Trump ‘unafraid to use military force on Iran’, White House says

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., criticized President Donald Trump’s threats to bomb Iran on Sunday, warning the move could backfire amid widespread protests. Speaking on ABC’s This Week, Paul said he was unsure a strike would have the intended effect and questioned using military force to protect protesters. He cited backlash following the U.S. killing of Qassem Soleimani and stressed, “I don’t think it’s the job of the American government to be involved with every freedom movement around the world.”

Donald Trump is “unafraid to use military force on Iran” the White House said on Monday as the Iranian regime still faces widespread unrest across the country.

Speaking to Fox News, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said that although diplomacy remained Trump’s “first option”, he was “unafraid to use the lethal force and might of the United States military if and when he deems that necessary”.

Airstrikes would be one of the many, many options that are on the table for the commander-in-chief,” Leavitt continued, adding: “He’s made it quite clear he certainly doesn’t want to see people being killed in the streets of Tehran, and unfortunately, that’s something we’re seeing right now.”

Pointing to last year’s US strikes on Iran’s three major nuclear sites – which subsequent satellite imagery suggested caused more limited damage than Trump had claimed – Leavitt said of Trump’s potential use of US military force: “Nobody knows that better than Iran.”

Leavitt also said that Iran’s private and public messaging to the US had been “quite different”, adding: “I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages.” She did not elaborate on the nature of the messages.

Following Leavitt’s comments on Monday afternoon, Trump announced on Truth Social: “Effective immediately, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America.”

In recent weeks, the Iranian regime has confronted its largest protest movement since 2009, which its leadership has sought to downplay, attributing the unrest to “American-Zionist terrorism”.

On Monday, tens of thousands of pro-government demonstrators took to the streets of Tehran in a state-organized rally intended to show support for the regime and counter the growing unrest.

The protests, which began over two weeks ago when traders in Tehran protested over a sudden depreciation in the Iranian rial, have since spread nationwide and hardened into direct challenges to the clerical leadership.

The Iranian regime has since responded with a harsh crackdown including mass arrests, internet blackouts and public warnings that participation in the demonstrations could carry the death penalty. On Tuesday morning, Associated Press reported mobile phones in Iran were able to make international calls.

Trump has repeatedly threatened Tehran in response to the regime’s handling of the protests, saying earlier this month that if Iranian officials attacked protesters, the US would “come to their rescue”, adding that the US is “locked and loaded and ready to go”.

Last Friday, Trump reiterated his threats, saying: “I tell the Iranian leaders, ‘You’d better not start shooting, because we’ll start shooting too.’”