President Donald Trump posted threats against Iran early Wednesday morning. This comes as multiple reports this week indicate the war could end through a U.S.-Iran proposal.
Over the past several months, Trump has posted threats including bombing Iran back into "the stone age" and threatening "a whole civilization will die tonight." In an early-morning post, Trump, who will turn 80 on June 14, posted an AI photo of himself clutching a large military-like gun as bombs fall in the desert behind him. "No more Mr. Nice Guy," the caption read.
"Iran can't get their act together. They don't know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon! President DJT" he wrote.
This week, the New York Times reported that Trump is "dissatisfied" with the proposal that the U.S. has reached with Iran that could end the war. The report said the concern is "accepting it could appear to deny Mr. Trump a victory."
U.S. negotiations are on pause while discussions continue over how to frame a potential resolution. Sources told CBS News last week that Iran is far more capable than U.S. leaders are publicly acknowledging.
Dr. Robert Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago who studies military strategy and international security, wrote for the New York Times earlier this month that the longer the war continues, the more influential and powerful Iran becomes.
"A fourth center of global power is quickly emerging — Iran — that does not rival those three nations economically or militarily. Instead, its newfound power derives from its control over the most important energy choke point in the global economy, the Strait of Hormuz," he said.
Pape warned, "If Iranian control over the strait persists for months or years, as I believe it may, it will drastically reshape the global order to the detriment of the United States."
The New Republic's Greg Sargent spoke with Paul Krugman for "The Daily Blast" on Wednesday morning, in which the American economist said, "for most of us, by about a week into the war it was obvious that basically America lost. But Trump cannot bring himself to acknowledge that."
Krugman noted that the barrage of threats from the White House "all seem to be because he cannot accept that he screwed up badly. There is no good outcome for the United States here. All we can do is accept something that actually leaves Iran stronger than it was. But he won't do it."
