Six months into military conflict with Iran, President Trump has taken the most devastating option off the table, declaring he will not use nuclear weapons against the Islamic Republic even as he dismissed the nation as “totally defeated militarily.”
The president’s blunt assessment came Monday when reporters pressed him on whether nuclear strikes remained a possibility. “Well, I would never say that, but the answer is yes,” Trump stated. “I rule that, I rule out, no use.”
Trump didn’t stop there. He called the very question foolish, given the results American forces have achieved. “Here they are, they’re totally defeated militarily. So now I defeat them, and now I should use a nuclear weapon on top of them? What a stupid question,” the president fired back.
The declaration comes just one day after the U.S. and Iran exchanged strikes on Sunday, though Trump suggested Americans shouldn’t expect a return to full-scale combat operations anytime soon.
“This is a relatively little war for us. This is not a big war,” he said, characterizing Iran as a “failed nation.” Still, the president left the door open for future action, adding “that doesn’t mean we won’t smack them.”
While America celebrates military success, Iran’s allies are circling the wagons.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a ten-nation bloc that includes some of the world’s most hostile regimes, launched its annual summit Monday. China, Russia, India, and Iran all hold membership in the Eurasian group. The organization wasted no time issuing a statement condemning American military action.
“Military strikes on the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran violate the principles and norms of international law and the UN Charter and create serious risks to international peace, security and stability,” the bloc declared.
On the sidelines of the summit, Russian president Vladimir Putin met personally with Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian. Putin reportedly assured Pezeshkian that Russia stood in solidarity with Iran and emphasized the importance of diplomatic and economic ties between Moscow and Tehran. Pezeshkian thanked the Russian leader for his position on the war.
The alliance of convenience between Russia, China, and Iran represents exactly the kind of anti-American coalition that national security experts have long warned about. With Russia bogged down in its own conflicts and China eyeing Taiwan, the three nations have found common cause in opposing U.S. interests worldwide.
