Trump plans talks with Iran. “The military is ready to implement any decision of the president”

Given the growing tensions around Iran, US President Donald Trump said that he planned to talk to the country's authorities, and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth assured that the military was ready to implement any decision of the president, Reuters reported on Friday.

– Yes, I am planning it – Trump said when asked on Thursday about possible talks with Tehran. “We have a lot of very large, very powerful ships going to Iran right now, and it would be great if we didn't have to use them,” Trump told reporters Thursday in Washington.

Also on Thursday, Reuters and CBS reported that the destroyer USS Delbert Black arrived in the Middle East that day, bringing the number of US ships near Iran to 10.

As Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Friday morning, Trump stated that he had been in talks with Iran “in recent days.” “I have talked to them and I intend to continue talks,” Trump said. – I told the Iranians two things: no nuclear weapons and no more killing protesters. They will have to do something, he assured.

The New York Times reported that Trump was considering several options for military action against Iran, although he preferred striking Iranian leaders who had threatened him personally. These included sending commando units to Iranian nuclear facilities that had not yet been destroyed, or carrying out attacks on the Iranian military and leaders in order to cause riots, which would pave the way for a change of power.

Turkey, Oman and Qatar allegedly urged the Trump administration to abandon military options in favor of diplomatic talks, CBS News reported on Thursday, based on talks with representatives of these countries' authorities. However, their proposals did not meet with an enthusiastic response.

According to AFP, it seems that when it comes to Iran, Trump is inspired by US actions towards Venezuela, but there are fewer signs of cracks in the Iranian state. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a congressional committee on Wednesday that Iran is “weaker than ever.”

– I don't think anyone can give a simple answer about what will happen to Iran after the fall of the supreme leader (spiritual and political, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – PAP) and the regime. (You can hope – PAP) that there will be someone in their system with whom you can cooperate – admitted Rubio. He said it could be “more complicated” than in Venezuela.

Mona Yacoubian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington noted in an interview with AFP that “Iran is infinitely more complex than Venezuela.” – The centers of power in Iran are more dispersed. Undertaking an operation such as an attack aimed at “decapitating” the regime would ultimately cause chaos, the expert emphasized. (PAP)

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