President Trump said Friday night that the U.S. is 'locked and loaded' and may expand the scope of strikes on Iran, while declining to specify when or whether a large-scale attack would be ordered. 'We are talking with them,' Trump said, adding that the U.S. may reach a point where it widens the attacks, but also may not. The quote was given in response to a question about his earlier Axios remarks.
President Trump escalated his rhetoric Friday night, stating that the United States is 'locked and loaded' and could expand its strikes on Iran, while declining to set a timeline for a large-scale attack. The remark, made in response to a question about his earlier Axios interview, is the latest in a series of statements from the president Friday evening that have oscillated between diplomatic openness and military readiness.
Earlier Friday evening, at 22:41 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that Trump said Iran was not ready for a deal but negotiations continued, presenting two options: continue strikes to destroy Iran's capabilities or reach an agreement. Minutes later, he confirmed that the US was ready for a 'move' on Iran, saying 'it might happen or not.' The current statement, using the phrase 'locked and loaded,' adds a further layer of ambiguity while maintaining the threat of escalation.
The Zioneer has reported extensively on the administration's evolving posture toward Iran. Over the past weeks, The Zioneer reported on Trump's threats to seize Kharg Island (Jun 11), discussions of a ground invasion (Jul 15), and US officials indicating that Israel is expected to participate in any expanded strikes (Jul 21). These reports, corroborated by multiple US officials, have traced a pattern of escalating rhetoric and military buildup.
What remains unclear is whether the president will order a large-scale attack, and under what conditions. No immediate response from Iran has been reported.
3 developments
- StrongUS officials: Trump's expanded Iran strikes would be far more powerful, Israel likely to join
- StrongTrump leans toward expanding operations against Iran, ynet reports
- StrongTrump Says US Military on Alert Regarding Iran
- StrongTrump says he is 'close to making a decision' on massive attack on Iran, in N12 interview
Source and signal
- Open-source intake