has proved its military might.” They added: “It’s not enough.” Perhaps, Israel itself, should have Iran nuked! David Brooks, along the lines of The Economist-type obsequiousness, said he used to detest Netanyahu, but this time, “He’s actually right.”

And of course the GOP

The Republican Party also deserves praise and honor for its achievement in the supportive role for a president who, according to some, violated the presidential war powers. In a normal parliamentary procedure, Trump should have asked for the approval of Congress before sending the U.S. war planes to Iran. But the Grand Old Party (GOP) knew that these were not normal times, and they should rally behind the president and those U.S. soldiers sent into harm’s way with their authorization. Mitch McConnell, former Senate Republican leader, even went one notch up, asking the president to see what he did: “Achieving the peace-through-strength gospel of interventionism.” Yeah, Mr. President, don’t ignore the interventionism a-la-Reagan!

We can go on and on with many others’ supportive role in this well-deserved Oscar for international theatrics. With one stroke, Trump proved that he is not a “Trump Always Chickens Out” (TACO) president. Even his worst critics had to admit that: “Trump is a lot of bad things. Stupid is not one of them.”

American political scientist John Mearsheimer calls Netanyahu’s declaration of victory in the 12-day Israel-Iran war “a nonsense” because, contrary to what he asserted, Israel failed to achieve its two principal aims: it could not eliminate Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, and it failed to get regime change in Iran. Netanyahu is a pig, with lipstick on, if you listen to Mearsheimer. Well, sir, is a pig with lipstick on not better looking than a pig without? It definitely deserves at least an Oscar in Dupery.

Well, I suppose, the master mullah in Tehran (if Trump is the Daddy Maximus, thanks to NATO’s recent denomination of him; then should Khamenei not be named Mullah Maximus?) deserves the third Oscar simply because he still has a nuclear enrichment program, if he has one! He is more likely to get nuclear weapons, not less likely, if he is really going to get one! He inflicted significant harm on Israel, if that was what he wanted. In a normal world, it is called winning when you look losing.

In any book, all three had Oscar-grade theatrics if not a war-like war and nuke-grade uranium.