Trump Gives 10-Day Window For Iran Deal — Says “Bad Things” Will Happen Otherwise
President Trump gave Iran a 10-day warning before potential military action during his opening remarks at the inaugural "Board of Peace” meeting Thursday in Washington, D.C. While the focus of the meeting was on the next stage of the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, the elephant in the room was potential U.S. military action against Iran.
Trump reiterated that Iran should make a deal on its nuclear program or “bad things will happen.”
“Now, we may have to take it a step further — or we may not. Maybe we’re going to make a deal. You’re going to be finding out over the next, probably 10 days,” he said.
WHAT WE’RE FOLLOWING
The U.S. has built up its military forces in the region — to levels not seen since the 2003 invasion preceding the Iraq War. NBC News reports that Trump could authorize a range of covert actions, including potential “decapitation” strikes targeting Iran’s leadership — up to and including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Clues from recent history: Back in June, the U.S. also urged diplomacy before eventually joining Israel in strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities during its 12-day war with Tehran. Then, Trump initially said he would take two weeks to decide whether to bomb Iran’s underground nuclear enrichment facility at Fordow; but within days, B-2 bombers carried out the strike.
Iran is estimated to still have about 2,000 ballistic missiles in its stock pile.
This time around, U.S. and Israeli officials tell Axios a military operation against Iran would likely be a massive, weeks-long campaign.
HELP IS ON THE WAY?
Trump told anti-regime protesters in Iran last month that “a lot of help [was] on the way,” warning Tehran there would be consequences for killing peaceful demonstrators.
Some estimates place the death toll from the anti-regime crackdown in the tens of thousands.