Latest news with #CenterforaNewAmericanSecurity
Iraqi News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Iraqi News
Trump wants quick win in Iran, but goal remains elusive
Washington – President Donald Trump vowed that his order to bomb Iran would be a one-off and not the beginning of another prolonged US war in the Middle East. But with Trump musing about everything from 'unconditional surrender' to regime change, it remains to be seen if the US intervention will remain limited — or if Iran will let it be. Two days after the United States bombed Iran's key nuclear sites as part of an Israeli-led military campaign, Iran fired missiles at a major US base in Qatar that were shot down. Trump said that Iran gave advance notice of the missiles and offered thanks, apparently seeing a choreography to show that Iran can hit back without causing American casualties that would be sure to trigger another US strike. Iran acted similarly in 2020 when Trump ordered the killing of top general Qasem Soleimani, hitting back at a base in Iraq housing US troops without killing any — and tensions then subsided. But Israel's strikes on Iran starting on June 13 mark the biggest attack on the region's second most populous country since the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, with the risks potentially existential for the Islamic Republic. Stacie Pettyjohn, director of the defense program at the Center for a New American Security, said that the US strike was 'incredibly successful' on a tactical level but 'it's not clear that it's actually achieved the operational or strategic objectives.' Iran is suspected to have moved highly enriched uranium stockpiles out of targeted sites. Iran also has plenty of other options to respond, including by threatening global oil prices through action in the oil-rich Gulf — which can range from closing the Strait of Hormuz to harassing ships with low-cost drones. 'The Middle East is a theater where US military success, hearkening back to the first Gulf War, has often proved to be rather ephemeral and led to long-term commitments in terms of US forces to maintain stability after that initial success,' she said. – Trump warms to interventionism – Trump campaigned by billing himself as anti-war and just last month delivered a speech in Riyadh in which he denounced 'nation-builders' who failed by 'intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves.' But Trump, always in tune with television images, quickly backed Israel after the apparent success of initial strikes, even through Trump had publicly urged Netanyahu to hold off and give a chance for diplomacy. Since then, and despite criticism from some in his right-wing base who loathe US interventionism, Trump has dialed up the tone. He has taken to social media to urge Tehran's nearly 10 million people to evacuate, to demand 'unconditional surrender' by Iran even though he said the United States was not at war, and to speak of the benefits of regime change, refashioning his campaign slogan to say, 'Make Iran Great Again.' Netanyahu has also expanded goals well beyond nuclear sites, with Israel striking the gate of Evin prison, notorious for jailing political prisoners. Netanyahu has called on Iranians to rise up against Iran's theocratic government, which has long faced wide domestic opposition. Iran under the Shah, who was deposed in 1979, was an ally of the West and Israel. But some Iran watchers expect a nationalist backlash against US and Israeli strikes — and so long as the Islamic republic is in place, the next moves for Trump are murky. The United States and Israel may have pushed back the Iranian nuclear program but it is unclear if Tehran would accept a binding agreement, said Max Boot, a military historian at the Council on Foreign Relations who was an advocate for the 2003 Iraq invasion. If Iran does not, 'we're locked in this kind of perpetual war with Iran, where every time there's any detection of any advance in their nuclear program, then Israeli aircraft are going to wind up having to bomb again,' he said. 'I'm not sure that there has been a carefully thought-out end-game in here.'
Int'l Business Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Trump Wants Quick Win In Iran, But Goal Remains Elusive
President Donald Trump vowed that his order to bomb Iran would be a one-off and not the beginning of another prolonged US war in the Middle East. But with Trump musing about everything from "unconditional surrender" to regime change, it remains to be seen if the US intervention will remain limited -- or if Iran will let it be. Two days after the United States bombed Iran's key nuclear sites as part of an Israeli-led military campaign, Iran fired missiles at a major US base in Qatar that were shot down. Trump said that Iran gave advance notice of the missiles and offered thanks, apparently seeing a choreography to show that Iran can hit back without causing American casualties that would be sure to trigger another US strike. Iran acted similarly in 2020 when Trump ordered the killing of top general Qasem Soleimani, hitting back at a base in Iraq housing US troops without killing any -- and tensions then subsided. But Israel's strikes on Iran starting on June 13 mark the biggest attack on the region's second most populous country since the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, with the risks potentially existential for the Islamic Republic. Stacie Pettyjohn, director of the defense program at the Center for a New American Security, said that the US strike was "incredibly successful" on a tactical level but "it's not clear that it's actually achieved the operational or strategic objectives." Iran is suspected to have moved highly enriched uranium stockpiles out of targeted sites. Iran also has plenty of other options to respond, including by threatening global oil prices through action in the oil-rich Gulf -- which can range from closing the Strait of Hormuz to harassing ships with low-cost drones. "The Middle East is a theater where US military success, hearkening back to the first Gulf War, has often proved to be rather ephemeral and led to long-term commitments in terms of US forces to maintain stability after that initial success," she said. Trump campaigned by billing himself as anti-war and just last month delivered a speech in Riyadh in which he denounced "nation-builders" who failed by "intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves." But Trump, always in tune with television images, quickly backed Israel after the apparent success of initial strikes, even through Trump had publicly urged Netanyahu to hold off and give a chance for diplomacy. Since then, and despite criticism from some in his right-wing base who loathe US interventionism, Trump has dialed up the tone. He has taken to social media to urge Tehran's nearly 10 million people to evacuate, to demand "unconditional surrender" by Iran even though he said the United States was not at war, and to speak of the benefits of regime change, refashioning his campaign slogan to say, "Make Iran Great Again." Netanyahu has also expanded goals well beyond nuclear sites, with Israel striking the gate of Evin prison, notorious for jailing political prisoners. Netanyahu has called on Iranians to rise up against Iran's theocratic government, which has long faced wide domestic opposition. Iran under the Shah, who was deposed in 1979, was an ally of the West and Israel. But some Iran watchers expect a nationalist backlash against US and Israeli strikes -- and so long as the Islamic republic is in place, the next moves for Trump are murky. The United States and Israel may have pushed back the Iranian nuclear program but it is unclear if Tehran would accept a binding agreement, said Max Boot, a military historian at the Council on Foreign Relations who was an advocate for the 2003 Iraq invasion. If Iran does not, "we're locked in this kind of perpetual war with Iran, where every time there's any detection of any advance in their nuclear program, then Israeli aircraft are going to wind up having to bomb again," he said. "I'm not sure that there has been a carefully thought-out end-game in here."
France 24
5 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Trump wants quick win in Iran, but goal remains elusive
But with Trump musing about everything from "unconditional surrender" to regime change, it remains to be seen if the US intervention will remain limited -- or if Iran will let it be. Two days after the United States bombed Iran's key nuclear sites as part of an Israeli-led military campaign, Iran fired missiles at a major US base in Qatar that were shot down. Trump said that Iran gave advance notice of the missiles and offered thanks, apparently seeing a choreography to show that Iran can hit back without causing American casualties that would be sure to trigger another US strike. Iran acted similarly in 2020 when Trump ordered the killing of top general Qasem Soleimani, hitting back at a base in Iraq housing US troops without killing any -- and tensions then subsided. But Israel's strikes on Iran starting on June 13 mark the biggest attack on the region's second most populous country since the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, with the risks potentially existential for the Islamic Republic. Stacie Pettyjohn, director of the defense program at the Center for a New American Security, said that the US strike was "incredibly successful" on a tactical level but "it's not clear that it's actually achieved the operational or strategic objectives." Iran is suspected to have moved highly enriched uranium stockpiles out of targeted sites. Iran also has plenty of other options to respond, including by threatening global oil prices through action in the oil-rich Gulf -- which can range from closing the Strait of Hormuz to harassing ships with low-cost drones. "The Middle East is a theater where US military success, hearkening back to the first Gulf War, has often proved to be rather ephemeral and led to long-term commitments in terms of US forces to maintain stability after that initial success," she said. Trump warms to interventionism Trump campaigned by billing himself as anti-war and just last month delivered a speech in Riyadh in which he denounced "nation-builders" who failed by "intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves." But Trump, always in tune with television images, quickly backed Israel after the apparent success of initial strikes, even through Trump had publicly urged Netanyahu to hold off and give a chance for diplomacy. Since then, and despite criticism from some in his right-wing base who loathe US interventionism, Trump has dialed up the tone. He has taken to social media to urge Tehran's nearly 10 million people to evacuate, to demand "unconditional surrender" by Iran even though he said the United States was not at war, and to speak of the benefits of regime change, refashioning his campaign slogan to say, "Make Iran Great Again." Netanyahu has also expanded goals well beyond nuclear sites, with Israel striking the gate of Evin prison, notorious for jailing political prisoners. Netanyahu has called on Iranians to rise up against Iran's theocratic government, which has long faced wide domestic opposition. Iran under the Shah, who was deposed in 1979, was an ally of the West and Israel. But some Iran watchers expect a nationalist backlash against US and Israeli strikes -- and so long as the Islamic republic is in place, the next moves for Trump are murky. The United States and Israel may have pushed back the Iranian nuclear program but it is unclear if Tehran would accept a binding agreement, said Max Boot, a military historian at the Council on Foreign Relations who was an advocate for the 2003 Iraq invasion. If Iran does not, "we're locked in this kind of perpetual war with Iran, where every time there's any detection of any advance in their nuclear program, then Israeli aircraft are going to wind up having to bomb again," he said.
Hans India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
The covert US strike that targeted Iran's nuclear core
In an unprecedented show of military precision, the United States carried out a high-stakes mission dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, targeting three of Iran's most secure nuclear facilities using stealth bombers, cruise missiles, and an elaborate web of decoys. The 18-hour round-trip strike was launched from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri under complete secrecy at 12:01 AM EDT. Seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers armed with GBU-57 "bunker buster" bombs took off silently, flying low across the Atlantic Ocean with minimal communications. Each bomber was accompanied by support aircraft, joining the formation in the Middle East to ensure the mission went undetected. The Pentagon revealed that another set of B-2s flew west toward the Pacific Ocean in a sophisticated diversion tactic, leading the world to believe the US was preparing for a separate offensive near Guam. This decoy mission was known only to a select group of top military planners and senior leadership, including President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who monitored the mission from the White House Situation Room. At the heart of the strike was Iran's Fordo nuclear enrichment facility—deeply buried beneath a mountain, believed to be 80-90 meters (262-295 feet) underground. This target required the rarely used GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs)—each capable of piercing over 18 meters (60 feet) of reinforced concrete or up to 61 meters (200 feet) of earth. The Pentagon confirmed that 14 MOPs were dropped across Fordo and a second facility at Natanz. In tandem, Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from a US Navy submarine in the Arabian Sea struck a third nuclear site near Isfahan—delivering a synchronized, multi-pronged offensive in under 30 minutes. Despite extensive radar systems in Iran, no air defenses fired during the operation. According to defense analysts, Israel's prior control over Iranian airspace may have paved the way for the bombers to operate unchallenged. While US officials hailed the mission as a tactical success and claimed the destruction of key nuclear capabilities, Iran has acknowledged the strikes but downplayed the extent of the damage. Experts say it could take weeks or even months to assess the true impact, especially given how deeply the facilities are fortified underground. In total, more than 125 US aircraft and 75 precision-guided munitions were used in the assault. The entire operation spanned multiple continents, required numerous mid-air refuelings, and remains a benchmark for modern stealth warfare. 'This was the kind of coordinated, complex military strike only the US could pull off,' said Dr. Stacie Pettyjohn, a defense expert at the Center for a New American Security. 'But whether it truly resets Iran's nuclear program remains to be seen.' The world now watches closely, as both Iran and the US weigh their next moves—militarily and diplomatically.
Time of India
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Ukraine's drone swarm attack was a warning for Russia and the US may be next
No shelter at home Live Events Drone warfare, democratized Homeland incursions and sleeper threats China's fortress, America's exposure 'We're not even close' The budget tug-of-war (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Ukraine's surprise drone strike on Russian airbases has shaken US defence leaders into acknowledging a grave risk — America's own airfields could be hit just as easily.'It's an eyebrow-raising moment,' said Gen. David Allvin, US Air Force Chief of Staff , at a Washington defence conference this week. 'Right now, I don't think it's where we need to be.'Ukraine's attack damaged or destroyed at least 12 Russian warplanes on June 1, including strategic bombers. Ukrainian officials claimed 41 aircraft were targeted in total. Their method was both simple and alarming: commercial-style drones were hidden inside wooden mobile houses mounted on trucks. These were driven near four Russian bases, and the drones were launched by remote once in position. The Russian bombers, unprotected on open tarmacs, never saw them neither, experts warn, would US planes in similar Shugart of the Center for a New American Security didn't mince words: 'There is no sanctuary even in the US homeland – particularly given that our bases back home are essentially completely unhardened.''Hardened,' in military terms, means aircraft are parked in reinforced shelters. But at most US facilities, including key sites like Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri or Dyess Air Force Base in Texas, multibillion-dollar bombers sit in the open, not far from public highways. It's a vulnerability mirrored in Russia — and just as easily exploitable.'We are pretty vulnerable,' retired US Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal told CNN. 'We've got a lot of high-value assets that are extraordinarily expensive.' The B-2 bomber, for example, costs $2 billion apiece. The US has only officials estimated the strike cost Russia $7 billion. And it cost Ukraine mere tens of thousands of isn't science fiction. A first-person view (FPV) drone, like the ones used in Ukraine's strike, can be bought online for under $700. Controlled by a headset, the operator can steer the drone with precision. These cheap tools are now deadly weapons.'Ukraine inflicted billions in damage,' Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told Congress this week. 'The world saw in near-real time how readily available technology can disrupt established power dynamics.'Ukraine has honed its drone tactics with urgency. Each week, engineers adapt to Russian countermeasures, staying a step threats are not confined to foreign battlefields. According to US Northern Command, there were 350 drone incursions into domestic military bases last year. Some were hobbyists, but others could have been surveillance missions by foreign adversaries — or worse.'Think of all the containers and illegal entrants inside our borders,' warned Carl Schuster, a former Pacific Command intelligence director. Every cargo truck could conceal a drone. Every base near a highway — and many are — becomes a potential target.'It's a logistical nightmare,' wrote David Kirichenko on the Atlantic Council's Ukraine Watch. Russia's vast geography, once a strength, is now a weakness. The same applies to the US debates budgets, China has built more than 650 hardened aircraft shelters within range of Taiwan, according to a Hudson Institute report co-authored by Shugart. The report warned that, in a US-China conflict, most American aircraft losses would occur on the ground — not in Guam's Andersen Air Force Base, home to B-2 and B-52 bombers, lacks hardened shelters.'The F-47 is an amazing aircraft, but it's going to die on the ground if we don't protect it,' Allvin said, referring to a proposed $300 million stealth jet touted by former President Donald contrast, Shugart estimates that a hardened aircraft shelter would cost about $30 Pentagon is scrambling. After a deadly drone strike killed three US soldiers in Jordan earlier this year, efforts to counter drones intensified. Strategies include jammers to sever control signals, intercepting missiles, even nets to snare drones mid-air. Still, none are foolproof.'There's no simple solution,' a US defence official told reporters. 'We're not even close.'That same official, speaking anonymously, warned that cheap drone swarms could soon trigger a 'mass-casualty event.' High-profile civilian targets like sports arenas and infrastructure remain dangerously root problem is money — and priorities.'If all we are doing is playing defence and can't shoot back, then that's not a good use of our money,' Allvin said. The Pentagon, with an annual budget nearing $1 trillion, must decide whether to fund new offensive systems or protect the ones it already are listening. On Capitol Hill, Senator Roger Wicker, head of the Armed Services Committee, promised billions in funding to address the drone gap. But officials remain sceptical that the urgency will match the rhetoric.'We are not doing enough,' Army Secretary Driscoll testified. 'The current status quo is not sufficient.'Ukraine's innovation with FPV drones shows how war is changing. Technology has levelled the field. The next war — or attack — could arrive in the back of a truck, not a fighter now, America's billion-dollar bombers remain on open runways. And the clock is ticking.
