 "A banner bearing a picture of US President Donald Trump accompanied by a message, is displayed in Tel Aviv. President Donald Trump said the US military carried out strikes on June 22 on three Iranian nuclear sites and that Tehran \"must now agree to end this war\". AFP")
He did it. He actually did it.
On Sunday (June 22), US President Donald Trump addressed the world from the White House announcing that the US military had struck three nuclear sites in Iran, adding that the facilities had “been completely and totally obliterated”.
“Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success,” he said, adding, “Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror.
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He further added, “Now is the time for peace.”
Notably, Trump’s attacks on Iran comes just two days after he had announced that he would give Iran’s leaders two week’s time to negotiate.
So, what happened between Thursday and Saturday for the US president to change his mind?
Trump’s 2-week deadline to Iran
Amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel, on Thursday (June 19), the US president said that he would decide “within the next two weeks ” on whether to order a US military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” Trump said in a statement read to reporters by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
When asked about providing Iran time, the US president told a reporter on Friday that he was giving Iranians time to “come to their senses”.
When a reporter further probed, “Does Iran have two weeks or could you strike before that? Are you essentially giving them a two-week timeline?” Trump answered, “Well I’m giving them a period of time. We’re going to see what that period of time is. But I’m giving them a period of time, and I would say two weeks would be the maximum.”
Trump’s surprise attack on Iran
However, two days after announcing a two-week deadline, Trump launched military strikes on Iran, targeting Fordow , Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites in Iran.
In an address to the nation, Trump said, “The strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”
In a speech that lasted just over three minutes, Trump said Iran’s future held “either peace or tragedy,” and there were many other targets that could be hit by the US military. “If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill.”
He later told Fox News that that six bunker-buster bombs were dropped on Fordow, while 30 Tomahawk missiles were fired against other nuclear sites. US B-2 bombers were also involved in the strikes, a US official told Reuters.
Following the strikes, Iran expressed anger, with the Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warning of ‘everlasting consequences’ and adding, “US decided to blow up diplomacy with strikes.”
He also wrote on X, “The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences. “Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people.”
Why Trump changed his mind
But what led Trump from changing his mind? Why did he attack Iran within two days when he had announced that he would give Tehran two weeks?
As one administration official told the Wall Street Journal, “The goal was to create a situation when everyone wasn’t expecting it.”
In fact, Trump on Tuesday (June 17) had approved plans to strike Iran but had withheld on that order, giving time to assess once more if Iran would be willing to entirely end its enrichment of nuclear fuel. “There was real debate earlier in the week about what we should do,” the senior official is quoted as telling Wall Street Journal. “But Trump signalled on Tuesday he was leaning toward going forward, so that changed everything.”
Moreover, Trump was reportedly impressed by the success of Israel’s offensiv e, named Operation Rising Lion. The Jewish nation’s strikes have eroded Iran’s air-defence capability with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telling Kan public broadcaster that Israeli forces had destroyed at least half of Iran’s missile launchers and even eliminated key military leaders.
The Atlantic speaking to an ally of the president said that Trump believed that a “little push from us would make it incredibly successful”.
Iran’s position in negotiations could also be another reason why Trump chose to forego his two-week deadline to strike Tehran. Trump had dismissed the talks held in Geneva last Friday between European diplomats and Iran’s Abbas Araghchi. “They didn’t help,” Trump said of the discussions. “Iran doesn’t want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help in this one.”
Trump is also wary of his own administration’s evaluation of Iran’s nuclear abilities, namely with Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard . Earlier in March, Gabbard had told US Congress that Iran was not “building” a nuclear weapon and that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003.
When asked about this, Trump had said, “She’s wrong.”
Jared Mondschein, director of research at the United States Studies Centre, also offered one reason as to why Trump fast-forwarded his actions in Iran. Speaking to Sky News, he said that Trump’s decision to order attacks on Iran may have been influenced by what happened when North Korea acquired nuclear weapons.
Explaining further, he said: “We have to look at what happened in North Korea, how the George W Bush administration said that a nuclear North Korea would be unacceptable, and they ultimately decided that it was not in their interest to prevent North Korea from becoming nuclear.
“And now we have a stalemate in the region.”
Mondschein further elaborated: “With that said, what you see here in Iran is an expansionist country that has proxy militias around the region, unlike North Korea, and those proxies were a security threat, to both the United States and Israel.
“We shouldn’t forget the number of Americans, both in the military and civilians, who have been targeted by Iran. Let’s also not forget how many Americans have been targeted by the Iranian government.”
With inputs from agencies