Key Points – President Donald Trump is giving Iran a “maximum” of two weeks to avoid a potential US military strike, a deadline that shortens previous timetables and signals growing impatience in the White House.
-This ultimatum comes as US intelligence and the President publicly disagree on how close Iran is to a nuclear weapon, with Trump dismissing his own DNI’s assessment and stating “she’s wrong.”
-While European allies attempt to mediate a diplomatic solution in Geneva, Trump has asserted that “Europe can’t help them,” indicating he prefers direct US-Iran engagement, even as he finds it “very hard” to ask a “winning” Israel to de-escalate its own attacks.
Trump’s Iran Ultimatum: A High-Stakes Gamble for War or Peace?
After Iranian missiles struck residential buildings in southern Israel and a major hospital in Tel Aviv on Thursday, Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that the Israeli military was instructed to find and assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader.
Iran’s Latest Strikes
Thursday’s missile barrage against Israel, which saw an Iranian missile strike the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, wounded at least 240 people, according to the Israeli Health Ministry.
The majority of those wounded are in stable condition with minimal injuries, though four civilians were reportedly left in serious condition.
Iran also reportedly fired a missile containing cluster munitions, targeting densely-populated areas.
The attack, which saw smaller submunitions scattered with the intention of increasing the number of civilian casualties, marked the first reported use of cluster munitions since Israel launched the first missiles roughly a week ago.
Pressure Keeps Mounting on Tehran…
Following the strikes, Defense Minister Katz directly blamed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and confirmed that the Israeli military is seeking to do more than just destroy Iran’s nuclear program.
Specifically, Katz said that Israeli forces have been “instructed” to target the Iranian leader, and that the Israeli military “knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist.”
The Walls Closing in…
Sources suggest that Iran’s Supreme Leader is well aware of the immediate threat to his life and is currently holed up in a bunker in Lavizan, Tehran.
Reports suggest that Khamenei is surrounded by members of his family, including his son Mojtaba, who is widely expected to succeed Khamenei after his death.
America Could Soon Attack Iran
The news comes as U.S. President Donald Trump takes a step back from aggressive military posturing, giving Iran two weeks to come back to the negotiating table to prevent the deployment of American military hardware in the conflict.
Reports suggest that President Trump already vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei before his famed Truth Social post in which he said that Khamenei was safe “for now.”
It is unclear, however, whether the United States and Israel are presently on the same page with regards to their aims in Iran. While President Trump appears laser-focused on neutralizing a nuclear threat from Iran and hesitant to launch strikes, Israeli officials have repeatedly implied or stated that assassination is not just a possibility, but a necessity.
Things Keep Getting Worse…For Iran
On Tuesday, June 17, Katz warned that Khamenei could face a fate “similar” to Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who was executed after his government was toppled. Katz made the comments during a meeting with Israeli commanders.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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