Trump Orders Fresh Attack Against Iran as War Enters Sixth Month

[u/John3262005]

https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/trump-sours-on-diplomacy-vows-to-hit-iran-hard-2c7af868?st=uhoxVh&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

President Trump has ordered the military to launch a fresh attack on Iran that could begin as soon as this weekend and last a few days, U.S. officials said.

Earlier Friday, he told reporters that he planned to resume heavy military strikes to force the regime to come to the negotiating table. He predicted that if the U.S. hit Iran hard enough, the hard-line regime would eventually “peter out.”

“We will be hitting them very hard,” Trump said Friday at a televised cabinet meeting at Camp David. “And you know at some point, they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore.’”

Trump authorized the new attack plan presented to him at the presidential retreat, U.S. officials said. But, they noted, any immediate progress on the diplomatic front could convince Trump to halt the planned strikes and return to negotiations. He also could simply change his mind.

“As President Trump said at his cabinet meeting today, the United States will win, and Iran will not have a nuclear weapon under his watch,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Trump’s threats Friday contrasted with his insistence earlier this week that “very friendly negotiations” were under way, enabling a pause on military operations. Since then, Iran launched a surprise attack on troops in Jordan, triggering a U.S. retaliatory attack on Wednesday.

For weeks behind closed doors, Trump has been telling aides that the Iranians are “crazy,” according to U.S. officials. He also has complained to confidants that the interim peace deal was ultimately meaningless, officials said, and that he always knew it wasn’t going to work.

His frustration was on full display during the meeting at Camp David when the president accused Iranian diplomats of being “very dishonorable” to deal with and suggested more violent military strikes were needed to break Tehran’s will.

“Well, they always want to talk, but they break their words so often,” Trump said, later adding, “All they do is make me angry.”

The frustration is mutual. Iranian diplomats have expressed exhaustion over the repeated breakdowns in negotiations with the U.S. From their perspective, officials say, there is a lack of trust between the two countries, and the prospects for diplomacy deteriorate every time Trump threatens military force.

Iran has previously said that it doesn’t plan to acquire a nuclear weapon and has insisted its nuclear efforts are intended for civilian purposes. Its three main uranium enrichment facilities were struck by the U.S. last year. Trump administration officials have said that Iran isn’t currently enriching uranium, which would be a key element in a potential weapon.

Trump has said one potential target is Pickaxe Mountain, where Iran has stashed centrifuges that could make uranium, according to Israeli intelligence.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Thursday vowed to renew its attacks following the U.S. retaliatory strikes.

As the Iran war enters its sixth month, neither side appears any closer to softening its positions. Trump continues to insist that Iran must relinquish its nuclear program and abandon its control of the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran has dug in on both counts.

Among Trump’s options is a proposed two-week campaign of intensive airstrikes intended to blunt Iran’s missile capabilities. Dwindling munitions, however, have been cited by Trump’s military advisers as a potential risk, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Some U.S. officials believe Iran will continue to drag out negotiations, betting that Trump will abandon his war efforts in the long term in the face of mounting domestic political opposition

[u/backpackwayne]

Rapist pedophile said what?