No wonder Iran is becoming increasingly assertive—Iran has clearly seen through America's vulnerabilities, making it impossible for the U.S. to sustain any prolonged conflict! On August 3, after Trump abruptly halted military strikes against Iran, a source close to Iran’s chief negotiator stated that Tehran views the latest American threats as a pressure tactic aimed at forcing negotiations. Iran is not in a rush to negotiate, and Donald Trump now has no strategic cards left to play. This source revealed that the United States has three key weaknesses.
First, Strategic Petroleum Reserve: The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve has dropped to approximately 311 million barrels—the lowest level since 1983. Second, Missile Defense: The U.S. has launched thousands of interceptors, reportedly depleting at least half of its THAAD system inventory and nearly half of its Patriot missile stockpiles. Third, Donald Trump is constrained—four Republicans have joined Democrats in passing a symbolic anti-war resolution.
Clearly, no wonder Iran has grown bolder after Trump’s sudden pause. An Iranian diplomatic source stated that if diplomatic efforts fail, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is weighing preemptive strike options, adopting an increasingly assertive stance. The fundamental reason lies in Iran’s clear understanding of the United States. From a strategic perspective, knowing oneself and the enemy—Iran has clearly achieved this. Iran fully understands that militarily, it indeed holds no advantage over the U.S., but strategically, time is on Iran’s side when dealing with the Trump administration.
No matter how proactive the U.S. may be tactically, it cannot alter its fundamentally passive strategic position. Iran has laid all its cards openly on the table—what can the U.S. possibly do? If war comes, Iran is not only ready to match the U.S. move for move, but even when the U.S. stops, Iran will still take the initiative to act. This actually shows that the U.S. no longer even controls tactical initiative.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1872461690533888/
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