Amid soaring US-Iran friction, President Trump ponders airstrikes while Tehran’s pillars—China and Russia—shrink from military solidarity. Officials frame talks as diplomacy’s swan song, priming the ground for potential warfare.
Persistent leaks spotlight Trump’s military musings, against Iran’s backdrop of rebuffed advances for ironclad pacts with its eastern backers. Sources portray this as the paramount US peril to their agendas in living memory.
Naval posturing includes recent Russia-Iran drills off Oman and impending China-linked ops at Hormuz. But skepticism abounds: should Trump strike, expect tepid, non-combat support at best from these quarters.
A ex-Israeli operative crystallizes the stance—preserving leverage trumps regime loyalty; no appetite for US battlefield rivalry.
Trump’s inner circle discusses graduated aggression peaking in decapitation blows if nukes endure post-Geneva parleys or initial raids. Prime targets span Guard command posts to atomic and rocket installations.
Foreign Minister Araghchi entrenches on nuclear prerogatives. Merkley thunders opposition: Congress-exclusive war authority bars rash moves, lest they strand GIs and bystanders in harm’s way while dooming dialogue.
Envoy Witkoff stokes fires, claiming bomb materiel within Iran’s week-long grasp, ratcheting action imperatives. For petroleum-dependent India, Hormuz perils loom large—disarray here disrupts global supply’s core artery, endangering economies.
As rhetoric hardens and proxies pause, the precipice nears; Trump’s verdict could ignite or avert a powder keg.