LOS ANGELES (OC).–President Donald Trump put Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme leader Ali Khaemeni on notice that that if he doesn’t come to table for a nuke deal and stop the bloody crackdown on street protesters he would consider all options. Iran’s last skirmish with the U.S. and Israel in June 2925 prove that Iran is a paper tiger, unable to threaten aggression against the U.S. and Israel. Trump watched the Israeli Defense Forces [IDF] pound Iran’s military and defense for almost two weeks before Trump ordered a B-2 Stealth bomber strikes on Iran’s Fordo nuclear facility. When the dust settled, Iran’s military and uranium enrichment programs had been dealt a heavy blow. Now Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi threatens all out war with the U.S. and Israel, something Trump knows is a bluff. Trump’s objective in Iran are to stop the slaughter of street protesters and regime change.
Ayatollah Khamenei told Trump that if he struck Iran it would start regional war with the U.S and Israel its primary targets.”Of course he would say that,” Trump said, not concerned about the Ayatollha’s threats. “But we have the biggest most powerful ships in the world all over there, very close, couple of days, and hopefully we’ll make a deal,” Trump said. “We don’t make a deal then we’ll find out whether or not he was right,” hinting that he would hit Iran hard, most likely in a coordinated strike with Israel. Trump said last month that it was “time to look for new leadership in Iran,” with the Shah Mohamamed Reza Pahlavi’s son offering himself a possible interim leader. Whether that happens or not is anyone’s guess but there are plenty of opposition leaders that would make themselves available if Trump topple the Ayatollah’s mullah regime.
Trump told the Iranian people to keep protesting despite the brutal crackdown killing thousands of street protesters and jailing thousands more. Trump didn’t say what he would do to help the Iranian people currently protesting to remove the Ayatollah from power. Araghchi said theire were no planned talks with the U.S. but he was prepared to resume them. Iran can’t save face admitting that they’ve pushed Trump too far with all U.S. options on the table. Trump said a massive “armada” is heading to Iran far bigger and more capable than the one in Caribbean that aressed and toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Maduro could not have been toppled without the coordinated help to the Venezeualan military that opens the door for the Jan. 2 arrest in Caracas. Venzeula’s current leader Delcy Rodriguez has been working cooperatively with Trump.
Trump wants full access to Venezuela’s oil industry, returning U.S. oil companies to the region to profit from the largest oil reserves on the planet. Trump has already interdicted at least two Venezueala tankers trying to smuggle illicit crude oil out of Caracas. Looking to get the U.S. and oil companies reimbursed for the confiscation by the late Hugo Chavez of all U.S. oil assets in 2007. U.S. oil companies lost billions when Chavez confiscated all U.S. oil assets in Venezuela. Trump wants those losses made whole with Delcy agreeing to reimburse the U.S. oil industry. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X that the U.S. took a brief pause on Ukrainian War peace talks to deal with the Iran crisis. Trump has lost patience with theAyatollah’s violent crackdown, but, more importantly, with ongoing threats against Israel and the United States.
All the political games going on in the U.S., Trump has a vast foreign policy agenda to advance U.S. foreign policy and national security. If ending the Iran War was not enough, adding Venezuela and Iran to the mix involves many consequential decisions for U.S. foreign policy and national security. When it comes to ending the Ukraine War, Zelensky wants Trump to guarantee post-war security with Russia. Trump has spent over a year in office trying to mend fences with the Russian Federation, all because former President Joe Biden did everything possible to destroy U.S.-Russian relations. Zelensky can’t understand why Trump would want normal diplomatic relations with the Kremlin knowing what Putin does in the Ukraine War. But Trump knows that its better for U.S. foreign policy and national security to have pragmatic, working relations with the Kremlin.
Senior adviser to Ayatollah Khamenei Ali Shamkhani said any military action by the U.S. would be an act of war. “Any military action by the United States from any location and at any level,will be considered a start of a war,” Shamkhani said warning Trump. Shamkhani knows that Trump isn’t intimidated by anything Iran says, knowing what happened with the last skirmish in June 2025. Israel fought a 12-day war with Iran having virtually no air defenses. “The response will be immediate, comprehensive. The aggressor, the head of Tel Aviv and all those who support the aggression will be targeted,” Shamkhani said, knowing the consequences to Iran would be far more devastating. Trump has said that if Iran attacks the U.S. or its allies it would respond with devastating force on the Ayatollah’s eenter of power. U.S. officials know where he’s hiding in Tehran.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes 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.
