LOS ANGELES (OC).–Shooting down a drone approaching a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, President Donald Trump served notice that he’s prepared for any contingency as he pushes Iran to stop slaughtering street demonstrators and sign a new nuke deal. Pentagon officials said the Iranian drone “aggressively approached” the aircraft carrier with “unclear intent,” despite warnings from the the U.S. navy. “ “Despite de-escalatory measures take by U.S. forces operating in international waters,” U.S. Centcom Commander Time Hawkins said in a statement. Hawkins said a Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-250 fighter jet from the Lincoln carrier. White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt said U.S. envoy Steve Wttkoff still planned talks with Iranian officials despite the fact that U.S. and Iran have no diplomatic relations. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi threatened the U.S.
About all Iran has left in its arsenal is making idle threats against the U.S. and Israel. While they have considerable ballistic missile capability, their air defense are weak, something discovered by Israel in its 12-day war with Iran in June 2025. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhahu know they can take Iran out without much resistances. Idle threats by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei no longer have the impact as the past. So, when it comes to negating with Iran, Trump clearly has the leverage, prompting Iran’s President Massoud Pezeshkian to say Iran was open to talks with the U.S. Never before has Iran expressed any interest in talking with the U.S. about anything. “We have talks going on with Iran. We’ll see how it all works out,” Trump told reporters Monday. Trump refused to say what the conditions were for using military force.
Trump knows all about using military more in Iran when he intervened in June 2025 sending it B-2 Stealth bombers on a brazen mission to destroy Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. Iran refused to go to the table to sign a new nuke deal to stop enrichment production. Since Trump cancelled May 8, 2018 former President Barck Obama’s July 15, 2015 nuclear nuke deal, Iran’s Ayatollah gave the green light to enrich uranium just below weapons grade. U.S. officials were concerned that Iran had enough fissile material to build an A-bomb. Trump has the leverage he needs with Iran to get them to table. Iran knows that threatening the U.S. and Israel only makes things worse. Trump wants the Ayatollah to stop slaughtering street protesters seeking regime change. Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution has resulted in a brutal crackdown on human amd civil rights.
Iran already tried ti interdict a tanker in Arabian Sea that was stopped by U.S. destroyer. So, whatever cooperation Trump thinks Iran seeks, they aggressively pursue their terrorist agenda in international waters. Now that the U.S. shot down a drone, Iran thinks it’s inclined toward more aggressive action. Trump meant business deploying the carrier strike group with some 5,700 U.S. sailors ready for any contingency. Dozens of U.S..cargo planes are also deployed to region, suggesting that Trump could order regime change, something he’s talked about recently. Street protesters have called for regime change, seeking an end to Islamic rule in Iran. Iranians remember the days before 1979 when pro-Western Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ran the country for generations. Shah’s son, Reza Pahlavi, expressed interest in running a new democratic government in Iran.
Iran’s mullah leadership is on thin ice, with the U.S. flotilla in striking distance from Tehran. One wrong move by the Ayatollah could start a bombing campaign that would lead to regime change in Tehran. Getting away with murder for 47 years, the public has tried but failed to bring about regime change, largely because the Ayatollah’s Gestapo-like tactics of wholesale detentions and liquidation have been part of Iran life since the Revolution. Trump is the first-and-only U.S. leader to give the Iranian people hope that something can be done. Most Iranians living in exile, making new lives in other countries, can’t believe that Trump could bring about regime change. Trump hopes he doesn’t have to use force to bring about regime change but the Ayatollah and his mullah junta won’t go quietly. When it comes to peace talks, it’s doubtful Trump will get anywhere.
If the Ayatollah lashes out at the Al Udeid Airbase in Qatar, look to Trump to respond harshly to the regime. Pentagon officials know exactly where the Ayatollah hides in his underground bunker, much the same as Hezbollah’s Supreme Leader Hassan Nasrallah when the IDF dropped a bunker-busting bomb on his safe house in Beirut Sept. 27, 2024. So if the Ayatollah remains true to form, Trump will no doubt finish him off. What comes after the Ayatollah is anyone’s guess but the U.S. has to be prepared to stop the anarchy with an interim government to maintain law-and-order. Gone are the days when the Ayatollah could threaten regional war and the Mideast would quake in fear. Trump knows all about the Iranian paper tiger, he saw it firsthand last June. If the Ayatollah tries to strike U.S. or Israeli assets, look to Trump to respond with overwhelming force.
About the Author
John M. Curtis wrties politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
