The US President, Donald Trump, is weighing several courses of action against Iran, spanning from a modified agreement on atomic matters to potential armed operations against the nation’s top brass, featuring Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Donald Trump / © Associated Press
The Donald Trump administration is mulling over an extensive set of potential strategies concerning Iran, covering accommodations in atomic discussions to assaults on principal figures and even the chance of backing a transition in governance, as reported by Axios, referencing high-ranking American officials.
Negotiations and diplomacy
Of late, emissaries from Iran and the United States have been engaged in roundabout dialogues striving to settle the dispute over Iran’s atomic initiatives. On one side, Iran has voiced its readiness to prolong the interaction, notably by permitting discussions about adverse uranium enhancement at a figurative level, though significant disparities endure.
Iranian Vice Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi asserted that the US did not seek an absolute termination of uranium refinement during the recent parleys in Geneva, but the US government insists on assurances of the program’s peaceful intentions.
Concurrently, the White House presented Iran with a defined timeline — 10 to 15 days — to attain a settlement, and cautioned about “dire consequences” should diplomacy falter.
US administration options
As per Axios, Washington is evaluating the subsequent conceivable strategies:
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Permitting minimal “figurative” uranium enrichment by Iran as part of a bargain represents a concession designed to restrain Tehran’s atomic aspirations without thoroughly collapsing the parleys.
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Continuing armed preparation , encompassing even radical alternatives. According to officers, a blueprint that integrates strikes on Iranian officials — incorporating Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and pivotal members of his retinue — or further calculated objectives is not discounted.
The piece itself indicates that there is no definitive verdict on the assault as of yet — Trump and his cohort may embrace either a conciliatory or belligerent path, or a synthesis of both methods, reliant on the progression of the dialogues and Tehran’s deportment.
Military pressure and build-up of force
In unison with diplomacy, the US has intensified military strategizing and troop positioning within the region. Commentators opine that this is a tactic to coerce Iran into consenting to a pact or to forge conditions for action should talks collapse.
Specifically, the US military has installed substantial contingents in the Persian Gulf and eastern Mediterranean, marking the most considerable expansion since Iraq in 2003, as reported by defense and diplomatic informants.
Experts speculate that in the event of heightened tensions, strikes could initially target Iran’s protective frameworks and military establishments , followed by political or military chiefs, contingent upon such a determination being reached.
Trump's positions and the international context
US President Donald Trump has earlier expressed that a shift in governance in Iran could constitute the optimal result if discussions fail, a declaration he articulated while censuring the regime in Tehran for its crackdown on demonstrations and advocating sustained duress on the Iranian government through political, diplomatic, and military channels.
It is likewise communicated that alliance between the US and Israel involves deliberation on pressuring Iranian oil deliveries, specifically shipments to China, as an additional means to impair Iran economically.
Iran's reaction
The Iranian government and spiritual hierarchy, headed by Ali Khamenei, resolutely reject demands for a complete cessation of the atomic program and label a multitude of American requirements as unacceptable.
Khamenei and his coterie have also persistently cautioned that any armed incursion on their nation or its leaders would be regarded as an act of war , potentially triggering a considerable escalation of the contention within the area.
What to expect next
At present, the US government’s stance remains ambivalent: on the one hand, discourse is ongoing, and a window for compromise exists; conversely, should negotiations falter, mixed scenarios are being considered, which would coalesce diplomacy with armed coercion or direct intervention .
Specialists observe that Trump’s verdict on Iran could be pivotal for security in the Middle East in the ensuing weeks and impinge on international equilibrium, as well as the trajectory of the atomic non-proliferation arrangement.
What preceded
Amid mounting strain between the Donald Trump administration and the Iranian governing structure, the Pentagon is redeploying an aircraft carrier strike team from the South China Sea to the US Central Command operational zone, encompassing the Middle East.
On January 14, Reuters, citing informants, conveyed that US involvement in the Iranian situation was probable and could transpire within 24 hours.
US President Donald Trump has exhorted an end to the jurisdiction of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been at the helm of the nation for 37 years. He asserts that it is opportune to identify a new leader in Iran.
Trump subsequently proclaimed the deployment of a sizable American fleet towards Iran and menaced a considerably more severe assault should Tehran decline to confer over its atomic agenda.