The world has moved back from the brink of an escalated war in the Middle East — for five days, at least — but one new reality has emerged: Iran appears to have realised it has a power that can be wielded against the president of the United States. In the battle between the US and Iran, US President Donald Trump has blinked: He has given Iran an additional five days to agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or else the US will begin bombing Iran's power plants and energy infrastructure.Trump is changing his rhetoric, appearing to acknowledge that he expects the theocracy to remain in control of Iran.Iran war live updates: For all the latest news on the Middle East war, read our blog.After he announced he was postponing any attack on power plants, he was asked who would control the strait in future."Maybe me!" he replied, adding: "Me and the ayatollah, whoever the ayatollah is."Iran has always known it has some leverage with the Strait of Hormuz Trump makes a valid point when he says that any Iranian leader talking to the US at the moment may not want anyone to know.His life could be in danger from both hardliners inside Iran, who don't want any end to a war they see themselves as winning, or from the US and Israel, who may later list this person as someone worth "eliminating".Trump now says the US and Iran have "major points of agreement".Certainly, in the short term, these words are more reassuring than his other rhetoric, such as "bombing our little hearts out".The US and Israel would argue that even if the war stopped now, it has seriously degraded Iran's military apparatus and capability