Reports that US president Donald Trump has authorised military action against Iran represents a significant escalation in the deepening crisis over the latest war to engulf the Middle East.
According to reports circulating in the US media, the US leader gave private instructions to military chiefs in the situation room inside the White House on Wednesday. At the same time, Trump is insisting in public that he has made no final decision on whether or not to strike Iran, telling reporters: “I have ideas on what to do but I haven’t made a final – I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due.”
Nevertheless, the fact that Trump is giving serious consideration to launching military strikes against Iran with the aim of neutralising its nuclear programme marks a serious escalation in the deepening conflict over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which most Western intelligence agencies believe is ultimately aimed at producing nuclear weapons.
The recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN-sponsored body responsible for monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities, concluded Tehran has acquired sufficient stockpiles of enriched uranium to produce at least 10 nuclear warheads. This was what prompted Israel to launch its devastating assault on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure last week.
Since then Israel and Iran have become involved in a deadly conflict, with Israeli warplanes regularly attacking Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure, while Iran has responded by launching barrages of missiles and drones.
In Iran’s latest missile attack against Israel overnight, a hospital was struck by a missile in southern Israel. The distinct possibility that the US military could become involved in this conflict would therefore take it to an entirely new level, one that raises the prospect of a wider conflict involving the entire Middle East.
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has made it clear that the US would suffer “irreparable damage” if it became involved in the conflict; Tehran is likely to launch attacks against US military and diplomatic bases in the region if Trump follows through on his threat.
The very idea that Trump could authorise military action against Iran goes against his constant campaign pledge during the presidential election that he wanted to end America’s “forever wars” in the Middle East.
The main reason the US military might become involved in the conflict is that it is the only Western nation that has the capability to destroy one of Iran’s key nuclear facilities, the Fordo complex which is located deep underground in a mountain range.
To conduct such a mission the US would need to deploy one of its Massive Ordnance Perpetrator (MOD) bombs, the only munition capable of destroying the facility. But by doing so, Trump runs the risk of provoking a major conflict between the ayatollahs and the West.
Reports that US president Donald Trump has authorised military action against Iran represents a significant escalation in the deepening crisis over the latest war to engulf the Middle East.
According to reports circulating in the US media, the US leader gave private instructions to military chiefs in the situation room inside the White House on Wednesday. At the same time, Trump is insisting in public that he has made no final decision on whether or not to strike Iran, telling reporters: “I have ideas on what to do but I haven’t made a final – I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due.”
Nevertheless, the fact that Trump is giving serious consideration to launching military strikes against Iran with the aim of neutralising its nuclear programme marks a serious escalation in the deepening conflict over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which most Western intelligence agencies believe is ultimately aimed at producing nuclear weapons.
The recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN-sponsored body responsible for monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities, concluded Tehran has acquired sufficient stockpiles of enriched uranium to produce at least 10 nuclear warheads. This was what prompted Israel to launch its devastating assault on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure last week.
Since then Israel and Iran have become involved in a deadly conflict, with Israeli warplanes regularly attacking Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure, while Iran has responded by launching barrages of missiles and drones.
In Iran’s latest missile attack against Israel overnight, a hospital was struck by a missile in southern Israel. The distinct possibility that the US military could become involved in this conflict would therefore take it to an entirely new level, one that raises the prospect of a wider conflict involving the entire Middle East.
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has made it clear that the US would suffer “irreparable damage” if it became involved in the conflict; Tehran is likely to launch attacks against US military and diplomatic bases in the region if Trump follows through on his threat.
The very idea that Trump could authorise military action against Iran goes against his constant campaign pledge during the presidential election that he wanted to end America’s “forever wars” in the Middle East.
The main reason the US military might become involved in the conflict is that it is the only Western nation that has the capability to destroy one of Iran’s key nuclear facilities, the Fordo complex which is located deep underground in a mountain range.
To conduct such a mission the US would need to deploy one of its Massive Ordnance Perpetrator (MOD) bombs, the only munition capable of destroying the facility. But by doing so, Trump runs the risk of provoking a major conflict between the ayatollahs and the West.