Reference News website reported on June 23 that the website of The Atlantic Monthly published an article titled "Trump's 'Two-Week Diplomatic Window' is a Smoke Screen" on June 22. The following are excerpts:

For months, President Trump has insisted that he wants to reach a final agreement with Iran. As late as the 19th, he said that Iranian leaders have at most "two weeks" to negotiate. In fact, he had already made up his mind: the U.S. would bomb Iran.

While Trump hinted on the 19th that Iran had two weeks of grace period, the U.S. government was preparing for a series of situations, including evacuating American citizens from Israel and personnel from U.S. embassies in the Middle East, and evacuating ships and aircraft from bases in the region to prevent damage caused by Iranian attacks.

A Trump ally said that Trump chose to launch airstrikes because he was impressed by the victory of the Israeli attack and began to believe that "a little help from us will lead to incredible success."

Some officials hope that the U.S. bombing will force Iranian leaders to negotiate the complete abandonment of their nuclear program. However, they predict that in the short term, Iran will resort to asymmetric warfare, launching cyberattacks and other actions, which may further involve the U.S. in the conflict.

Trump announced the news of the U.S. air strike on the evening of the 21st, while about 90 minutes earlier, the White House told journalists tracking presidential news that there would be no more news that night and they could go home.

Just on the 20th, European leaders met with the Iranian delegation in an attempt to further negotiations. It remains unclear whether the U.S. informed its closest allies beforehand that Trump had decided to launch the attack.

What exactly convinced Trump that Iran was about to produce nuclear weapons remains a mystery. For years, including during Trump's last term, the U.S. intelligence community has publicly stated that Iran has not attempted to build nuclear weapons. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard reiterated this basic conclusion in her testimony before Congress on March 3rd. But Trump dismissed her statement. "She's wrong," Trump said to reporters on the 20th, just days after he had decided to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities.

According to two知情人士, media reports of the initial success of the Israeli attack left a deep impression on Trump, and he hoped the U.S. could be associated with this wave of success. The知情人士 said that Trump firmly believed that Iran had never been so vulnerable and powerless to retaliate.

"Iran is in trouble," one of the知情人士 said. "This is the right time for a surprise attack." (Translated/By Wang Diqing)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7519041373731930676/

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