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US military strikes against Iran would mark a serious escalation of the conflict...
Reports that US President Donald Trump has authorized military action against Iran represent a significant escalation in the deepening crisis over the latest war engulfing the Middle East.
According to reports circulating in the US media, the US leader gave private instructions to military chiefs in the White House Situation Room on Wednesday. At the same time, Trump is publicly insisting that he has not yet made a final decision on whether to attack Iran, telling reporters: “I have ideas about what to do, but I have not made a final decision, I like to make the final decision a second before the time comes.”
However, the fact that Trump is seriously considering launching military strikes against Iran with the aim of neutralizing its nuclear program marks a serious escalation in the deepening conflict over Iran's nuclear ambitions, which most Western intelligence agencies believe ultimately aim to produce nuclear weapons.
The latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN-sponsored body responsible for monitoring Iran's nuclear activities, concluded that Tehran has secured enough stockpiles of enriched uranium to produce at least 10 nuclear warheads. This is what prompted Israel to launch its devastating attack on Iran's nuclear infrastructure last week.
Since then, Israel and Iran have been engaged in a deadly conflict, with Israeli warplanes regularly attacking Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure, while Iran has responded by launching barrages of missiles and drones.
In Iran's latest overnight missile attack on Israel, a hospital was hit by a rocket in southern Israel. The clear possibility of the US military getting involved in this conflict would take it to a whole new level, one that raises the prospect of a broader conflict involving the entire Middle East.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has made it clear that the US would suffer "irreparable damage" if it were involved in the conflict. Tehran is likely to launch attacks against US military and diplomatic bases in the region if Trump carries out his threat.
The very idea that Trump might authorize military action against Iran goes against his repeated campaign promise during the presidential election that he wanted to end America's "eternal wars" in the Middle East.
The main reason why the US military could become involved in the conflict is that it is the only Western nation that has the capability to destroy one of Iran's main nuclear facilities, the Fordo complex, which is located deep underground in a mountain range.
To carry out such a mission, the US would have to use one of its Massive Ordnance Perpetrator (MOD) bombs, the only munition capable of destroying the facility.
But by doing so, Trump risks provoking a major conflict between the ayatollahs and the West. /Adapted from The Telegraph/
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