Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressing the public during a gathering in Tehran, Jan. 17, 2026. (Credit: khamenei.ir/AFP)
After a surge in U.S. threats of military action against the Islamic Republic last week, a tense calm has settled over the Middle East. The prospect of American strikes, whether limited or extensive, has not disappeared.On the contrary, U.S. President Donald Trump's increasingly belligerent rhetoric, combined with the continued arrival of U.S. military equipment in the region, suggests that Washington is preparing for several scenarios."It is time to seek a new direction in Iran," Trump told Politico on Sunday, fueling speculation about a desire for regime change — or at the very least, the removal of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Another interview on Iran In Iran, ‘any intervention without UN Security Council authorization would be deemed unlawful under international law’ Has the U.S. president truly abandoned the...
After a surge in U.S. threats of military action against the Islamic Republic last week, a tense calm has settled over the Middle East. The prospect of American strikes, whether limited or extensive, has not disappeared.On the contrary, U.S. President Donald Trump's increasingly belligerent rhetoric, combined with the continued arrival of U.S. military equipment in the region, suggests that Washington is preparing for several scenarios."It is time to seek a new direction in Iran," Trump told Politico on Sunday, fueling speculation about a desire for regime change — or at the very least, the removal of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Another interview on Iran In Iran, ‘any intervention without UN Security Council authorization would be deemed unlawful under international law’ Has the U.S. president truly abandoned...
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