Trump threatens Iran with an attack like the one on Venezuela

WashingtonAfter slightly de-escalating his threats against Iran, Donald Trump is back on the attack. Just as the spotlight is on ICE's extrajudicial violence and the two murders in Minnesota at the hands of immigration agents, the US president is once again targeting Tehran. The president has threatened the ayatollahs' regime with an attack like the one he launched against Venezuela if it doesn't "quickly come to the table" to negotiate a "fair and equitable" nuclear agreement. "Time is running out," the president threatened in a message on his social media network, Truth Social. "Make a deal." "The next attack will be much worse!" he said, referring to the so-called Operation Midnight Hammer, which launched against Iran's nuclear facilities last summer

The Republican explained that "a large armada is heading towards Iran," led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham LincolnThe same fleet that was mobilized for the maritime siege of Venezuela. Trump has emphasized that this time the fleet, which includes several ships with guided missiles, is larger than the one he sent against Caracas. The ships arrived in the region on Tuesday, and although they were not yet in their final positions, they already had sufficient range to attack the ayatollahs' regime. Yesterday, following the presence of theUSSAbraham Lincoln In the region, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke by phone with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The statement issued afterward by the Iranians explained that Bin Salman had emphasized his commitment to regional stability, security, and development.

"He stressed the importance of solidarity among Islamic countries and declared that Riyadh rejects any form of aggression or escalation, aiming to establish 'peace and security throughout the region.'" The statement on Wednesday, highlighting the mobilization of the aircraft carrier when it was already in the area, comes after the call between Tehran and Riyadh. The Islamic Republic's repression of protesters is being used as a pretext to threaten intervention in Iran. although several organizations put the number of victims in the tens of thousands. When the president downplayed the possibility of a military attack on the regime, he justified it by saying that the ayatollahs had halted the executions. This time, the new escalation doesn't even mention the protests, but rather the nuclear agreement.

Is the diplomatic route out of the question?

Two weeks ago, amid the escalating tensions staged by Washington, the back channels They continued working. As an administration official explained at the time...Wall Street Journal, The White House was considering a last-minute Iranian offer to diplomatically address the limitations on its nuclear program. Tehran was playing the nuclear card to try to persuade Washington regarding its stance on the protests. The Republican, who withdrew the United States from a multinational nuclear agreement with Tehran in 2015 during his first term in the White House, wants an agreement based on what he calls "strategic submission." That is, one that would force Iran to completely stop enriching uranium, end its ballistic missile development program, and cease funding regional militias. Ultimately, what matters to the president is not so much the repression of the regime as the nuclear issue. The June bombings of Iranian nuclear facilities were precisely aimed at curbing the development of the country's capabilities. The Department of Defense at the time argued that it had dealt a severe blow to the ayatollahs, although analysts had serious doubts about the effectiveness of that attack. When Trump announced two weeks ago that he was halting the possibility of an attack because Iran had announced it was stopping executions, the New York Times It was revealed that the US president had received calls from Israel and Arab countries asking him to postpone the operation.

For its part, the Iranian government has asserted that it sees a military confrontation as more likely than negotiations with the United States. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he had not been in contact with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in recent days nor had he requested negotiations, according to Iranian state media.