Will Trump be allowed to take "yes" for an answer?
"AFTER two months of presidential threats, amid the largest air and naval build-up in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Americans might have expected Donald Trump to make the case for what may be an imminent conflict with Iran. Yet his state-of-the-union address on February 24th devoted just a few minutes to the subject. Not only that, he said Iran could avoid a fight if it simply uttered “those secret words: we will never have a nuclear weapon”. (Economist 25 Feb)"Iranian president reiterates Iran’s opposition to building nuclear weapons — state TV""Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has banned weapons of mass destruction, which “clearly means Tehran won’t develop nuclear weapons,” President Masoud Pezeshkian says.Pezeshkian speaks ahead of a third round of nuclear talks today with the US in Geneva. US President Donald Trump has threatened to attack Iran if an agreement is not reached on Tehran’s nuclear program, and called in his State of the Union address for Tehran to pledge not to obtain a nuclear bomb.Khamenei, who has the final say on the nuclear program, banned the development of nuclear weapons in a fatwa, or religious decree, in the early 2000s, and Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire the weapons.However, it has enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Prior to the June 2025 war between the countries, Israel said Iran had recently taken steps toward weaponization." (Times of Israel today)---------------------------A sidelight worth considering:-"Israel's nuclear weapons program has never been subject to formal, comprehensive inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or other international bodies. Israel is not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and maintains a policy of nuclear ambiguity. However, the U.S. conducted inspections of the Dimona site in the 1960s.""Nuclear ambiguity!" The 1960s! Utter farce.
David Ainsworth ● 23d0 Comments ● 23d