In a recent post, I noted that President Trump, in January, promised to come to the aid of Iran's citizens, ruled for decades by a cruel and despotic regime. He wrote, on his social media site: "Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING...HELP IS ON ITS WAY."
We now know much more about the depth of his concern for the citizens of Iran.
His deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz expires tonight. This morning, he wrote:
"A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will."
He wrote: "However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end."
He concluded his post by saying: "God Bless the Great People of Iran!"
On Easter Sunday he had written, of the Iran war: "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all
wrapped up in one. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin'
Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell--JUST WATCH!" He
concluded the post with this: "Praise be to Allah."
The U.S., Iran, and the world entire are now at a terrible precipice, brought there by an erratic, impulsive, and dangerous American leader--one who is driven by tantrums, and the daily issuing of threats.
Pakistan has been engaged in indirect talks with the United States and Iran. Today, after President Trump's latest post, Pakistan's prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif--as reported by The New York Times--took to social media, in an appeal to Trump. Mr. Sharif, The Times wrote, argued "that diplomatic efforts were 'progressing steadily, strongly, and powerfully.' " Mr. Sharif wrote: "To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks."
A report in The Hill added this, from the prime minister's post on X:
“Pakistan, in all sincerity, requests the Iranian brothers to open
[the] Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a
goodwill gesture."
The prime minister also wrote:
“We also urge all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere
for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of
war, in the interest of long-term peace and stability in the region.”
Yesterday, during a press conference at The White House, Trump was asked about the effect his threatened bombings would have on the citizens of Iran.
A reporter asked, as recounted by People magazine:
“You said Iranians would be mad if you stopped these attacks, but why
would they want you to blow up their infrastructure to cut off their
power? Wouldn't that be punishing Iranians for the actions of the
regime?” a reporter asked the Republican president.
“They would be willing to suffer that in order to have freedom,” Trump, 79, replied.
“We’ve had numerous intercepts… 'Please keep bombing,' ” the president continued.
Trump went on to say that bombs were falling near Iranians’ homes yet
they welcomed the explosions, claiming that Iranians have said, “Please
keep bombing, do it."
“These are people who are living where the bombs are exploding, and
when we leave and are not hitting those areas, they’re saying, ‘Please
come back, come back.’ ”
“All I can tell you is that they want freedom," Trump concluded, referencing the country’s strict religious law.
I of course don't know what "intercepts" the president was referring to, or when they might have been seen; perhaps it was weeks ago. Or maybe his remarks--"Please keep bombing"--were made up, or exaggerated, on the fly. President Trump is rarely a reliable source of fact, and one must routinely treat what he says with skepticism.
Perhaps, in the past weeks, he was told that some--or many--Iranian citizens wanted the war to continue, to destroy the Iranian regime.
Yet I doubt that Iran's citizens want their country bombed back to the "Stone Ages," as the president has threatened in recent days. I doubt they want their "whole civilization" to "die tonight," as Trump threatened today. I am sure there are millions of Iranian citizens who--continuing to face the oppression and brutality of their own government--are terrified by what Trump may have in store for them.
