Topline
President Donald Trump on Tuesday night said that he was not interested in forcing Iran to agree to a deal to end the war and questioned why the Iranian people were not rising up against their government, after U.S. forces completed a fresh round of strikes.
US President Donald Trump speaks after signing an executive order that aims to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he was “not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table,” dismissing reports about the same.
The president said he “couldn’t care less” if Iran signs a “worthless, to them, agreement.”
Trump said he preferred the U.S. position now and once again claimed to have “almost total control” of the Strait of Hormuz, while reiterating that Iran’s economy was “collapsing.”
The president ended his post by asking when the Iranian people will “rise up and fight” against their government, without explicitly saying he wants them to push for a regime change.
What Do We Know About The Latest Strike On Iran?
The U.S. military conducted another round of strikes across Iran on Tuesday as tensions flared up once again. In a statement, the military’s Central Command said its forces struck various Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets “including air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mine laying capabilities, and communications sites.” CENTCOM said the strikes were in response to recent attacks carried out by the IRGC on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. bases.
What Had Trump Said Before The Strikes?
In an earlier post on Truth Social, Trump announced the latest wave of strikes and said they were “in retaliation for the Iranians’ failed attempt at adding sea mines to the Strait, which currently has no mines” and their missile attacks on U.S. bases in Jordan. Trump warned if Iran retaliated against this “very justified attack,” they would be “hit again at a much harder and higher level.” The president also claimed he had the “biggest attack of them all” waiting in reserve and “there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran” when it’s done.
Tangent
The resumption of hostilities has caused oil prices to spike again this week. Early on Wednesday, the global benchmark Brent Crude futures index stood at $95.34 per barrel, having risen from around $88 per barrel late last week.
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