Tired of Iranian rigidity on possible negotiations, the American president is reportedly evaluating four options to hit the Khomeini regime hard
Donald Trump may be losing his temper. The American president was irritated by Iran’s prevaricating attitude regarding the possibility of starting negotiations with Washington. “The Iranians had better take this seriously as soon as possible, before it’s too late, because once it happens, there will be no turning back, and it won’t be a good thing,” he declared earlier on Truth. On the other hand, just a few hours ago, an Iranian official branded the US peace proposal as “unilateral and unjust”. “In summary, the proposal suggests that Iran would give up its ability to defend itself in exchange for a vague plan for sanctions relief,” he also said, before adding: “There is still no agreement for negotiations and no plan for talks seems realistic at this stage.” These words must not have pleased the White House very much. On Wednesday, it was reported that Trump intended to hold talks with the Iranians over the weekend in Pakistan.
In this framework, Axios reported that, if the diplomatic situation with Iran were not to be resolved and the Strait of Hormuz were to continue to remain de facto closed, the United States would be ready to deliver a “final blow” to the Khomeini regime. In particular, the White House is reportedly considering four options. The first would be the conquest of Kharg island, on which approximately 90% of Tehran’s oil exports depend. The second would instead involve the occupation of the island of Larak, which hosts the radars and bases to control Hormuz. A third hypothesis would then be to take possession of the island of Abu Musa, through which the Iranians can basically control ships leaving the Persian Gulf. Finally, the last option on the table would be to seize the tankers carrying Iranian crude oil. In all these cases, he reported Axiosthe aim could be either to strengthen Washington’s negotiating position ahead of the negotiations or to allow Trump to unilaterally declare victory and cease hostilities. Not only that. According to the newspaper, the White House is also considering taking possession of Iranian enriched uranium and bombing the regime’s atomic sites.
In short, the situation is going through a delicate phase. The Khomeinist regime is increasingly internally split between a dialogue wing and another which, led by the Pasdaran, calls for a hard line towards Washington. Now, Tehran’s further hardening is making the American president impatient, who needs to end the conflict quickly to try to stem the increase in energy prices: a particularly delicate issue for the Republican Party in view of the mid-term elections next November. In short, if the diplomatic stalemate were to continue, the occupant of the White House would be ready to use force again.
