US President Donald Trump has been told that military strikes on Iran would not overthrow the Tehran regime, but could also lead to worse outcomes – a widespread war in the region.
Medianews.az reports that this was written by the US “Wall Street Journal”.
According to the newspaper, information about the aforementioned risks of bombing Iran was conveyed to Trump by American officials, the President’s advisers, and America’s partners in the Middle East. Sources also emphasized that before an attack on Iran, the US needs additional measures to protect both its bases in the Middle East and its allies such as Israel from retaliatory strikes. Trump was also told that limited strikes could boost morale among protesters in Iran, but would not change the regime’s repression policies.
The “Wall Street Journal” claims that this is why Trump has not yet decided on striking Iran and has chosen to monitor how Tehran deals with protesters.
Nevertheless, it is reported that Trump has instructed to have military assets ready in advance in case a large-scale attack becomes necessary.
The White House press secretary Karoline Livitt told journalists on January 15 that the President and his team have sent a clear message to the Iranian authorities: “If the killings continue, there will be very severe consequences.”
Livitt stressed that only Trump himself and a very limited number of his advisers know what steps he will take.
Although the White House spokesperson confirmed that Trump had a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent days, they did not provide details of the discussion. According to reports, Israel conveyed its concerns about a possible attack to the US side.
NBC had previously reported that Trump’s advisers could not guarantee that the Iranian regime would rapidly collapse after a US strike.
According to information, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe presented Trump with secretly obtained video footage of protesters killed in Iran during a closed-door meeting at the White House attended by a number of officials.
Republican member of the US Senate and close friend of Trump, Lindsey Graham, stated that the scale of a potential operation against Iran is still under discussion: “Should the operation be large or limited in scope? I favor the large-scale option. Time will tell.”
Meanwhile, Iranian officials have contacted the governments of Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman to warn that if an attack occurs, Tehran will strike American bases in the region.
