menu_open Columnists
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Has Iran called Trump’s bluff?

7 1
29.01.2026

Over the last week, the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, additional F-15 fighter planes and naval vessels carrying sea-launched cruise missiles have been making their way to the Middle East in what can only be described as a bid by President Trump to squeeze Iran into submission. In case anybody doubted this is what Trump was after, he took to Truth Social early in the morning to send the Iranians a message: give me what I want or face bombing the likes of which you’ve never seen. “A massive Armada is heading to Iran. It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose,” Trump wrote. “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.”

What deal is Trump referring to? In short: surrender. It’s less a deal per se and more straight-up capitulation, whereby the Iranians hand over their nuclear and missile programs on a silver platter to the Americans. According to some reports, the Trump administration is aiming for a masterstroke: Iran destroys its nuclear program, moves all of its enriched uranium out of the country, agrees not to enrich again, caps its long-range ballistic missile stockpile and cuts ties with the very proxy groups – Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraqi Shia militias, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Houthis – it has spent decades supporting. If some of this sounds familiar, that’s because it is – during........

© The Spectator