Trump said he could unleash the US military
Donald Trump has warned that Iran will face ‘levels never seen before’ if it targets anything American in its ongoing conflict with Israel.
Middle Eastern countries have been launching missiles at each other for the last few days, with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stating that the Israeli strikes are a ‘declaration of war’.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned that the strikes were ‘a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival’.
He argued that Iran has been working to ‘weaponise’ its nuclear research and claimed that it ‘could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time’.
Netanyahu also stated that Israel would keep bombing Iran ‘for as many days as it takes’, and that what has happened so far will be ‘nothing compared to what they will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days’.
And of course, Donald Trump has now gotten involved in the conflict.
Israel struck Iran with a series of missile strikes on 13 June, Iran responded with strikes of its own (MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)
What’s happening between Israel and Iran?
The simplest way to put it is that Israel recently attacked Iran, and then Iran retaliated. After that, Israel struck back, and it just kept going like that.
These two nations have not been on good terms for a long time, to say the least, with missile strikes and drone attacks keeping the tension really high.
On Friday, June 13, Israel launched a series of missile strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear sites and military capabilities, which led to the deaths of several key figures in Iran’s military and nuclear programs.
Israel stated it had hit the ‘heart’ of Iran’s nuclear program, but Iran argues that it doesn’t have a nuclear weapons program.
On June 12, the day before the strikes, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that for the first time in 20 years, Iran was not sticking to its promise to avoid spreading nuclear weapons.
After Israel’s recent missile strikes, Iran responded with its own missile attacks on Israel, and then Israel retaliated again with more strikes, including on energy facilities and an oil refinery.
Some of the Iranian missiles were intercepted by Israel’s missile defense system, but not all of them were stopped. Iran’s leader has warned that ‘life will be dark’ for Israelis after these latest attacks.
This isn’t the first time these two countries have exchanged missile strikes.
The strikes have continued as each country retaliates to the other’s retaliation (Stringer/Getty Images)
What has Donald Trump said about Iran?
On his social media site Truth Social, Trump said: “If Iran attacks us in any way, the full power of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you like never before.
But we can easily make a deal between Iran and Israel to stop this bloody fighting.”
He’s been saying a lot about Iran in his posts, including that he ‘gave Iran many chances to make a deal’, and he mentioned that he gave them ‘a 60-day ultimatum two months ago’.
Trump bragged that ‘the United States has the best and most powerful military equipment in the world, BY FAR, and Israel has a lot of it’, adding that not making a deal with him ‘would be way worse than anything they know’.
He also said there would be more strikes and insisted that ‘Iran must make a deal, or there will be nothing left’.
Overall, his words are not exactly calming things down.
Trump has said the US will support Israel and warned Iran not to target anything American (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Why is Trump speaking out?
Iran has issued a warning that military bases from countries like the US, UK, and France will be attacked if those nations try to stop Iranian missile strikes on Israel.
Trump has stated that the US will protect Israel, and French President Emmanuel Macron has also promised support against any Iranian retaliation.
Following the Israeli missile strikes on Iran, the Iranian foreign ministry called them ‘acts of aggression’ and said in a statement that ‘the US government, being the main supporter of this regime, will also be held accountable’.
Because of this, there is a chance that US bases, outposts, and ships in the area could be targeted, and Trump is warning that any attack on them will lead to serious consequences.
Featured Image Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images