Trump Considers Military Action Against Iran Amid Rising Tensions

United States President Donald Trump plans to make a decision regarding possible military actions against Iran within the next two weeks. This was announced on June 19 at a briefing by White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt.

Leavitt noted that Trump believes there is a “significant likelihood” of new negotiations with Iran concerning its nuclear program. She quoted the president:

“Given that there is a considerable chance of negotiations with Iran, which may or may not happen in the near future, I will make my decision whether to start (participation in war – ed.) or not.”

The day before, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had approved plans for an attack on Iran but decided to temporarily postpone them to await Tehran’s response regarding its nuclear program.

According to the publication, one of the possible targets for the attack is the uranium enrichment facility at Fordow, which is located under a mountain and is considered unreachable by most conventional bombs, except for the most powerful ones.

Commenting on the situation, Trump stated that journalists “have no idea” about his thoughts on Iran. Earlier, when asked about the possibility of striking Iran’s nuclear sites, he replied: “Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.”

At the same time, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei emphasized that Iran will not surrender and warned of “irreparable consequences” of any American military intervention.

Israel’s Attack on Iran

On the night of June 13, the Israel Defense Forces launched an air operation against Iran’s nuclear program. The Israeli Air Force struck dozens of targets, including uranium enrichment facilities and military bases.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the operation’s goal is “to strike Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, its ballistic missile production plants, and military capabilities.” He also added that the operation will continue until the mission is fully accomplished.

As a result of the attack, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, and the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, were killed, according to the Iranian state news agency.

Following the strikes, several countries closed their airspace. The IAEA expressed concern about the attacks on nuclear facilities, while Iran claims that the nuclear sites did not suffer serious damage.

In response to the Israeli strikes, Iran launched over 100 drones toward Israeli territory. On June 13 and 14, Israel carried out new airstrikes on key defense installations and military bases in Iran.

At an emergency UN Security Council meeting on June 13, Iran officially accused the United States of involvement in Israel’s strikes on Iranian territory. Washington rejected these accusations and called on Tehran to come to the negotiating table regarding the nuclear program.