Trump is reported to consider first "small strikes" and then "big strikes" against Iran

According to a report by The New York Times on the 22nd, U.S. President Donald Trump has told his advisors that he is “inclined to carry out a preliminary strike on Iran in the coming days,” followed by a larger-scale military attack in the coming months to force Iran to “yield” and reach an agreement according to U.S. demands.

The report, citing sources familiar with the Trump administration, states that although no final decision has been made, Trump is leaning toward conducting a preliminary strike on Iran within the next few days to signal to Iranian leaders that Iran must agree to relinquish its nuclear weapons capabilities. The targets Trump is considering are broad, including the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters, nuclear facilities, and ballistic missiles.

The report says that if the “targeted” preliminary strike fails to compel Iran to meet U.S. demands, Trump “reserves the possibility of conducting a larger-scale military attack later this year” to overthrow Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei.

On the 18th, Trump held a meeting in the White House Situation Room to discuss plans for striking Iran, attended by Vice President Pence, Secretary of State Pompeo, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Milley, and CIA Director Ratcliffe.

The report also states that the White House declined to comment on the decision-making process of the Trump administration, only saying that “the media can continue to speculate about the President’s thoughts, but only the President himself knows what he might or might not do.”

Currently, the U.S. has deployed the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group around Iran, and the Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group is also heading toward Iran. The New York Times reports that the Gerald R. Ford carrier was sailing in the Mediterranean south of Italy on the 22nd and is expected to soon arrive in waters near Israel.

A new round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran is scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 26th. Iranian Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian told U.S. media on the 22nd that reaching a “better agreement” than the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is possible, while emphasizing Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy use.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

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