Axios: How can the Iranians prevent a US attack?
Axios website quoted senior officials in President Donald Trump’s administration as revealing that military options on the table include a plan to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his son Mojtaba, coinciding with a deadline for Iran to make an offer that cannot be rejected to save itself from an imminent attack.
A senior US official said the US message to Iran is clear and unconscionable: “If the Iranians want to prevent an attack, they have to make an offer that we can’t refuse”.
The official warned: “The Iranians continue to miss the opportunity… If they play games, there won’t be a lot of patience”.
In what appeared to be an attempt to open a window for a last-minute diplomatic solution, the official revealed that the Trump administration is willing to consider an Iranian proposal that would allow for very limited nuclear ambitions.
The idea under consideration involves granting Iran the symbolic right to nuclear enrichment, but with a strict and decisive condition: it doesn’t leave any potential path that could lead to the development of a nuclear weapon.
The senior US official noted that President Trump is willing to accept a deal that is substantive and can be marketed politically at home, meaning the door remains open for a diplomatic solution if Tehran makes significant concessions.
But the ceiling of expectations for the upcoming Iranian nuclear proposal is very high, because any plan should be able to convince many skeptics within the Trump administration and in the region, who see the military option as a more effective solution.
Behind the scenes, the White House is in a state of anticipation and division, as Axios revealed that some of Trump’s advisers advised him to be patient, considering that each passing day increases the US military buildup, thus increasing the pressure cards in the president’s hand, but the Pentagon has provided Trump with a full list of available military options.
Axios quoted a senior Trump adviser as saying, “The president hasn’t yet decided to strike… He may never do that… He might wake up tomorrow and say, it’s over”.
However, he added, commenting on the military options: “They have a choice for every scenario… One scenario is the elimination of the ayatollah, his son and the mullahs,” an explicit reference to an operation targeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his son Mojtaba, who is seen as a potential successor.
A second source confirmed to the website that the plan to assassinate Khamenei and his son was already presented to Trump several weeks ago, suggesting that the idea isn’t new but a ready-to-implement option.
The final decision appears to remain unclear even to those close to the president, with another senior adviser commenting, “Trump is keeping his options open… He may decide to launch an attack at any moment… No one knows what they will choose. I don’t think he knows himself”.
In light of these developments, world capitals are awaiting the official Iranian response in the coming hours, at a time when the region appears to be on a hot plate, loaded with multiple scenarios ranging from a limited nuclear agreement to a military strike that could hit the heart of the regime in Iran.
