President Donald Trump is warning Iran that if it doesn’t make a deal on its nuclear program, “there’s much more to come’ and “it will only get worse!” In an ominous Friday morning post on social media, Trump demanded, “JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”
That, as Atlanta Black Star has learned, the U.S. military is now involved in the fighting between Israel and Iran, despite an earlier statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that “We are not involved in strikes against Iran.” The Associated Press is now reporting that the U.S. is helping intercept missiles Iran is firing at Israel.
Trump’s morning posts on his platform, Truth Social, follow Israel’s unprecedented attack on Iran’s nuclear sites, air defense systems, and military leaders late Thursday, killing its top generals and nuclear scientists, and destroying a large swath of military infrastructure. The attack, which follows years of threats, involved some 200 planes and around 100 targets in the first round of strikes on the authoritarian country, according to CNN.
Iran then retaliated, sending military drones into Israel, as Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned of “severe punishment” in a developing situation that is threatening to destabilize the region and increase tensions in parts of the Middle East. Israel has also confirmed that Iran later launched a barrage of missiles across the country.
Earlier in the week, Trump warned Israel not to attack, hoping Iran would come to the negotiating table. The U.S. has been in talks with Iran to try to forge a nuclear deal. The President said he gave Iran “chance after chance.”
“Two months ago, I gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’ They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn’t get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!” Trump said Friday morning.
“I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come,” Trump said in a separate post on Truth Social.
“Certain Iranian hardliners spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!” he added.
After the strike, the White House first released a statement from Rubio trying to distance the U.S. from the attack.
“Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region.” But Trump’s social media post hours later contradicted Rubio’s statement showing the administration clearly knew about Israel’s plans.
And Trump’s tone shifted by Friday morning, threatening the Muslim nation with more strikes. “Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump said his administration was aware of Israel’s plans to attack Iran. The WSJ asked what kind of a heads-up Trump received.
“Heads-up? It wasn’t a heads-up. It was, we know what’s going on.” Trump said.
This escalation of tensions between Israel and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program is occurring seven years after Trump tore up a nuclear deal reached under the Obama administration, saying at the time it “was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.”
And there’s possibly no end in sight for this current conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation would continue “for as many days as it takes” to eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat, according to reporting by CNN. Iran has an extensive and well-protected nuclear operation.
Meantime Israel is widely believed to have its own covert nuclear weapons program, although it has never publicly confirmed this, but news reports suggest the Dimona nuclear facility in the Negev desert, south-east of the city of Dimona is central to the nation’s nuclear program and that Israel may have as many as 200 warheads.
Israel’s military strike on Iran comes almost 25 years after Tel Aviv launched a surprise airstrike on a nuclear facility in Iraq, destroying the Osirak nuclear reactor near Baghdad.
Social media reflected the MAGA movement’s support of the attack and Trump opponents’ concern that Israel’s strike could spark a wider war.
“I thought he was the anti-war president…,” an X user posted.
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham supports Israel’s attack on Iran: “Game on. Pray for Israel,” he posted.
And journalist Owen Shroyer posted this: “Pray for Israel? Did they not strike first? Are we anticipating Iran to defend itself like Israel did in Gaza or does that logic not apply here? But yes, pray for Israelis & people around the world that these blood thirsty war mongers have.
The U.S. had scheduled nuclear talks with Iran this weekend. It’s unclear if those talks are happening now.
