CNN
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The United States is closer to a potential major military conflict than we were in the Trump era. But where President Donald Trump’s head is proven to be a very difficult movement.
Since Israel launched an attack on Iran on Friday, Trump has provided a series of complicated messages about what he wants for Iran and how much the US is or how much it is involved.
This is a well-known story with Trump. Trump often swings between positions even in difficult situations. (Last week alone, Trump overturned policies on migrant attacks targeting undocumented workers in hospitality and agriculture industry before turning it back on Monday.
But the ever-changing commentary from the President means that even our enemies may not know exactly how to deal with and organize him. And Americans worried about taking part in another Middle East war are not clear about whether it will happen.
Let’s do some of the big mixed messages.
Trump’s big initiative with Iran is trying to create a nuclear deal of sorts. Trump had been pushing this for weeks – at various points suggesting that such a deal was on the verge of close – and continued to talk about it after Israel struck Iran last week.
But he quickly seemed to be separated from that emphasis.
On June 12, Trump said he had “a very good discussion with Iran.”
On June 15, Trump said Iran “want to make a deal. They’re talking. They’re talking.” He even said to the lecture that there was no deadline.
On June 16th at the G7 Summit in Canada, Trump said that Iran “is basically at the negotiation table. They want to make a deal. And as soon as I leave, we’re going to do something.”
But just a day after those comments, two days after saying there was no deadline, Trump quickly changed. Early on Tuesday morning he suggested that his appetite for negotiations had declined.
“They should have made a deal,” Trump said in Air Force 1 on his way home from Canada. “I told them, ‘I’ll make a deal.’ So I don’t know.
On June 15th, Trump expressed optimism about peace.
“We will soon have peace between Israel and Iran!” Trump posted to the True Society. “There are a lot of calls and meetings being held right now.”
By June 16, CNN reported to his counterpart at the G7 conference in Canada that ceasefire debate was underway and that US officials wanted to meet with their Iranian counterparts.
But by Tuesday morning, Trump had suggested that peace talks were not a priority.
“I have not reached out to Iran in any form, form or form for ‘peace negotiations’,” he posted to The Truth Society.
Trump also challenged French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments that the US president is about to negotiate a ceasefire.
“He doesn’t know why I’m on my way to Washington, but that certainly has nothing to do with the ceasefire,” Trump posted.
By the beginning of Tuesday, Trump also suggested he wanted an “a complete give up” by Iran.
He said, “It’s not an end, a real end, a ceasefire, it’s the end. That means giving up completely. That’s fine too.”
Trump sent his clearest signal later Tuesday that his goal had left the deal, posting two words about the true society in all caps: “Unconditional surrender.”
Not only has Trump begun to downplay the possibility of peace and nuclear deals, he is also increasingly cheating on the idea of more and more of our involvement. CNN reported Tuesday afternoon that Trump is growing more and more warmly with using US military assets to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, and is souring diplomatic solutions to end the conflict.
Initially, Trump mostly spoke about US involvement if Iran attacks American targets, but more recently it could be necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and raise the Saber Ratling.
On June 15, he said, “There’s a possibility that we might be involved, but we’re not involved at this time.”
On June 16, he refused to address the US role in Israel’s strike, saying, “I don’t want to talk about it.”
By Tuesday, Trump suggested that the US could be involved if it was necessary.
“Well, I hope their program will be wiped out long before that,” Trump said when asked about the role of the US military. “But they probably don’t have nuclear weapons.”
Until late Tuesday morning, Vice President JD Vance was actively poised with the possibility.
He said Trump had shown “notable restraint” in using the US military at this point. But then he added:
Trump quickly ratcheted his rhetoric further, posting in the Truth Society, saying, “We now have full and total control of the Iranian skies.” He added that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a “easy target,” adding, “We’re not going to take him (kill him!), or at least not now.”
Depending on your interpretation, the regime has been stripped or walked of very fine boundaries about its role in the first Israeli strike against Iran.
On June 12, Trump warned Israel against a strike.
“I think I’ll blow it off, so I don’t want them to come in,” Trump said. “It might actually help it, but it could blow it,” the president added.
Nevertheless, after Israel struck Iran on the beginning of June 13th, Secretary of State Marco Rubio tried to keep the regime away from the strike. “Tonight, Israel has taken a one-sided action against Iran. We are not involved in the strike against Iran,” Rubio issued a statement in the US on Thursday evening.
Photo: Escalating conflict between Israel and Iran
However, later on Friday, Trump praised CNN’s strike for commenting on Dana Bash, appearing to be calling it a “very successful attack.”
Trump has shown that he is well aware of Israel’s plans and even cites the “next planned attack” in the true social post.
The regime coordination with Israel became even more clear on June 15th. CNN reported that Trump opposed and discussed Israeli plans to kill Khamenei, which had not been released.
CNN also reported that the US provided Israeli defensive support in the case of Iranian retaliation.
The line of administration appears to be that the US is not actually involved as it is not military-followed in Iran’s strike. But Trump has been willing to play our involvement when serving his purpose.
For example, his latest social media posts refer to “us” in a way that suggests that the US and Israel work together.