Trump Debates Bombing Iran In Pivotal Moment For Presidency

Satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows buildings at an Iranian missile base (Maxar Technologies via AP)

By Michael Birnbaum, Dan Lamothe, Claire Parker and Karen DeYoung

President Donald Trump faced one of the most monumental decisions of his presidency on Tuesday as he debated whether to join a war against Iran that risked sucking Washington into a new Middle Eastern conflict but also offered the chance to eliminate a foe’s nuclear program.

In a string of social media posts across the day, the president said that the United States has “complete and total control of the skies over Iran,” warned Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khameini that he was an “easy target,” and demanded “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” without defining what that would mean. As the day closed and after an 80-minute meeting with top aides in the Situation Room, he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a White House official said.

Trump’s current posture could rebound in unpredictable ways. If he succeeds in wresting concessions from Iranian leaders to dismantle their nuclear program or destroys it by military force without provoking major retaliation, he could be hailed as a president whose unpredictable approach to foreign policy yields results. Mishandling the situation could pull Washington into a major conflict, with dangerous and unpredictable consequences for U.S. citizens. And it could also lead to a nuclear-armed Iran, if strikes fail and the government resolves to develop the nuclear weapon that it has long declared it does not seek.

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