What is Trump's endgame with Iran? | Robert Reich
Briefly

What is Trump's endgame with Iran? | Robert Reich
"Trump is seeking the kind of war that the US executed in Venezuela—an abduction of a leader by special forces or, as in June, surgical airstrikes on locations where Iran appeared to be building nuclear bombs. With the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, they said, Trump can now claim that his goal of regime change has been achieved."
"He'll declare the attack on Iran a success and say the action now moves back to the bargaining table. They assume he'll now expect Iran to cave to his demands for an end to the production of weapons grade plutonium and to its nuclear program, a destruction of all its ballistic missiles, and agreements to disarm its proxies."
"Netanyahu is a much bigger player in this conflict than the American press is reporting, and Netanyahu is committed to destroying all of Iran's ballistic missile capabilities, which will require far more extensive bombardment, perhaps continuing for months. Trump doesn't want to be upstaged by Netanyahu and doesn't want Netanyahu telling the world that more needs to be done."
Foreign policy experts outline Trump's strategic objectives regarding Iran following military action. Trump seeks rapid regime change through targeted strikes or special forces operations, similar to Venezuela interventions. His goal involves declaring victory before American casualties increase and oil prices spike domestically. Once achieved, Trump intends to pivot to negotiations demanding Iran's complete nuclear disarmament, destruction of ballistic missiles, and dismantling of proxy forces including Hezbollah, Hamas, Iraqi militias, Houthis, and Syrian forces. However, some analysts suggest Netanyahu's influence complicates this strategy, as the Israeli prime minister may demand more extensive bombardment to eliminate Iran's missile capabilities. Trump faces pressure to prevent Netanyahu from appearing as the conflict's primary decision-maker, potentially extending military operations beyond Trump's preferred timeline.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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