LOS ANGELES.–Sending a second aircraft carrier task force to the Middle East, 78-year-old President Donald Trump served notice to 85-year-old Iran’s Supreme Leader Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni that he means business about Iran signing a no nuke deal with the United States. Trump continues to pound Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen responsible for attacks on commercial shipping and U.S. navy ships in the Red Sea. When Trump was in office last time, he cancelled May 8, 2018 former President Barack Obama’s 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action AKA the Iranian Nuke Deal largely because it was unenforceable. Obama gave Iran billions in sanctions relieve allowing the Ayatollah to spread around his cash to various terrorist groups including Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Gaza’s Hamas terrorists and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia group.
Trump decided to call the Ayatollah’s bluff this time around, giving an ultimatum to either sign a no nuke deal or face possible bombing. Trump dispatched the Carl Vinson carrier group to the Mideast to bolster the Harry S. Trump, putting a lot of firepower close to Iran. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the U.S. was going “to continue promoting regional stability, deter aggression, and protect the free flow of commerce in the region.” Iran denies that it has anything to do with Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, forcing ships to take the long route around the Cape of Good Hope, costing millions in extra shipping costs. Iran supplies Yemen’s Houthis with cash-and-weapons to attack Israel, claiming it won’t stop until Israel ends the war in Gaza. Houthis attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea long before Israel declared war on Hamas Oct. 7, 2023.
Trump wants the Houthis to know that things have changed since he took office. If they want the bombing to stop, the Houthis need to stop attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea. “To complement the CENTCOM maritime posture, the secretary also ordered the deployment of additional squadrons and other air assets that will further reinforce our defensive air-support capabilities,” Parnell said. Houthi attacks prevent commercial vessels from going through the Suez Canal, saving transport time where 12% of commercial ships pass. Former President Joe Biden partnered with the U.K. with throwaway missile attacks, doing nothing to stop Houthi attacks. Trump promises to keep the attacks going until the Houthis stop attacking U.S. and commercial ships in the Red Sea. Iran’s Ayatollah sponsors terrorists like the Houthis, Hamas and Hezbollah to get Arab support against Israel.
When it comes to the Ayatollah, he’s on thin ice with Trump, demanding that he enter into a no nuke deal for face bombing. “There will be bombing,” Trump said, unless the Ayatollah agrees to no nuke deal. U.S. air force as moved B-2 bombers to Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean to be within striking distance of Iran. Khamenei said he won’t be “bullied” by the U.S. on what it does with its nuke program, producing enough weapons grade uranium to produce several bombs. Even when Obama negotiated the 2015 Iranian Nuke Deal, Iran denied any involvement in producing a nuclear bomb, raising questions why Obama gave the Ayatollah billions in frozen Iranian assets and sanctions relief in order to get an unenforceable deal to delay Iran’s pursuit of weapons grade uranium. Since Trump cancelled the deal, Iran ramped up uranium production.
Moving air assets and refueling Stratotankers to Diego Garcia should show the Ayatollah that things are different this time around. If he doesn’t agree to sign a no nuke pact, then the Mullah regime faces potential bombing by the U.S. Trump wants Iran to know he means business this time around, having his full term as president to deal with any threat Iran poses. With Iran’s Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists seriously degraded by the war with Israel, the Ayatollah has less options than he’s had in the past. It’s no longer fashionable for Arab States to threaten war with Israel, with some, like Saud Arabia, looking to sign formal peace treaties. Trump wants to add on to the 2020 Abraham Accords, creating a comprehensive Mideast peace without Iran fomenting resistance. Iran calls its terrorist groups the “axis of resistance” to underscore its defiance of Israel.
Trump has a lot on his plate today dealing with his decision on tariffs causing upheaval in the U.S. stock market, not to mention ongoing efforts to nail down a ceasefire and peace deal to end the Ukraine War. When it comes to the Houthi rebels Trump has served notice that there will be no let up in U.S. bombing until they stop attacking commercial and U.S. naval ships in the Red Sea. “The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at U.S. ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei sees the walls closing it in on him with its terrorist militias taking a beating from Israel over the last year. Trump means business when it comes to stopping Iran’s plans to built its first A-bomb.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
