In a sense, then, this felt like a repeat of 2020, when Iran fired missiles at an American base after Mr Trump ordered the assassination of Qassem Suleimani, an Iranian general. The target back then was Ain al-Asad, a base in western Iraq. No American troops were killed thanks to ample warning, though scores were hurt, many with concussions.

Although the operation achieved an impressive level of tactical success, with a swarm of warplanes penetrating Iran unchallenged following a long, undetected flight from Missouri, it will be far harder than the president has suggested to reliably evaluate the damage inflicted on Iran’s ability to manufacture a nuclear weapon.