Synopsis
On February 5, President Trump proposed a potential deal with Iran while simultaneously threatening annihilation if it attempted to assassinate him. In a dramatic shift, he reinstated maximum sanctions aimed at crippling Iran's oil exports, reinforcing his volatile diplomatic approach.Key Takeaways
- Trump offered to negotiate with Iran.
- He threatened to obliterate Iran if assassinated.
- Maximum pressure on Iran’s oil exports reimposed.
- Shift from previous nuclear deal stance.
- Iran is currently vulnerable politically.
New York, Feb 5 (NationPress) President Donald Trump proposed a deal with Iran, threatened to obliterate it if it were to kill him, and initiated "maximum" pressure to cut off its oil supply -- all in a whirlwind of events.
"I say this to Iran, who's listening very intently, 'I would love to be able to make a great deal. A deal where you can get on with your lives'", Trump stated on Tuesday at the White House while signing a memorandum on re-imposing "maximum economic pressure".
However, he emphasized, "they cannot have one thing -- they cannot have a nuclear weapon".
Trump remarked, "I think that's going to be very unfortunate for them" if they were to possess one.
This offer represents a shift from his earlier tenure, during which he withdrew from the multinational agreement aimed at restricting Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Later on, he mentioned that he had issued orders to obliterate Iran if it were to carry out an assassination against him.
Prior to Trump's presidency, US officials had indicated that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards had planned to kill him, leading to the arrest of three individuals in New York who were charged in a murder-for-hire scheme targeting him.
At a news conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he stated that if Iran were to assassinate him, "that would be the end".
"I've left instructions", he said, "if they do it, they get obliterated. There won't be anything left".
Trump expressed his desire to exert maximum pressure on Iran to halt its oil exports, which serve as an economic lifeline.
"Today, I also took action to restore a maximum pressure policy on the Iranian regime, and we will once again enforce the most aggressive possible sanctions, drive Iranian oil exports to zero, and diminish the regime's capacity to fund terror throughout the region and throughout the world", he declared.
Trump's proposal for a deal with Iran aligns with his unorthodox diplomatic tactics.
During his previous term, he met with North Korea's dictator Kim Jong-un three times but failed to secure an agreement for Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear program.
Currently, Iran finds itself in a precarious position following the fall of its ally, Syria's former President Bashar al-Assad, and the defeat of its proxies Hezbollah and Hamas, limiting its influence across the Middle East.
Additionally, it has a new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, who took over after the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.
However, during his last term, Trump exited the agreement established by the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, and Germany for Iran to halt its nuclear weapons program in exchange for eased sanctions.
The collapse of the deal led to Iran resuming uranium enrichment that could be utilized for nuclear weaponry.
