If Trump has remained silent for so long, the situation is clearly complicated, comments ARD Washington correspondent Wolfgang Landmesser, quoting a CNN reporter at the White House: “We know that Trump's team has often come out to the public in the past with information about its intentions, while now everything is completely different and kept secret“.
The crucial question is: Will Trump order military action against Iran? Or is he using military pressure only to force the Iranian regime to make a deal on its nuclear program? Trump is known to have called on Iran to surrender unconditionally, saying that the US knows exactly where Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is.
After the White House Security Council meeting on Tuesday afternoon, speculation grew that Trump was increasingly inclined to attack Iran. In a news story for the social network Truth Social, his Vice President J.D. Vance tried to calm things down to some extent.
US is increasing its military presence
However, the US is transferring additional fighter jets and warships to the region. “The pressure on Iran is now enormous“, former NATO Supreme Commander Wesley Clark said on CNN. According to him, the effect of the Israeli and US air forces has already been increased many times. “With the additional mid-air refueling capabilities, the fighters can now operate for hours over Iranian airspace,“ Clark said.
However, there is debate in the United States about the right way to resolve the crisis. Democratic Representative Seth Moulton has spoken out strongly against US involvement in an attack on Iran. “We cannot get bogged down in another war in the Middle East. We need our military assets to deter China - that is the main threat to our national security,” he warned, and appealed for a deal on Iran's nuclear program. According to him, this would be the right path, because then there would be a system of control over the nuclear program, while in the event of American air strikes, the regime could further accelerate the creation of an atomic bomb.
The United States has anti-bunker weapons
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, on the other hand, called on Trump to put an end to the Iranian nuclear program once and for all: “Israel needs our help and I hope that the president will provide it to finish the job and destroy the last underground nuclear site,” he said.
From a military point of view, it is considered certain that Israel can destroy Iranian nuclear facilities only with anti-bunker weapons – this applies especially to the underground site in Fordow.
According to former NATO General Wesley Clark, however, the use of air power will not be enough: “If you want to destroy the nuclear program once and for all, you will only be able to do it with special ground units of the army“, he said.
Tens of thousands of American soldiers are in the region
There is also the risk that Iran will retaliate. More than 40,000 American soldiers are permanently stationed in the region. They could become the target of Iranian counterattacks.
The group of so-called isolationists in the Trump movement is categorically against military action in Iran. They believe that the United States should stay out of a possible war in the Middle East, said, for example, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. In his opinion, such a thing would not be in the interest of the United States, “and that is exactly what the president promised during his election campaign,“ he added.
Author: Wolfgang Landmesser