Is war in Iran a Donald Trump distraction from the Epstein Files?
America and Israel are at war with Iran, but some have speculated that for Donald Trump, it is an attempt to keep eyes away from the Epstein Files. But would he really go to the brink of a World War when he already thinks he’s been exonerated?
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What’s the story?
Since the bombs first fell on Tehran, the war in Iran has dominated the headlines.
Depending who you ask in Donald Trump's administration, the reason for the war is either regime change, stopping its nuclear capabilities or ending its navy.
Others believe it has been led into the conflict by Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel.
Whatever the reason, no one's talking about the Epstein Files at the moment, that's for sure.
Donald Trump is named an estimated 38,000 times in the documents that have so far been released. His attorney general Pam Bondi has said the case is closed, and that there will be no more investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.
And as far as Trump is concerned, that’s the end of the story.
“The Epstein Files have come and gone, as far as Trump is concerned – despite the fact there are questions for him to answer,” says Lewis Goodall.
“I don't think Trump needs to distract them, because I don't think they've really touched him.”
In the UK, he says, there has been “soul searching” among the political elites, with some action taken against high-profile people named in the files, such as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson.
“The Republicans in Congress have managed, quite successfully, to make it about other people,” Lewis adds.
Is Trump leading us into World War Three?
Whatever the true reason for America’s involvement in the war in Iran, the most pressing questions right now include whether it will escalate.
And if it does, how far will it go – and has it already gone further than most people imagine?
“This is a question which is actually being discussed a lot at military and strategic level,” says Lewis.
“Chillingly, a few very senior, UK military figures have told us in the past few years that we need to start thinking about ourselves as, not in a post-war state, but a pre-war state.”
With wars having raged in recent years in Ukraine, in Palestine and now in Iran, Lewis adds that for many parts of the world, things are even further along.
“We might look back in decades to come and say that actually we are now in a war state,” he says.
- Lewis adds that he is wary of being "deterministic" about the situation however, because the world has changed greatly since WW2, and what a pre-war world looked like then is very different to how it might appear now.
“The one thing that is so true of history, and this isn't being deterministic – it's historical fact, it's much easier to start wars than it is to end them,” Jon Sopel adds.
So, is all this about the Epstein Files?
Sure, conspiracy theories can be fun, but this time, The News Agents aren’t buying into it.
“I don't believe that the Epstein Files is part of this,” says Jon.
He believes this because Donald Trump has proven himself very bad at distracting people from the files in the past.
“Every single time he has only made things worse,” Jon adds.
“He's told people there was no need to release the files, that Congress shouldn't pass the law – but every step of the way, Trump has drawn more attention to them.
“So the idea that you would launch a war with Iran and Israel? I don't buy it.”