BS BULLETIN:
- President Donald Trump denied that he is attempting to force Iran back to the negotiating table, saying he prefers America’s current position.
- Trump claimed the United States has “almost total control” of the Strait of Hormuz while Iran’s economy is collapsing.
- He ended his Truth Social message with a blunt appeal: “When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”
President Donald Trump is calling on the Iranian people to rise against their government as the United States intensifies its military and economic pressure on Tehran.
Trump issued the call Tuesday night while disputing an ABC News report that his administration was attempting to force Iran back into negotiations. “I’m not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table, as ABC Fake News reported,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I couldn’t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement.”
The president argued that the United States now holds a stronger position because of its control over the Strait of Hormuz and the damage inflicted on Iran’s economy. “I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing,” Trump wrote. “They are just playing out the inevitable.”
Trump concluded with a direct question to Iran’s population. “When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?” he asked. The message followed another wave of American strikes against targets operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
U.S. Central Command said the operation hit Iranian air-defense systems, radar installations, maritime assets, communications facilities and mine-laying capabilities. The strikes came after renewed Iranian threats against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and attacks targeting American forces in the region.
Trump told Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst that Tehran had already wasted numerous opportunities to reach an agreement with Washington. “I think an agreement with them isn’t worth the paper it’s written on,” Trump said. “We gave them a lot of chances.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also launched what the administration calls “Operation Economic Outcast,” an effort to isolate Iran from international banking, trade and other remaining sources of revenue. Bessent said the United States would target foreign banks, governments and other entities helping Tehran remain connected to the global economy. “This is the final move for this regime after 47 years,” Bessent said during an appearance on Newsmax.
Trump previously urged Iranians to challenge the regime shortly after the conflict began, telling them to “take over your government.”
MY QUICK TAKE
The State Department would probably describe this as “encouraging indigenous democratic resistance.”
Trump says, “When are you going to rise up and fight?”
Same message. Considerably fewer syllables.
But overthrowing the Iranian regime is not like voting out a bad mayor. This is a government that jails, tortures and executes people for challenging it. The Iranian people have shown tremendous courage before, and many paid for it with their lives.
Trump is right about the enemy: The regime is brutal, weakened and vulnerable. But if America wants Iranians to risk everything and finish the job, they will need more than a Truth Social post telling them to get started.
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- Breitbart — Trump urges Iranians to “rise up and fight”
- New York Post — U.S. launches new strikes against Iran in battle for Strait of Hormuz
- White House — Trump outlines maximum-pressure strategy against Iran
- Mediaite — Trump asks when Iranians will “rise up and fight”
