Click to see full-size image. (U.S. Central Command)
U.S. President Donald Trump is considering several military options against Iran, including killing the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his son Mojtaba, Axios reported on February 21.
Since last month, Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with military action, first in response to a wave of deadly protests, then over its nuclear activities.
The U.S. military buildup in the region gained momentum in recent days. Dozens of warplanes were sent to the region, and the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group entered the Mediterranean Sea. According to various estimates, the U.S. is very much now ready to launch an attack against the Islamic Republic.
Speaking to reporters a day before Axios published its report, Trump said that he’s considering a limited military strike on Iran to coax it into accepting a nuclear deal on Washington’s terms.
Another senior Trump adviser was later quoted by the American news website as saying that the U.S. president “hasn’t decided to strike yet. I know that because we haven’t struck. He might never do it. He might wake up tomorrow and say, ‘That’s it.’”
According to the adviser, Trump has been presented with a range of military options for Iran, including the assassination of Khamenei and his son.
“They have something for every scenario. One scenario takes out the ayatollah and his son and the mullahs,” the adviser elaborated. “What the president chooses no one knows. I don’t think he knows.”
Another adviser told the website that “Trump is keeping his options open” and “he could decide on an attack at any moment.”
A separate report from Reuters confirmed that the Trump administration was considering targeting individuals as a part of an attack on Iran, and that planning has reached an advanced stage. The report didn’t name any possible targets for assassinations, however.
Despite recent escalation, a third U.S. senior official told Axios that the Trump administration is open to considering a proposal that would allow Iran to retain a “token” nuclear enrichment capability if Tehran’s route to an atomic bomb is fully sealed off.
The website said that while there could be a small opening for a deal, U.S. officials believe that the proposal that Iran is expected to submit in the coming days must clear a very high bar to win over skeptics in the Trump administration and Middle East.
“President Trump will be ready to accept a deal that would be substantive and that he can sell politically at home. If the Iranians want to prevent an attack they should give us an offer we can’t refuse. The Iranians keep missing the window. If they play games there won’t be a lot of patience,” the senior U.S. official said.
Senior Iranian officials, including Khamenei, have repeatedly stated that giving up uranium enrichment was a red line. Thus, the U.S. accepting any level of enrichment could offer an off ramp to both sides.
That’s being said, the nuclear issue is not the only thing driving the ongoing escalation. Iran has so far refused to hold any discussions on its missile program and regional influence.
In fact, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi refused to open an envelope from the U.S. side containing missile‑related proposals that was delivered by Omani mediators during the last round of indirect talks in Geneva, according to a recent Reuters report that citied sources familiar with the talks.
Two Israeli officials also told the news agency that they believe the gaps between Washington and Tehran are unbridgeable and that the chances of a near‑term military escalation are high.
While an agreement is not completely impossible, war remains more likely. And even if a nuclear agreement was reached, the U.S. or Israel on its own could escalate again against Iran in a few months, using the Islamic Republic’s missile program or regional influence as a pretext.
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what deal? the usa refuses to compromise on everything. the us wants iran to surrender, and the usa will still bomb iran. a “deal” works by both sides getting something in return.
it’s just trump’s kabuki theater, what’s going to happen is exactly what happened last year. he menaces publicly iran so satanyahoo cannot complain about him and label him an antisemite, and in the end it’s satanyahoo who’s goona be enraged afainst trump because nothing really scary happened.
isn’t it time for iran to get busy?
i think they may have been busy. that’s why the coalition of the arseholes has been very hesitant
if the past is anything to go by they will certainly try like the mafia gangsters they are, well they should remember the mango mussolini can also be hit.
stopped reading when i saw that the source was ‘axi0s’… every day i see sources like this from s-f it simply confirms they are a north american operation that wields a disinformation campaign for the west.
or increasingly lazy sf. i think they might be on vodka vacation
southfront.org used to be in crimea, but who knows now ?
can anyone find any current physical location for it ?
bingo! just like rt dot com.
it is clear that every site that you are allowed to see on the web is being used as part of the zionist propaganda tool.
some directly and some as controlled opposition of ignoeant people.
chumpo cant do jack shit
he’s very good at licking joo a*se. nobody can beat him at that.
barron trump: uncle andy is free again! is there really no danger of you being dragged out of the white house or arrested somewhere in europe or asia for pedophilia? is the beautiful redhead sarah ferguson really prettier than my mother?
donald trump: she’s not prettier, only uncle andy and jeffrey epstein thought she was prettier. that’s why jeffrey epstein, as soon as he saw the redhead sarah ferguson, immediately forgot about melania, even though melania was ready to
that’s why je ffrey ep stein, as soon as he saw the redhead sarah ferguson, immediately forgot about melania, even thou gh me lania was ready to have lesb ian sex with ghis laine ma xwell, but the redhead sarah was only ready in the classic way wi th jeffery.
saddam hussein and muammar gaddafi are play book examples. if the us completes this task iran will get a nuke
so, business as usual. murderers are murdering – until they meet someone who draw faster. as i know iran can draw really, really fast.
iran = property of usa
heheheh
jewsa = property of jooz.
nothing quite makes a peace deal like personal threats of violence and outright murder. i suppose the art of the deal isn’t as important as it once was. the trumpster needs to realise that all empires rise and fall. some are brought down by its own management quicker than it need be. still, american’s just love to learn the hard way.
why shouldn’t the iranians just rub out chumpo and his repulsive family?
inquiring minds are asking 🤔
trump is the one who will loose his entire family and his dirty life. he has made enough people his enemie that they will work together to wipe the satanist out by it’s roots.
this is not a hollow thread it’s just logic.
few minutes later…. khamenei and islamic iran wont exist anymore. gone. extinct
few minutes later, jews run like rats underground
trump:
1. giving now orders for an attack after you killed does not mean they will be executed.
2. after your guts are taken out, that will be the least problems you will have.
3. your rotten, dirty self will burn in hell – eternally.
sauce for the goose. kill chumpo and his son.