With his carrier in place, Trump raises rhetoric—and the ante—against Tehran

(Originally published Jan. 29 in “What in the World“) Now that he has his pieces in place around Iran, Trump is ramping up the threats against it.

Trump previously warned Tehran to stop killing protesters, then backed down when he realized he had no aircraft carrier close enough to protect attacking U.S. aircraft. After killing at least 6,000 people, the protests have been quashed. But the USS Abraham Lincoln has now arrived in the region from the South China Sea. So, rather than waste the trip, Trump is now demanding Tehran to agree to forsake nuclear weapons or face attack.

“Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS – one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!” Trump posted, adding that “an armada” was headed for Iran. “The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again.”

The last “armada” Trump assembled was in the Caribbean, led by the USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group—the one Trump ordered moved from the Middle East. Its gathering culminated in a commando raid that abducted Venezuelan dictator to New York to face drugs and weapons charges.

Of course, the previous attack Trump is alluding to in his post is the June attack in which Trump claimed Iran’s nuclear weapons fuel was destroyed by bunker-busting bombs dropped by U.S. B-2 bombers. Some experts said Iran likely moved its 408kg stockpile of enriched uranium out of the site targeted by the U.S. airstrike. Trump denied that was possible. “Nothing was taken out of facility,” Trump posted. “Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!”

Now, Trump is threatening Iran with a fresh attack unless it agrees to give up a nuclear weapons effort he claims to have eradicated seven months ago. Trump reportedly also hopes the mere threat of attacks will revive the protests, perhaps even triggering a Jan. 6-style revolution that topples the Iranian regime. So, he’s considering hitting not just the nuclear enrichment facilities he claims to have already destroyed, but also Iran’s ballistic missile sites, as well as the Iranian commanders and institutions responsible for murder of protesters.

Is it any wonder that The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has moved its Doomsday Clock to just 85 seconds to midnight—its closest ever? Only a year ago, the clock was set to a record slim 89 seconds to Doomsday, as Trump took office and began pursuing his neo-mercantilist version of American hegemony, destabilizing the world by ignoring more pressing issues such as income inequality and climate change and instead fueling the rise of nationalism and “great power competition.”