U.S. President Donald Trump kept the world guessing about whether the United States will join Israel's bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites as the Israel-Iran conflict entered its seventh day on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump declined to say if he had made any decision on whether to join Israel's campaign. "I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," he said.
Trump in later remarks said Iranian officials wanted to come to Washington for a meeting and that "we may do that." But he added, "It's a little late" for such talks.
The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva aimed at persuading Iran to firmly guarantee that it will use its nuclear program solely for civilian purposes, a German diplomatic source told Reuters.
But while diplomatic efforts continue, some residents of Tehran, a city of 10 million people, on Wednesday jammed highways out of the city as they sought sanctuary from intensified Israeli airstrikes.
The Wall Street Journal said Trump had told senior aides he approved attack plans on Iran but was holding off on giving the final order to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear program.
Asked if he thought the Iranian government could fall as a result of the Israeli campaign, Trump said: "Sure, anything could happen."
Referring to the destruction or dismantling of Iran's Fordow nuclear enrichment center, Trump said: "We're the only ones that have the capability to do it. But that doesn't mean I'm going to do it - at all."
Military analysts believe that Israel might need U.S. military help to destroy Fordow, dug beneath a mountain near the city of Qom.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, rebuked Trump in a recorded speech played on television, his first appearance since Friday.
The Americans "should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage," he said. "The Iranian nation will not surrender."
In its latest bombings, Israel said its air force destroyed Iran's police headquarters.
Israel's military said sirens sounded in northern Israel just before 2 a.m. local time on Thursday (23:00 GMT on Wednesday) and that it had intercepted a drone launched from Iran. It said several minutes later that another drone was intercepted in the Jordan Valley area.
The Iranian missile salvoes mark the first time in decades of shadow war and proxy conflict that a significant number of projectiles fired from Iran have penetrated defences, killing Israelis in their homes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video released by his office on Wednesday, said Israel was "progressing step by step" towards eliminating threats posed by Iran's nuclear sites and ballistic missile arsenal.
"We are hitting the nuclear sites, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of the regime," Netanyahu said.
Israel, which is not a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.
Netanyahu also thanked Trump, "a great friend of the state of Israel", for standing by its side in the conflict, saying the two were in continuous contact.
Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the war to suggesting the United States might join it.
In social media posts on Tuesday, he mused about killing Khamenei.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, asked what his reaction would be if Israel did kill Iran's Supreme Leader with the assistance of the United States, said on Thursday: "I do not even want to discuss this possibility. I do not want to."
A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations.
Iran's mission to the United Nations mocked Trump in posts on X, describing him as "a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance."
Israel's military said scores of Israeli jets had struck targets in and around Tehran and in western Iran in the previous 24 hours in three waves, hitting sites producing raw materials, components and manufacturing systems for missiles.
FLEEING TEHRAN
Arezou, a 31-year-old Tehran resident, told Reuters by phone that she had made it out of the city to the nearby resort town of Lavasan.
"My friend’s house in Tehran was attacked and her brother was injured. They are civilians," she said. "Why are we paying the price for the regime’s decision to pursue a nuclear program?”
In Israel, sirens rang out anew at dusk on Wednesday warning of further incoming Iranian missiles. A motorist was injured by missile debris, Israeli medics said. The army later advised civilians they could leave protected areas, signalling the threat had passed.
At Ramat Gan train station east of Tel Aviv, people were lying on city-supplied mattresses or sitting in the odd camping chair, with plastic water bottles strewn about.
"I feel scared, overwhelmed. Especially because I live in a densely populated area that Iran seems to be targeting, and our city has very old buildings, without shelters and safe spaces," said Tamar Weiss, clutching her four-month-old daughter.
Iran has reported at least 224 deaths in Israeli attacks, mostly civilians, but has not updated that toll for days.
Since Friday, Iran has fired around 400 missiles at Israel, some 40 of which have pierced air defenses, killing 24 people, all of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
LEVERAGE
Iran has been exploring options for leverage, including veiled threats to hit the global oil market by restricting access to the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important shipping artery for oil.
Inside Iran, authorities are intent on preventing panic and shortages. Fewer images of destruction have been allowed to circulate than in the early days of the bombing, when state media showed pictures of explosions, fires and flattened apartments. A ban on filming by the public has been imposed.
The communications ministry said on Wednesday that temporary restrictions on internet access would be imposed to help prevent "the enemy from threatening citizens' lives and property".
Iran's ability to hit back hard at Israel through strikes by proxy militia close to Israeli borders has been limited by the devastating blows Israel has dealt to Tehran's regional allies - Hamas and Hezbollah - in conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon since 2023.
© Thomson Reuters 2025.
111 Comments
sakurasuki
Surrender then what? Another land grab will take place? Complete with settlement package?
That what keep happening in the past.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/factbox-with-assad-gone-israel-captures-syria-buffer-zone-ends-border-agreement/3418903
https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20250227-israeli-troops-staying-indefinitely-in-lebanon-border-buffer-zone-defence-minister-says
Saltwater Shenanigans
Iran can never be allowed to make s nuclear weapon.
TaiwanIsNotChina
That's what leaders do: they issue declarations of "maybe".
TaiwanIsNotChina
What is this war costing the US in terms of revealed technology to our adversaries?
M3M3M3
The skies over Israel remain completely closed to commercial air-traffic. How long until the people get restless and the economy begins to feel the pinch? My money is on Iran winning a war of attrition.
sakurasuki
@TaiwanIsNotChina
Have you also give a thought what US tax payer really benefit from all of these?
GuruMick
From "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace ", dated June 16 2025
For the past few months the greatest threat to security in the Middle East has been the military adventurism pursued by Israels far right Government and its belief in its ability to impose its will on its enemies through warfare, coupled with a rejection of negotiation and peaceful solutions.
GuruMick
I quote this because it is succinct and cannot be accused of any leftist bias, nor anti Israel bias.
This is an esteemed international magazine of statecraft and deserves to be seen as such.
bass4funk
Well, at least he tried, can’t fault him for that.
GuruMick
Good pic of the downed drone.
Note the background....all stony desert.
Hard to get cover for any invading ground troops.
Possession of the land is what wins wars.
JboneInTheZone
Appeal to authority is a logical fallacy. If you want to appeal to authority though let’s do it:
The IAEA recently released a concerning report stating that Iran was in breach of non-proliferation obligations.
Iran had recently ramped up their production of enriched uranium to a level of 60% which is far above the 3-5% required for nuclear power and would have set them only 3 weeks away from the necessary 90% for nuclear weapons.
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/iaea-board-declares-iran-breach-non-proliferation-duties-diplomats-say-2025-06-12/
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/06/17/middleeast/iran-fordow-nuclear-site-latam-hnk-intl
Iran can not be allowed to get a nuclear bomb
GuruMick
Iran will build offensive nukes if Israel and US keep bombing it.
Logical response to bullying.
Bob Fosse
He should tweet “I have the concept of a plan,, very special, very special. You’ll hear all about it in 2 to 3 weeks” in all caps.
Failing that just a short simple “Ali, stop!”
geronimo2006
Well, so much for Iran capitulating to Trump's surrender demand. What's next? Trump is dithering what to do as he has no plan or clue, but just wants to make himself look good like some kind of strongman. That's what US involvement now will be all about achieving, but a protracted war with Iran probably won't achieve that. Will he follow up on threats with real action - not much of a track record on that one. But lobbying a few bombs in might satisfy his ego. Meanwhile his buddy Putin and MAGA are telling him not to do it. What will he do? No clarity on policy because he doesn't have one. Just whatever he feels like doing. Wait till the last minute? - whenever that is. Now the US has the worst decision maker as POTUS facing his first real crisis test.
WhatsAllThisThen
The US doesn't like the regime change they did in Iran last time?
JboneInTheZone
They’re only being bombed because they’re building nukes. Iran has been dedicated to destroying Israel long before Israel took any action against Iran
GuruMick
Netanyahu was on TV in 2012 with a little cartoon showing "how close " Iran was to having nukes.
Thats 2012.
GuruMick
BTW Mr. Bone....did you research and now confirm that Israel supports Kurds as a proxy military group in Syria and Turkey, someone you denied.
Appeal to authority can mean learning stuff.
bass4funk
This is why Trump should bomb it and eliminate that threat.
Peter14
Israel leadership has lost the plot, gone off the rails and become a failed state with nuclear weapons making it a more immediate threat than even North Korea.
This is not about Israel defending itself. This is about Israel initiating a war with Iran for its own twisted desires and to keep its leader from prosecution and jail both domestically and internationally.
Shame on anyone supporting Israel in starting new wars in the middle east.
JboneInTheZone
You literally posted an opinion peace that isn’t based in any science, law or “other subjects at a Uni level”. It’s the definition of an appeal to authority.
Very cute cope but it’s not 2012 it’s 2025, and in 2025 we have international organizations like the IAEA releasing reports that the nuclear enrichment of uranium by Iran is closing in on that necessary to build a nuclear weapon and that Iran is in breach of non-proliferation obligations.
Do you want to keep living in the past? You probably should because you have no idea what you’re talking about when it comes to the present
bass4funk
Just pure utter delusional nonsense.
It absolutely is
No, it’s to neutralize the threat they pose to them
I am not even in the slightest ashamed, but I think anyone who supports the Iranian regime needs to take a hard look in the mirror at themselves.
JboneInTheZone
I did my research and there is 0 evidence that supports your claim that Israel funds (as you stated) Kurds fighting in Turkey.
JboneInTheZone
Nobody will answer this:
Why was Iran enriching uranium to a 60% level?
Alfie Noakes
This slab of propaganda masquerading as a "news story" was brought to you by the CIA, MI6 and Mossad.
kurisupisu
Why is Israel bombing Tehran?
How many nuclear enrichment plants are there in Tehran?
America wants to join in?
Where are over 9 million people meant to go?
Americans need to understand the resulting loss of life will be massive!
JboneInTheZone
Cope. The Iranian regime is one of the most unpopular in the world by its own citizenry:
“An opinion survey involving 158,000 people in Iran showed that more than 80 percent of respondents reject the Islamic Republic and prefer a democratic government.”
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202302036145
JboneInTheZone
Because they are devloping nuclear weapons
2 it looks like. 1 of which (Fordow) was found to have enriched uranium to 60% (far above the 3-5% required for energy)
NB
It is very dangerous when someone, by dint of having a small mustache, has a right to launch a world war and set the whole world in fire. What would have happened if the guy with the small moustache got his hand on nukes?
It is very dangerous when some old man, by dint of having a beard and donning a religious cloth hat, has the right to murder far away nations using nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles.
The nuclear proliferation must be stopped.
The horrible and redundant Arab-Israeli conflict must find a peaceful solution.
itsonlyrocknroll
President Trump has a considerable air/navy asset to the region. I read some 30 US air refuelling tankers. Two aircraft carrier strike groups are now steaming towards Iran.
President Trumps temperament, the loud sometime petulant threats, belie a singular angry lack of patience.
The demands for unconditional surrender, deliberate provocation menace
BBC security brief
US sends military assets to the Middle East as Israel-Iran conflict escalates | BBC News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-YDTOWIQSo
President Trump could well be bluffing, intimidation, shows of military force capability etc.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could, I suggest will call his bluff.
Then again trumps America first mantra many well compel him to strike Iran future development of long range intercontinental ballistic missiles, capable of striking US mainland strategic targets, cities even.
Aly Rustom
My guess is soon.
Same
Yrral
Because Israelis Jews are killing Palestinians,that a good reason for Iran too enrich
JboneInTheZone
Weird that nobody has answered my question despite so many Iran defenders joining the comments. I’ll ask again then since maybe my question got skipped?
Why was Iran enriching uranium to a 60% level?
itsonlyrocknroll
Win a war??
It is a question of survival, to then have to build the cenotaphs to commemorate the dead.fallen.
Yrral
(J) you research Jews collaboration with Nazis, Israel even has a court to prosecute Jewish collaboration,if anybody the gates of hell should be open on is Germany,they are not only responsible for Israelis Jewish mess that the world is dealing,they are not paying for it ,but the rest of the world is having to deal with the mess, especially a America Google Israel Jewish Collaboration Court
JJE
The media hitjobs on enrichment are spurious at best - outright distortion.
Regardless, Tehran will seek a deterrent in reply to this sneak attack.
Also important to observe Israel is a non-signatory to the NPT and doesn't open its facilities for inspection.
TokyoLiving
Let's go Iran, fight for the new world order and for Palestine, defeat the Zionist regime and its puppet Trump... China, Russia, Pakistan and North Korea support you, you are unbeatable!!!...
JboneInTheZone
The IAEA, the organization that is the world's centre for cooperation in the nuclear field and the agency that works with member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies and is partnered with more than a dozen UN organizations is committing a “hit job”? Do you want to join us back in reality any time soon?
Yrral
(J)The answer is 31.21,35.01 ,these GPS coordinates can put an end to Israelis genocidal rampage,killing Palestinians and offering liberation of Iranian , maybe Jews should liberate themselves from the Protocol of the Genocidal Elders,if you despise some Israelis Jews you are not along, even Japanese as a whole despise them
JJE
IAEA Grossi just delivered a statement confirming Iran is not - repeat NOT - working on a bomb.
Welcome back to reality.
Wasabi
trump flip flop in 3.2.1....
M3M3M3
Probably to deter Israel from bombing them (and their allies) with impunity? It's not unreasonable to conclude that the one thing that might restrain Israel at this point is the threat of nuclear weapons. If Iran withdraws from the NPT they have just as much of a right to have the bomb as Israel does.
JboneInTheZone
If you actually listened to what he said instead of just posting headlines you would also know that he stated
“If there was some activity which was clandestine or hidden or away from our inspectors, we couldn’t know,”
based on the evidence in the recent IAEA report it’s clear that Iran has been attempting to hide their nuclear research. Per the report:
"The Board of Governors... finds that Iran's many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019 to provide the Agency with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations in Iran ... constitutes non-compliance with its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement with the Agency,"
Next cope?
JboneInTheZone
Well atleast someone admits they were trying to get a nuclear weapon
JJE
Yes, a hitjob. One assumes you are referring to the so-called IAEA resolution declaring Tehran to be in non-compliance. An absolute joke. if it weren't for the vicious murders being commissioned under its shameful cover.
The resolution was proposed by the US and the usual suspects. The 35-member IAEA board voted 19-3 with 11 abstentions to adopt the resolution and they won't put the voting results on their website because they are too embarrassed to admit the naked politicization of the so-called 'board'. Basically the agency has been weaponized to serve an aggressive agenda.
Yrral
Do not listen to Isrealis Genocidal Jews , Remember Saddam,everytime insecure Jews ,want somebody to do something it always American ,leading to thousands of American death ,even tried to pin 9/11 ,if you are American and you despise some Israelis Jews, remember all the dead American that died for their lies
JboneInTheZone
Why do you feel the need to lie when you know I can just easily look this information up? Please don’t tell me you’re getting your news from Twitter…
“VIENNA, June 8 (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors overwhelmingly passed a resolution criticising Iran for failing to explain uranium traces found at three undeclared sites, diplomats at a closed-door meeting said on Wednesday.
Only two countries, Russia and China, opposed the text while 30 voted in favour and three abstained, the diplomats said.”
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iaeas-35-nation-board-passes-resolution-chiding-iran-uranium-traces-2022-06-08/
bass4funk
Yeah, I also believed the moon landing was a hoax
Not when it comes to the very survival of their nation.
No, they don’t. Tell me, when has Israel shouted “death to Iran?” When did they have desires and plans to wipe it off the map? They have nukes (allegedly) they could have destroyed that country a long time ago but they didn’t and remember, who does Iran back again as proxy forces? Hamas as well as Hezbollah and what is their goal? To destroy the Jewish state. So no, they can’t have nukes.
GuruMick
"appeal to authority " is a throwaway line ...meaningless in the context used.
Some opinion pieces are more authoritive , some aren't.
And yes, if you study science, law, even literature, you will need to quote precedent...its accepted as bedrock.
If you want to override someone who writes for the Carnegie Endowment , my guess is throwaway lines on this forum wont get you an interview.
But , write away, and impress all of us with insight without politics, knowledge without sarcasm , projections without being personal projections.
Repeating right wing MAGA craptastico not really cutting it.
GuruMick
IAEA an appeal to authority too ?
Who runs these things ?
Has Israel signed up ?
Why not ?
Why two laws that excludes Israel ?
Tokyo Guy
"No decision" probably means that he gave them an alternative to surrender: "buy lots of my phones".
JJE
Adding 11 abstentions to the 'voting in favor' column is dishonest at best.
Nor was it some war powers act - at best it would have perhaps led to discussions about possible 'snapback sanctions'.
But it is being used to justify Netanyahu's sick mind and his ruthless unprovoked assault.
TaiwanIsNotChina
The last regime change the US did in Iran was in 1953 and wasn't to install the Islamic Republic.
JJE
That's right - it was to reinstall foreign oil companies. The revolution was to topple that torture obsessed US puppet 'king' regime that allowed it.
TaiwanIsNotChina
I'm sure Eisenhower's ghost can be brought up on charges.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Not too much has changed based on the number of executions.
ThePunisher
Iran has every right to possess nuclear weapons to protect herself from the nuclear-armed, warmongering regional bullies : Israel and America.
Everyone knows Trump will chicken out when it comes to attacking Iran. He is gutless.
JboneInTheZone
This is just a long winded justification for an appeal to authority.” Lol
okinawarides
"We control the skies over Tehran. We are striking with tremendous force at the regime of the ayatollahs. We are hitting the nuclear sites, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of the regime," Netanyahu said.
Unprovoked attack on a sovereign country. Where is the G7 outrage, the condemnations, the moral high ground, the sanctions against the aggressor Netanyaho regime?
JboneInTheZone
Iran is the aggressor against Israel and cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons
Capuchin
Your facial hair based beardo-politics smacks of racism. Netanyahu is all of the above minus the beard.
Simple question. Is Israel a signatory to the NPT and is Israel responsible for the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East?
JboneInTheZone
Attilathehungry
Aside from trying to get nuclear weapons and commit genocide against Israel, Iran is the fountainhead of evil in the region. They sponsor, train, and arm terrorist groups from Hezbollah to the Houtis to Hamas. Frankly, this has been a long time coming. And the combination of circumstances currently make success for the free world more likely.
One can only hope that the Iranian people take the opportunity to rise up and throw off the shackles that restrain them. Get rid of the mullahs and head hackers, embrace democracy, and rejoin the family of free nations.
At the moment, there is only one democratic country in the Middle East. It would be great to make that two...
mrtinjp
From "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace ", dated June 16 2025
And who is funding these endowments, will be mostly me countries.
ThePunisher
All of us on here remember people of your thinking telling us Afghanistan and Iraq were going to be "free" after the American attacks, decade long bombings and interventions.
How did that work out?
ian
Building weapons of mass destruction.
We've heard that one before.
Ryokai
The only supporters of the current Iranian regime are other bully-boy authoritarian governments. Even 80% of Iranian citizens want their current regime gone. The world views Iranian citizens favourably and wants the best for them.
JJE
Regardless, Israel has failed - the main goal was to topple the government and even breakup the country.
On the contrary, despite internal issues, this ruthless sneak attack has seen a consolidation of general society around the country's political leadership and a nationwide will to defend against the aggressor - which is the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv running the rogue state.
Same thing happened during the Iran-Iraq War, which tried to crush the nascent revolution but failed with Tehran emerging stronger.
lincolnman
The Ayatollah rejects his surrender plea...
Bibi rejects his "don't attack" plea...
Putin rejects his "don't escalate" plea...
Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson, MTG, and Charlie Kirk - and a large part of the MAGA base reject his "let's go to war with" iran plea...
And all the while, he had to sit through a pitiful military parade that he afterward freaked out on Hegseth for bungling so badly...
The Loser keeps on Losing...
JJE
Iran fulfilled the deal. The U.S. tore it up.
Yet Europe demanded Iran to uphold its side of the deal without benefits.
Why the hell should Iran comply with a deal the West abandoned but uphold only one side?
A brutal reminder of who really broke the agreement.
Nothing new from these professional hypocrites really.
Express sister
MAGA, 2016 - Yesterday: Down with hawks! We don't want war!
Trump: I think war is cool actually.
MAGA: We love war! We must bathe in the blood of the vile foreigner! A safe Israel can only be built on the bones of her enemies!
Jimizo
Trump looked unwell at the G7. He was confused and slurring.
Not the best person to have in charge at a time like this.
Express sister
One thing that makes me even sicker about this is that Ted Cruz is so unutterably vile that he made me agree with Tucker Carlson.
JboneInTheZone
If Trump came out and said “actually eating poop is pretty cool” you’d have MAGA out digging up sewage lines to get to poop the next day. Don’t ever make the mistake of assuming MAGA has any principles at all
HopeSpringsEternal
At least 80% of Americans from multiple polling sources, support US military action to eliminate the Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program, from all political parties, Democrats, Republicans and Independents.
wallace
Ted Cruz couldn't pinpoint Iran on a map.
wallace
Most Trump supporters want to keep the US military out of the Israel-Iran conflict, poll finds
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/18/trump-republicans-iran-conflict
wallace
The Pope called on Trump-Netanyahu-Iran to end the bombing and killings.
lincolnman
I'm reminded of John McCain's saying "Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran"....
And Trump and MAGA-world slandering and ridiculing him as a hated NEOCON warmonger....
Now? "Load up the bunker-busters!"
MAGA-world - all hypocrisy, all the time...
kurisupisu
Enriching uranium and building a nuclear bomb are two completely different actions…
JboneInTheZone
What other reason is there to enrich uranium to 60%?
Tokyo Guy
The Pope called on Trump-Netanyahu-Iran to end the bombing and killings.
Can't speak to Netanyahu, but the problem with this is that the Pope is considered the representative of God, and Trump thinks he is God, so by default he sees the Pope as lower on the pecking order.
If the Pope could fake his IP address to make it look like his words were coming from Moscow, then he might get Trump to listen...
wallace
From a poster yesterday
Here's Trump himself on Twitter in 2019.
The United States has spent EIGHT TRILLION DOLLARS fighting and policing in the Middle East. Thousands of our Great Soldiers have died or been badly wounded. Millions of people have died on the other side. GOING INTO THE MIDDLE EAST IS THE WORST DECISION EVER MADE.....
https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1181905659568283648
JJE
The main reason is Tehran has every sovereign right to enrich uranium.
Desert Tortoise
It's an MQ-9. They are designed to be expendable. Inexpensive, no serious tech, send them places you don't want to risk manned systems. Scores have been lost over Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan already. Nothing particularly secret inside.
JJE
Under the NPT - of which Iran is a signatory - it is 100% legal for any country to produce HEU.
Desert Tortoise
From experience, the ordnance the USAF would expend is not cheap. Figure a couple of million bucks per shot. And that ordnance takes years to be produced from the day the DoD orders it. The US cannot just chuck Tomahawks, JASSMs and ALCMs at Iran indefinitely. So what is the end game? What does "winning" look like and obtw, your enemy has a vote on when the war ends. If they want to keep on fighting when we think we are done, then what? Think this thing all the way through.
JboneInTheZone
But the JCPOA, of which Iran is a signatory of, limits the enrichment level to 3.67%. 60% in higher than 3.67%
JJE
The US pulled out of the JCPOA and reneged on the deal.
Tehran is not obliged to uphold a one-sided deal you know...
Desert Tortoise
No. Bibi started this war with Iran to prevent Shas from bailing out of his governing coalition and forcing an election he would very likely loose. Shas was maybe days away from leaving the coalition in a dispute over mandatory military service for Orthodox seminary students. Bibi knows he would lose an election were it held before the current attack on Iran and losing an election probably meant he would go to prison. So to prevent this he attacks Iran. All the rest is just a lot of Kabuki.
Peter14
You might want to begin with Israel who refuse to sign the nuclear non proliferation treaty because it would have to give up its stockpile of nuclear weapons.
The nation that starts the most conflicts in the Middle East is the one nation that has nukes, which rightly worries the hell out of everyone else in the Middle East. Not surprising if others feel the need to get their own for their protection from such a hostile nation.
HopeSpringsEternal
Trump's right to keep a 'flexible' mindset, because facts and circumstances on the ground in Iran and within their Leadership can quickly change.
Hopefully, this matter can be resolved peacefully via Diplomacy ASAP, and to do so, Iranian leadership needs to pay DJ Trump at 1600 a visit right away
JboneInTheZone
The JCPOA isn’t only between Iran and the US. The EU continues to abide by the deal as does (not actually but they claim to) Iran.
JJE
Yes, but we all know the US is the key party and their sanctions are the most effective.
Reneging on a deal means one party isn't obligated to uphold it to some Europeans - rather it is up to the latter to persuade the former to uphold the terms they signed - and not some other way around.
elephant200
Although I hate Trump's tariffs but I am 1000% supporting if he send troops to crusade the Iranians. I miss those old days when Bush Jr. sent US troops in Iraq.
JboneInTheZone
So then you agree that Iran was operating in bad faith by being a signatory to the JCPOA despite not following the enrichment limits set forth by the agreement? If you sign a deal you are obligated to uphold it to some Europeans.
JJE
To make it very clear - if the Europeans want Iran to abide by the terms of the signed deal, it is incumbent upon them (which means EU and entirely their responsibility) to persuade the US, which unilaterally withdrew from a signed deal (or 'tore it up' as they put it) to rejoin the deal.
This is not Tehran's prerogative, nor is it obligated to uphold the deal in general in absence of above persuasion and positive action to correct the party who actually reneged on the terms of the signed deal. This was announced back in 2020.
JJE
I don't agree with that at all - the deal was torpedoed by the US reneging unilaterally. It is the 100% the responsibility of the EU to convince their so-called allies to not renege on the deal.
okinawarides
JimizoToday 10:00 am JST Trump looked unwell at the G7. He was confused and slurring. Not the best person to have in charge at a time like this.
You could be right, lets hope Trump stays cool and resists Bibi's attempts to draw the US into his war.
BTW, the most embarassing G7 moment goes to the Wally from Downing street however, shaking hands with an interpreter thinking he was the SK president, lol.
JboneInTheZone
It is absolutely their prerogative to hold to the terms of the deal if they signed the deal. If they don’t like the terms then they can also withdraw from the deal. They are bad actors by signing it and simultaneously going against the provisions they agreed to
u_s__reamer
"Guessing"? Trump himself, the laziest, most corrupt, illiterate and incompetent US president of all time doesn't know himself what he's supposed to do as decision-maker, hence all the flip-flopping like a fish on a cutting board, and the feckless amoral creature that he is could care less. Impeachment would be the least messy solution the MIA Potus.
Dave Fair
Trump thinks he can play his cards to force the hands of the Iranian Ayatollah and leadership but trump tweets and speaks sooo often that he boxes himself into a corner instead of just going silent. Benjamin Netanyahu and his lap-dogs in the United States have manipulated trump but I think deep down trump doesn't want to be remembered as the president who got us sucked into another endless and disastrous Middle East war!
How ironic that it was he who had openly criticized former US presidents for allowing wars to start and promised Americans back in the election that he alone would negotiate ends to various ongoing conflicts that never would have started had he been president.
If trump does go down the rabbit hole and gets the US directly involved the MAGA movement will disintegrate and the Republican party will fracture and deservingly so. There are those in his inner circle who must be warning him the consequences and how this will detemine his legacy and he's too much of a narcissist to ignore that.
bass4funk
They all need to do what they need to do, let the chips fall where they may.
Anyway, let's not forget that they also reject a nuclear Iran.
https://x.com/GuntherEagleman/status/1935419350955053200
Well, that's settled.
You and most liberals who hate Trump didn't like it, not the rest of the country, thankfully.
He is definitely losing his patience with Iran.
funkymofo
Israel or Iran?
Which country has nuclear weapons?
Which country refuses any IAEA inspections?
Which country just killed the other’s lead nuclear negotiator in a blatant effort to derail upcoming talks?
Which country is committing genocide against its neighbor?
Which country has the IAEA said is not attempting to make nuclear weapons?
The only legal justification for an attack by Netanyahu and his co-conspirator Trump is U.N. article 51, which legitimizes the use of force to repel an armed attack. Israel has explicitly stated that their attack is to prevent the possibility of a future attack, not a response to an attack.
Assessing the legality of the attack depends on the legal conception of self defense. There are three basic positions:
1, That states can act preventatively to deflect attacks, especially existential ones.
States can act to deflect future attacks that are imminent.
That states can only act to deflect armed attacks that have occurred.Obviously under option 3, the attack is manifestly illegal.
There is legal agreement that option 1 is untenable, it’s often associated with the Bush administration’s use of force against Iraq and similar to Russia’s attempts to justify the invasion of Ukraine.
So, Israel has only option 2-
It’s incumbent upon Israel to prove that an attack is imminent- the Iranian rhetoric often used to justify this is mainly for domestic political purposes, and does not, in itself translate to proof of an explicit intention to attack, especially given the fact that Israel would respond decisively in kind. Perhaps there is explicit intelligence that shows this intention, but none has been provided by either Israel or US. Even Netanyahu has stated that Iran is months ( he’s been saying basically the same thing for 20 years) away from development- and in the context of ongoing talks and negotiations, an attack is unjustified. It is difficult to see the current attack as the last possible option, thus it is illegal under international law.
JJE
The classic 'Wants to have one's cake and eat it too' attitude from the collective west - Iran is 'obligated' despite the deal being torn up.
Tehran announced in 2020 it was withdrawing from the terms of torpedoed deal. It did, however, allow some room for coordination with the IAEA. This is called good faith.
But let's not be under any illusions - absent a deal because of unilateral reneging - what that looks like is 100% Tehran's prerogative to decide.
The ball is in the EU court to persuade Washington, not Tehran's.
bass4funk
No, I can give you two big names, or actually three, of former Presidents who met that exact description.
That is good or do you want a knee-jerk reaction considering what is at stake?
Definitely does not care what the Democrats or the MSM think. Lol
Democrats would need to get the House first, and with the infighting and all the turmoil they are going through, not going to happen. Do Dems really want to talk about the "I" word again when they failed so miserably the last 2 times?
M3M3M3
We're living in a completely different world after the Gaza genocide. The US and EU have basically discredited themselves and exposed their own hypocrisy/double-standards vis-a-vis Israel. Iran would be a fool to enter into further negotiations and expect agreements to be upheld. If Israel has a veto over your country's foreign policy, you don't have real sovereignty.
JboneInTheZone
Iran was obligated because they signed it. It’s simple. And the deal wasn’t torn up. The EU signed it. Iran signed it.
They also haven’t formally withdrawn from the deal.
lincolnman
They have zero respect or fear of him....they proved how weak and impotent he is...
MAGA nuclear civil war...
KJU loved it - but said he could do better....ROFL...
And America-first MAGA-world has lost patience with Trump...about time...
itsonlyrocknroll
M3 lets hypothesis had the 7th October simply been another day, notwithstanding, the strained, brewing religious-based hatred, the continuing peaceful “fenced” co-existence would have prevailed
Iran Hamas is never tolerating such a scenario. From the river to the sea etc .
Could be not be only a question pf time before war would become inevitable?
This devastation was never to end with Gaza capitulation.
Only a question of time before this present confrontation
JJE
When the main party withdraws, the deal is null and void.
Tehran is not obliged to subscribe to professional hypocrites.