Trump weighs limited Iran strike: WSJ

Washington: US President Donald Trump is weighing a limited military strike on Iran to push Tehran into a nuclear deal, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The newspaper said Trump is considering “an initial limited military strike on Iran to force it to meet his demands for a nuclear deal.” The move would be meant to pressure Iran without triggering a full-scale war.

The opening strike, if approved, “would target a few military or government sites,” people familiar with the matter told the Journal. If Iran refused to comply with Trump’s demand to end nuclear enrichment, the United States could expand the campaign to hit more regime facilities.

One person cited by the Journal said Trump could “ratchet up his attacks, starting small before ordering larger strikes until the Iranian regime either dismantles its nuclear work or falls.”

Trump signalled that a decision is near.

“We’re going to make a deal or get a deal one way or the other,” he said on Thursday.

At another appearance in Washington, he said, “Maybe we’re going to make a deal. Maybe not.” He added that Americans would know “over the next, maybe, 10 days.” Later, he described the window as “10 to 15 days, pretty much, maximum.”

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly declined to outline possible actions. “Only President Trump knows what he may or may not do,” she told the Journal.

Separately, The Washington Post reported that the administration “appears ready to launch an extended military assault on Iran” as the Pentagon builds up forces in the Middle East.

The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its warships are nearing the region. US forces deployed there are expected to be fully in place by mid-March, officials told the Post.

Daniel B. Shapiro, a former US ambassador to Israel, said the United States, backed by Israel, would have an “overwhelming advantage” over Iran. But he warned of risks.

“They’ll definitely take terrible damage from combined US-Israeli strikes,” Shapiro said. “But that doesn’t mean it ends quickly, or clean — and they do have some ability to impose some costs in the other direction.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued threats in response.

He said his forces could sink a US aircraft carrier and hit the American military “so hard that it cannot get up again.”

In another message, he said: “Of course, a warship is a dangerous piece of military hardware. However, more dangerous than that warship is the weapon that can send that warship to the bottom of the sea.”

Diplomatic talks are continuing.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the two sides had “made a little bit of progress” but were still “very far apart on some issues.” She said Iranian officials are “expected to come back to us with some more detail in the next couple of weeks.”

Iran says it does not seek nuclear weapons. It says it has the right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.

Tensions have risen since the United States withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal during Trump’s first term. Sanctions and periodic clashes have followed, raising fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East.

IANS