As concern about the US attacking Iran continues to grow, President
Trump added to tensions on Sunday, Tweeting out that such a fight “will
be the official end of Iran,” and demanding that Iran “never
threaten the United States again.”
Trump and his aides have tried to push the narrative that Iran is
“threatening” the US in some very vague but serious way, using the
potential threat to justify ongoing military buildups and threats
for war, even as Iran downplays the situation and insists there will
be no war.
In comments to reporters, Trump insisted he’s “not
somebody that wants to go in to war” with Iran, but that he
wants to ensure they don’t get nuclear weapons, adding another old
canard into the talk of war.
Iran hasn’t been accused of doing anything remotely nuclear related
during this recent build-up in tensions, and the IAEA is
consistently affirming that Iran is in lines with its safeguards
agreement. Raising nuclear weapons now is seemingly pointless.
Except that if history is any indicator, the fact that Trump mentioned
nuclear weapons, even if without evidence and for literally no real
reason, will be used by hawks in their talking points in the days to
come, until it’s been repeated enough that it becomes part of the war
narrative, much like all of the other things Iran isn’t really doing.
This is also a dramatic shift in Trump’s tone, as just days ago he was
saying very plainly he “hoped” there would not be a war, but is now back
to seemingly itching for an excuse. The false notion that Iran “wants
to fight” is back, seemingly out of nowhere, and again driving Trump
into another flurry of threats.
Trump has bragged in recent days of his Iran policy being so
inconsistent and confusing, declaring that there can be “no way” Iran
would have any idea what his intentions are, and that he thinks that’s
“probably a good thing.” While opaque policies seem to be an end unto
themselves in this administration, it’s hard to imagine that it isn’t
meant to indicate a hawkish intent.
Trump Warns Iran It Faces Ruin If It ‘Wants to Fight’ With U.S.
Trump threatens 'official end of Iran' in bellicose new statement
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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