Trump’s escalating Iran policy: from 2015 nuclear warnings to 2026 “major combat” announcement amid protests and stalled negotiations
PARIS: Ever since before his first term, US President Donald Trump has issued a litany of threats against the Washington’s arch-enemy Iran, while also urging it to talks, under his so-called “maximum pressure” approach.
Here is just some of what he has said about Iran:
2015: ‘Nuclear holocaust’
During the August, 2015 primaries, the Republican presidential frontrunner says that a landmark nuclear accord Iran had struck with world powers the previous month would not prevent Tehran from having a nuclear bomb.
“I think it’s going to lead to nuclear holocaust,” Trump says.
2017: ‘Playing with fire’
In early February of 2017, the new president tweets “Iran is playing with fire — they don’t appreciate how ‘kind’ President Obama was to them. Not me!”, before announcing targeted sanctions.
When asked by a journalist about possible military action against Iran, Trump replies, “Nothing is off the table”.
2018: ‘NEVER EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES’
On May 8, 2018, Trump pulls the United States out of the nuclear deal, which he describes as “defective”.
On July 22, 2018, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warns the United States that any conflict with Iran would be the “mother of all wars”.
Trump responds with an all-caps tweet, warning “NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE”.
On August 6, Trump says he is open to a new Iran deal, while confirming a return to sanctions.
“I remain open to reaching a more comprehensive deal that addresses the full range of the regime’s malign activities, including its ballistic missile program and its support for terrorism,” Trump says.
2019: Threat of ‘obliteration’
“We are not looking for regime change,” Trump says in May 2019, while insisting: “They can’t have a nuclear weapon.”
After Iran accuses Washington of lying over its intentions to negotiate, Trump again adopts a more threatening tone on June 25, 2019.
“Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration,” he tweets.
In September 2020, two months before his failed re-election bid, Trump threatens to retaliate to any attack by Iran with a “1,000 times greater” response.
2025: Deal, or bombs
Upon starting his second term in January 2025, Trump toughens sanctions.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” NBC News says the president told one of its correspondents in March.
In June he accuses Iran of “slow-walking” on a nuclear deal, as Oman-mediated negotiations stall on the question of uranium enrichment.
2025: ‘At the last second’
After the war started by Israel against Iran on June 13, Trump keeps the world guessing about his potential order of military action.
“I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due, because things change. Especially with war,” he says, speaking three days before American strikes on June 21 on three Iranian nuclear sites.
Although the precise extent of the damage is not known, he repeatedly says that he has “obliterated” their nuclear installations, and Iran as a result has stopped being the “bully of the Middle East”.
2026: ‘Hour of freedom’
Trump reiterates his threats in reaction to Iran’s crackdown on major protests, which erupt in late December.
“If they start killing people like they have in the past, we will get involved,” Trump says.
“It means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts.”
He warns in late January 2026 “time is running out”, urging Tehran to “Make a deal.”
After indirect talks resume between the two countries he threatens on February 12 Iran with “very traumatic” consequences if it fails to make a deal, giving then “10, 15 days, pretty much maximum” to reach an agreement.
“The hour of your freedom is at hand,” Trump tells Iranians on February 28, as he announces “major combat” in Iran.
The Sun Malaysia
