That’s right — former President Donald Trump is back in the news for surprising reasons. He’s already hard at work diffusing the growing hostilities between the US and Iran. To be clear, Trump’s bashing of the Iran deal wasn’t just dismissive rhetoric. He made waves with his description of his fraught relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He repeatedly referred to Netanyahu as “a great friend of Israel,” and thanked him for his resolute support.
In response to reports regarding military action against Iran, Trump stated, “The Wall Street Journal has No Idea what my thoughts are concerning Iran!” He emphasized his cautious approach to decision-making, saying, “I have ideas on what to do but I haven’t made a final – I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due.” This new approach is consistent with Trump’s overall strategy of leaving all cards on the table until the very last minute.
According to reports, Trump personally approved specific attack plans against Iran. He has delayed issuing the final order awaiting Tehran’s abandonment of its nuclear aspirations. A U.S. official commented, “We want to be unnecessary, but I think Donald Trump’s just not convinced we are needed yet.” This reflects, at the very least, a lack of confidence in the administration’s own arguments for why military intervention is needed.
The urgency of the situation is underscored by Trump’s assertion that “the next week is going to be very big, maybe less than a week.” His remarks are a precursor to soon-to-be announced actions to counter Iran’s accelerating nuclear escalation and possible U.S. responses. Two defense officials familiar with the situation noted that only a tactical nuclear weapon could effectively target the Fordow uranium enrichment site due to its underground location.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump declared victory after receiving an apology from former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Mata’s apology came after Carlson accused Trump of being “complicit in an act of war.” Trump stated, “He called and apologized the other day because he thought he said things that were a little bit too strong and I appreciated that.”
Despite Trump’s denials of any finalized attack plans, tensions remain high, especially with Iran’s mission to the United Nations issuing a statement in response to Trump’s actions. The statement asserted, “Iran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress, and certainly NOT with a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance.”
As events are changing by the minute, Trump is still claiming that he’s readying a military strike if it comes to that. He indicated, “We’re going to be ready to strike [Iran].” This position comes amid a growing divide within the Make America Great Again coalition regarding support for military action against Iran.