U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed on Friday that he is considering a targeted attack against Iran to pressure the country into agreeing to a deal on its nuclear program. Speaking at a breakfast with state governors at the White House, he responded to a question about whether he was considering such a move: “I guess I can say I am considering that,” he replied. For its part, Iran insists that, in the event of an attack, it will respond with force.
Trump was speaking as the Pentagon amasses a massive military buildup in the Middle East, amid the possibility that the president might order an attack if the current indirect talks between Washington and Tehran fail to produce results. On Thursday, the U.S. president suggested he would wait a maximum of 10 to 15 days before deciding.
In the latest round of talks, held last Tuesday in Geneva, the Iranian delegation pledged to present a detailed proposal to bridge the currently very wide gap between the two countries’ positions. Washington wants Tehran to withdraw its support for the radical Islamist groups it backs in the Middle East and to limit the range of its missiles so they cannot attack Israel, as well as to renounce uranium enrichment and dispose of its existing stockpile. The Islamic Republic refuses to include its ballistic missile program in the negotiations and rejects any commitment to cease uranium enrichment in the future, something it considers its right as a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
According to a Wall Street Journal report on Thursday, Trump is considering a targeted attack against a limited number of Iranian military or government targets to pressure Tehran into accepting his terms. Should this initial strike fail to produce the desired results, the Pentagon would repeat its attacks, each time on a larger scale.
The military plans being considered by the Pentagon include options that foresee attacking specific individuals within the Iranian system, and could even seek regime change if Trump so orders, according to Reuters, which cites two senior U.S. officials.
The fact that these possibilities are being considered represents a further sign that the United States is preparing for a serious conflict with Tehran should diplomatic efforts fail, and its calculations include a military operation lasting weeks, the agency notes. This operation could target not only Iranian nuclear sites, as the U.S. strike did last June, but also security facilities. At that time, Trump asserted that Operation Midnight Hammer had “annihilated” Iran’s nuclear program, a claim immediately disputed by numerous experts.
In response to threats from Washington, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that Iran would “respond” to the United States if it uses “the language of force.”
“If you speak to the Iranian people with the language of respect, we will respond with the same language. But if you speak to us with the language of force, we will also respond using your same language. I believe we Iranians have proven to be a very proud people. We will only respond if you speak to us with respect. That is the only way you can speak to us, and then you will see the result,” the minister declared in an interview with the MS Now program Morning Joe.
As part of the large-scale U.S. military deployment to the Middle East, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is already in the region’s waters, along with its escort group, which includes three destroyers. The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, is en route, also with its escort group. In addition, some 50 military aircraft, including F-22s, anti-missile systems, ammunition, and spare parts have been sent to the region.
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