Fresh threats from US President Donald Trump have put the Middle East at risk of renewed war. Trump said Washington could strike Iran as soon as Sunday, after earlier threatening “another little Epic Fury” operation against the country.
At the same time, Trump spoke of the chance of a “great, big, beautiful” deal to end the war with Iran. The Middle East war, now nearly eight months old, is at a standstill.
Trump spoke to reporters on Saturday morning after voting in the midterm elections in Florida. He was asked whether the United States would launch fresh strikes on Iran.
“Do you really think I’d tell you that?” Trump replied.
One reporter shot back: “We have to ask.”
Though he called the question foolish, the president said a strike on Iran was under consideration.
“Maybe tomorrow… there is a chance of a strike. There is also a chance of a great, big, beautiful deal. They want to make a deal. But the problem is whether they will stick to its terms,” he said.
Trump again claimed that Iran had been attacked to stop it from acquiring nuclear weapons.
On Friday, too, he had hinted at a new military operation against Iran.
Referring to the name of the US military campaign against Iran, he said: “We may do another little Epic Fury.” Trump had earlier said Iran would not be struck before the US congressional elections end on November 3.
Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey, also raised the prospect of a strike on Friday. “Could there be a strike this weekend? Of course there could,” he said on a podcast.
The war began on February 28 with joint US and Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and senior military officers.
Tehran retaliated by attacking US military bases across the Middle East and closing the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes, sending oil prices soaring.
On June 17, Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a 14-point agreement to end the war. It called for an immediate halt to military operations in Lebanon and elsewhere and committed the two sides to a final settlement within 60 days.
But on July 8, Trump declared the agreement “over”. A week later Tehran suspended the memorandum of understanding, accusing Washington of breaking all its commitments.
Since then Trump has repeatedly said he is in no hurry to reach a deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, has in recent days renewed his pledge to topple Iran’s government.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report