Will Trump Act in Iran?

President Trump is urging Iranian protesters to keep up the pressure on the regime, saying that assistance could be forthcoming. He did not furnish additional details. In a message this morning to “Iranian Patriots” on his Truth Social platform Mr. Trump writes “Keep protesting — take over your institutions!!!” and added that “Help is on its way.” It could be a signal of his intentions, too, that the president has canceled meetings with Iranian officials. That’s a shift from Mr. Trump’s earlier receptiveness to parleying. “The leaders of Iran called,” the president said Sunday. “They want to negotiate. I think they’re tired of getting beat up.” Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, contacted special envoy Steve Witkoff, per Axios. “But we might have to act before the meeting,” Mr. Trump said, then slapped a 25 percent tariff on any country doing business with Tehran. Talks are over for now. The mullahs approached Washington, too, on the eve of last year’s 12-day war. After some initial diplomatic contacts, though, Mr. Trump reportedly concluded that the regime merely wanted to play for time. It helped his decision to opt for military strikes on nuclear facilities instead. He is scheduled to meet Pentagon and White House officials later today. Knowing the end might be nigh, the mullahs would rather negotiate than face Mr. Trump’s ire. No wonder then, that the Islamic Republic wants to talk. Will Mr. Trump, instead, act to prevent further bloodshed? Communication in Iran is cut off but reports trickle out, including that 12,000 people have been murdered in the streets in two weeks of protest. The rebellion is waxing, and the mullahs see mass killing as the only way to end the toughest ever challenge to their rule. Mr. Trump has vowed to act if the regime spills blood. His credibility is on the line. Does America have time to think this through? The regime is killing. Stealthily. Iranians are disconnected from the internet. Cellphone towers are down. Revolutionary Guardsmen and Basij enforcers are firing machine guns and slashing protesters with machetes, leaving victims to bleed to death. Even Iranians who have access to a few hundred Starlink portals are struggling to get the news out. The regime has jammed the satellite system’s signal. America might have a technological edge over the Islamic Republic. Starlink’s owner, Elon Musk, and the Pentagon surely have devices that could jam the Iranian signal jammers. Western publications are ignoring the regime’s atrocities under the pretext that reliable information is hard to come by. Never mind that endless “reporting” from Gaza largely recycled Hamas propaganda. Giving Iranians the tools to tell their stories could end the media blackout. While at it, America could also disable the regime enforcers’ communications. Attacks on Iranian rebels would be less effective were security forces unable to coordinate them. Mr. Trump, though, might need to add some muscle to his toolbox. Some argue that American kinetic action could backfire as Iranians would rally around the flag. In reality the rebels are burning flags and replacing them with the pre-Islamic Republic banners. Air strikes could target regime enforcers, who are despised by the Iranian people. During the 12-day war Israel hit four Basij and Revolutionary Guards camps around Tehran. Now Israel has plans for widened strikes to the rest of the country. Killing commanders of the oppression apparatus would hardly cause Iranians to patriotically align with the mullahs. Rather, it would encourage them to hasten the end of the regime. Mr. Trump could expand to Iran his campaign of seizing Venezuela’s shadow fleet of oil tankers. Tightening oil sanctions enforcement would limit the regime’s access to cash. Unpaid regime loyalists would defect. The killing of Quds commander Qasem Soleimani in 2020 and the strikes in June exposed the regime’s military weaknesses. Now the mullahs have brutally crossed Mr. Trump’s red line. Will he act before it’s too late?

Will Trump Act in Iran?

Will Trump Act in Iran?

More from the New York Sun

Colorado Democrats Denying Catholic Parents’ Religious Freedom in State-Funded Pre-K Programs

The Best Advice for Republicans After Midterm Drubbing Is To Keep Calm

Ram Has Resurrected a V8-Powered Flying Dinosaur

Anti-Jeffries Petition Tops 1 Million Signatures as Progressives Seek a More Combative Speaker

Hochul and Mamdani Celebrate Democratic Election Gains, Not at Home but in Puerto Rico

Zoo Atlanta’s New Pandas Steal the Spotlight in Public Debut

GOP Lawmakers Erupt Over Trump’s Promotion of Stephen Miller

Incoming Texas Democrats May Flip Policies on Abortion, Data Centers, Schools

More from the New York Sun

Colorado Democrats Denying Catholic Parents’ Religious Freedom in State-Funded Pre-K Programs

The Best Advice for Republicans After Midterm Drubbing Is To Keep Calm

Ram Has Resurrected a V8-Powered Flying Dinosaur

Anti-Jeffries Petition Tops 1 Million Signatures as Progressives Seek a More Combative Speaker

Hochul and Mamdani Celebrate Democratic Election Gains, Not at Home but in Puerto Rico

Zoo Atlanta’s New Pandas Steal the Spotlight in Public Debut

GOP Lawmakers Erupt Over Trump’s Promotion of Stephen Miller

Incoming Texas Democrats May Flip Policies on Abortion, Data Centers, Schools