Some folks are saying that Donald Trump doesn’t play chess. He had moved his king to the centre and wonder why he is being attacked. Really? We don’t know exactly what Trump has in mind, but he’s not a fool. Take a look at this:
Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran on 28 February 2026 and in retaliation, Tehran attacked eight Middle Eastern countries. Reacting to Iran’s response, Trump said the US allies in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, “have been terrific” and “they got shot at unnecessarily.”
“I was very surprised,” Trump said, adding it was “the biggest surprise I had of this whole thing.”
Surprised? Interestingly, most people think that Trump was really surprised! Why? Of course he wasn’t! I read Trump saying “what a horrible thing that Iran did. They shouldn’t have done it. It’s shocking.”
It was all deliberate.
关门捉贼 is one of the 36 Dirty Tricks of Ancient China. It means to get the enemy to paint himself into a corner. Did Trump not know that American assets in countries surrounding Iran would be attacked? Of course he knew. Applying 关门捉贼 in this case would mean to sacrifice a few castles in exchange for Iran being surrounded by hostile neighbours.
A similar strategy was adopted by Saladin during the Crusades. He was branded as a traitor because he fought Muslim states and not the Christians. Damascus, Aleppo, and Mosul were targeted until the entire region came under his influence. Only then did he invade Jerusalem by 1187. By then the Christians were surrounded and had nowhere to hide.
Through its own actions meant to hurt the US, Iran is now surrounded by hostile countries. It doesn’t even share a border with China or Russia. Yes, Trump is calling for help, but do you think he really needs it?