“Iran is no longer the ‘Bully of the Middle East,’ they are, instead, ‘THE LOSER OF THE MIDDLE EAST,’ and will be for many decades until they surrender or, more likely, completely collapse!” said President Donald Trump in a Saturday Truth Social post.
Trump announced last week that the U.S. had joined Israel to attack Iran, called “Operation Epic Fury.” That day, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, age 86, was killed in the attack.
Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have been tense since the 1979 Islamic Revolution ousted a previously pro-U.S. government, and the nation is also known as the backer of designated terrorist groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Israel and Hamas have been at war since Hamas’ 2023 terrorist attack on Israel.
Though there were recent student protests in Iran, experts who discussed the situation with Audacy last week said a successful operation to remove the current Iranian government will be challenging, if possible at all. Just before the attacks, the U.S. and Iran had been in negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear program and the U.S. side was reportedly disappointed that Iran was not willing to totally dismantle it.
The Guardian also noted that the Trump administration has shifted its reasoning for the strikes on Iran. It explained that Trump has cited historical tensions, nuclear threats and more.
“Iran, which is being beat to HELL, has apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors, and promised that it will not shoot at them anymore. This promise was only made because of the relentless U.S. and Israeli attack,” Trump said in his Saturday post. “They were looking to take over and rule the Middle East. It is the first time that Iran has ever lost, in thousands of years, to surrounding Middle Eastern Countries.”
Per the Associated Press, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian did apologize for attacks on neighboring Arab countries in the Middle East. It explained that the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard – which controls the ballistic missiles from Iran – answered only to Khamenei “and now appears to be picking its own targets.”
In a statement this week, the U.S. State Department condemned what it called an “unprovoked drone attack on March 5 by the Iranian regime against the Republic of Azerbaijan, targeting Nakhchivan International Airport and a children’s school, which injured innocent civilians and caused damage to critical civilian infrastructure.” It also said that “attacks on the territory of our partners in the region are unacceptable and will be met with resolute U.S. support for those partners.”
“I should apologize to the neighboring countries that were attacked by Iran, on my own behalf,” Pezeshkian said. “From now on, they should not attack neighboring countries or fire missiles at them, unless we are attacked by those countries. I think we should solve this through diplomacy.”
Still, there appeared to be considerable confusion in Iran as it works to find a new supreme leader, and in the region, as the attacks enter a second week. According to a united Nations update posted Friday, UN Chief António Guterres warned that “the situation could spiral beyond anyone’s control,” with the world economy at risk. He also urged a diplomatic approach to end the conflict.
As for the impact of the attacks here at home, a Saturday message from the U.S. State Department revealed that more than 28,000 American citizens have safely returned to the U.S. from the Middle East since February 28 and at least six U.S. military members have died in the conflict, according to CNN. Also, gas prices have already shot up since the attacks on Iran started last week, as was expected.
Trump’s message indicates that the administration plans to continue its assault on Iran.
“Today Iran will be hit very hard! Under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran’s bad behavior, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time,” he said.