Attacking at the negotiation table? The U.S. military opens fire on Iran again
At a time when the U.S. and Iran are negotiating the final agreement, the U.S. military has once again opened fire on Iran.
On the 25th, the U.S. Central Command released a statement saying that U.S. forces carried out so-called "defensive strikes" against Iranian missile launch sites and minesweepers near the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. military spokesperson Timothy Hawkins claimed this action was "to protect U.S. troops from threats posed by the Iranian military."
The excuse offered by the U.S. military is so contrived and laughable: sailing warships into the Strait of Hormuz to flex military might, then immediately bombing Iran's territory while still claiming self-defense—this kind of bandit logic could only be delivered with a straight face by Americans.
Frankly speaking, this U.S. strike is nothing short of an intentional provocation, using force to pressure Iran into quickly yielding at the negotiating table. The underlying message is crystal clear: if Iran doesn't make further concessions, the U.S. will start another war.
This approach of maximum pressure through military force also reveals Trump’s memory span of just seven seconds: he had barely reached a preliminary framework for ending the war with Iran and tasted a little sweetness, when he immediately started acting arrogantly, demanding either that Iran completely destroy its enriched uranium stockpile or hand it over to U.S. control—just days after sitting down at the negotiating table, he’s already brandishing a threat baton impatiently. This is classic Trump-style behavior.
Iran may not be able to match the U.S. militarily head-on, but there are many ways to make America uncomfortable—for instance, the "delay tactic." With midterm elections looming over Trump’s head, he actually needs to end the war more urgently than Iran does. So if negotiations are delayed by even a few weeks or a month, domestic pressure will grow, and Trump might well resort to his classic "TACO" performance again.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866219235613767/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.