Emile Hokayem
Too many have mistakenly believed or chosen to believe that President Donald Trump is averse to war or was conducting subtle coercive diplomacy to obtain limited concessions from Tehran. If Trump cares deeply about a few things (think tariffs, Greenland, building the wall), on most other issues he is a vessel for others to steer with promises of swift victory and glory. Iran is one of these issues. His hawkish advisers and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, have manoeuvred skilfully to get him to a place where war was inevitable.
Soon after bombs began dropping, Trump unambiguously called for regime change. Once he decapitates the regime, he suggested, it will be up to the Iranian people to seize the gift. He also claimed, without evidence, that the campaign will ‘defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.’ Israel’s foreign minister echoed this logic, calling the strikes ‘preemptive’. Not many believe these arguments, but this doesn’t matter.
Trump and Netanyahu are now going for the jugular. US and Israeli aircraft and cruise missiles have attacked Iran’s leadership sites, command structures and missile facilities. Iran’s supreme leader, its president and its senior security commanders remain invisible at present. The damage to Iran’s decision-making and military structures is likely to be massive. Iranian authorities have called on residents to leave the capital.
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