Under pressure from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Trump administration may be within days of launching a nuclear strike on Iran. The target would be Pickax Mountain in central Iran, where Israeli intelligence claims the Iranian government has restarted its nuclear enrichment program. No conventional weapon in the American arsenal can penetrate 300 feet of solid granite to destroy the tunnels where enrichment is supposedly taking place. The only military option is a nuclear strike. Netanyahu has been pushing hard for one. “Bibi calls Trump about it every day,” says an informed observer.
Netanyahu is cornered and desperate. After last week’s election results, he can’t form a government unless Trump intervenes directly in Israeli politics and brokers a deal with other parties that gives Netanyahu 61 seats in the Knesset. Otherwise, he is out as prime minister and on his way to ignominy, investigations and possibly jail. Netanyahu must stay close to Trump. He needs this war.
To that end, he’s applied maximum pressure to his closest allies in the administration, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper. Both oppose a negotiated settlement to the war they’ve so grievously mismanaged; both are pushing to restart major combat operations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA director John Ratcliffe are also following Netanyahu’s lead, as are leaders of the Democratic Party. In a recent meeting on the subject, former president Barack Obama said he opposes the current Iran peace deal being drafted in Doha.
The rest of America’s longtime allies in the Middle East are terrified by the prospect of more war. On September 27th, Netanyahu flew secretly to Abu Dhabi to enlist the UAE in his lobbying effort for a final attack on Iran. The Emiratis refused. After eight months of conflict, Gulf economies are teetering. So are global energy and fertilizer markets. They won’t recover soon. Globally, there are a total of about 850 supertankers used to transport oil from producers to the rest of the world. In October alone, 11 of them were badly damaged in Hormuz. At this pace, a global depression is imminent. A nuclear strike would radically accelerate the destruction. Fallout from a ground explosion at Pickax Mountain would contaminate the Persian Gulf, poisoning the water supply for 100 million people.
And those are just some of the immediate consequences for the region. The rest of the world is every bit as exposed. No country other than the United States has ever used a nuclear weapon in war. Some would like to. An American nuclear attack on Iran would set a new precedent. The Russians have already told at least two other governments that an American nuclear strike on Iran would free them to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine. Pakistan and India would be tempted to do the same against each other, as would North Korea against Seoul. After the first nuclear strike, World War Three is inevitable. That war would be short and final.
We’ve been sleepwalking toward this moment for months. Since February, the administration has quietly rewritten America’s nuclear doctrine to make first use of so-called “battlefield nukes” easier and therefore more likely. No one in Washington in either party seems bothered by this. Now we’re on the brink of it.
Close observers say Trump is likely to decide by next weekend whether or not to use nuclear weapons. That would be November 7, six days from now. To his credit, he’s hesitating. At the moment, Trump is listening to his vice president, JD Vance, and to his envoy and friend Steve Witkoff, both of whom argue a deal with Iran can be made.
They’re right, though it won’t be simple. The Iranians are famously frustrating to negotiate with under any circumstances, and elements of that government have become more radical since Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his family were killed in February. After decades of isolation, even relatively moderate Iranian leaders seem confused by how decisions are made in the West. (There is a widespread belief in Tehran, for example, that the United States government controls Israel.) But overall, people who have spoken to decision-makers in Iran say there is consensus there that more war is bad for everyone and a deal is worth making.
One group that hasn’t been consulted so far is the global population — the hundreds of millions of people who will be killed along with their children if Trump is pushed by Netanyahu into launching a nuclear strike next week. Now would be the time for them to speak up.
@hmtreasury Ukraine has zero to do with Britains prosperity and security. It’s actually the opposite. The more support you provide the greater the damage to the uk.
@bphillipsonMP It’s insane how you try highlight misogyny as the biggest risk to women. When the Supreme Court needed to step in and remind you what a woman was!
I know people are worried about fuel prices. And I get it. You get to the pump, watch the numbers climb, and wonder why it's costing so much more than it used to.
The reality is that global events are pushing up costs, and families here at home are feeling the impact.
But I won't accept that there's nothing I can do to help.
That's why from today, you'll be able to see petrol and diesel prices on Google Maps, compare nearby stations and find the cheapest option before you fill up.
It's a small change, but if there's a practical way to help people keep more money in their pocket, I'll do it.
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#TaylorPili | Sat 5 Sept
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World Cup Fixtures & Irish Kick-Off Times:
Thursday 11th June:
20:00 - Mexico vs South Africa
Friday 12th June:
03:00 - South Korea vs Czechia
20:00 - Canada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina
Saturday 13th June:
02:00 - USA vs Paraguay
20:00 - Qatar vs Switzerland
23:00 - Brazil vs Morocco
Sunday 14th June:
02:00 - Haiti vs Scotland
05:00 - Australia vs Turkey
18:00 - Germany vs Curaçao
21:00 - Netherlands vs Japan
Monday 15th June:
00:00 - Ivory Coast vs Ecuador
03:00 - Sweden vs Tunisia
17:00 - Spain vs Cape Verde
20:00 - Belgium vs Egypt
23:00 - Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay
Tuesday 16th June:
02:00 - Iran vs New Zealand
20:00 - France vs Senegal
23:00 - Iraq vs Norway
Wednesday 17th June:
02:00 - Argentina vs Algeria
05:00 - Austria vs Jordan
18:00 - Portugal vs DR Congo
21:00 - England vs Croatia
Thursday 18th June:
00:00 - Ghana vs Panama
03:00 - Uzbekistan vs Colombia
17:00 - Czechia vs South Africa
20:00 - Switzerland vs Bosnia & Herzegovina
23:00 - Canada vs Qatar
Friday 19th June:
02:00 - Mexico vs South Korea
20:00 - USA vs Australia
23:00 - Scotland vs Morocco
Saturday 20th June:
01:30 - Brazil vs Haiti
04:00 - Turkey vs Paraguay
18:00 - Netherlands vs Sweden
21:00 - Germany vs Ivory Coast
Sunday 21st June:
01:00 - Ecuador vs Curaçao
05:00 - Tunisia vs Japan
17:00 - Spain vs Saudi Arabia
20:00 - Belgium vs Iran
23:00 - Uruguay vs Cape Verde
Monday 22nd June:
02:00 - New Zealand vs Egypt
18:00 - Argentina vs Austria
22:00 - France vs Iraq
Tuesday 23rd June:
01:00 - Norway vs Senegal
04:00 - Jordan vs Algeria
18:00 - Portugal vs Uzbekistan
21:00 - England vs Ghana
Wednesday 24th June:
00:00 - Panama vs Croatia
03:00 - Colombia vs DR Congo
20:00 - Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Qatar
20:00 - Switzerland vs Canada
23:00 - Morocco vs Haiti
23:00 - Scotland vs Brazil
Thursday 25th June:
02:00 - Czechia vs Mexico
02:00 - South Africa vs South Korea
21:00 - Curaçao vs Ivory Coast
21:00 - Ecuador vs Germany
Friday 26th June:
00:00 - Japan vs Sweden
00:00 - Tunisia vs Netherlands
03:00 - Paraguay vs Australia
03:00 - Turkey vs USA
20:00 - Norway vs France
20:00 - Senegal vs Iraq
Saturday 27th June:
01:00 - Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia
01:00 - Uruguay vs Spain
04:00 - Egypt vs Iran
04:00 - New Zealand vs Belgium
22:00 - Croatia vs Ghana
22:00 - Panama vs England
Sunday 28th June:
00:30 - Colombia vs Portugal
00:30 - DR Congo vs Uzbekistan
03:00 - Algeria vs Austria
03:00 - Jordan vs Argentina
20:00 - Round of 32
Monday 29th June:
18:00 - Round of 32
21:30 - Round of 32
Tuesday 30th June:
02:00 - Round of 32
18:00 - Round of 32
22:00 - Round of 32
Wednesday 1st July:
02:00 - Round of 32
17:00 - Round of 32
21:00 - Round of 32
Thursday 2nd July:
01:00 - Round of 32
20:00 - Round of 32
Friday 3rd July:
00:00 - Round of 32
04:00 - Round of 32
19:00 - Round of 32
23:00 - Round of 32
Saturday 4th July:
02:30 - Round of 32
18:00 - Round of 16
22:00 - Round of 16
Sunday 5th July:
21:00 - Round of 16
Monday 6th July:
01:00 - Round of 16
20:00 - Round of 16
Tuesday 7th July:
01:00 - Round of 16
17:00 - Round of 16
21:00 - Round of 16
Thursday 9th July:
21:00 - Quarter Final
Friday 10th July:
20:00 - Quarter Final
Saturday 11th July:
22:00 - Quarter Final
Sunday 12th July:
02:00 - Quarter Final
Tuesday 14th July:
20:00 - Semi Final
Wednesday 15th July:
20:00 - Semi Final
Saturday 18th July:
22:00 - Third Place Play Off
Sunday 19th July:
20:00 - Final
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