Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
Monday, Trump said he saw a “good chance” of a deal being reached.
On Monday, July 27, US President Donald Trump said he saw a “good chance” of a deal with Iran after the US paused strikes to give diplomacy a chance.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard, however, does not seem to agree with that assessment, as it launched a surprise attack on a US military site.
According to reports, Iran launched ballistic missiles at an American military facility in Jordan. Defense systems intercepted every incoming weapon, keeping casualties at zero.
US Central Command later verified the operation in an official statement on Wednesday. They noted that American forces in the Middle East remain on high alert following the incident.
“At 5:45 p.m. ET today, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on US forces based in the Middle East,” the military command said.
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A broken pause
The sudden assault broke a fragile pause in fighting that began last Friday. US President Donald Trump had halted American strikes against Iran to give diplomatic talks a fair chance to succeed.
Jordan was already a flashpoint in the regional conflict. Two US soldiers died there in early July during a missile and drone strike, which triggered a 13-day military response from Washington.
The fresh attack arrived just hours after Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. Both leaders spent their meeting discussing how to address the growing Iranian threat.
Officials at the White House described those discussions as “positive and productive.” Yet the subsequent missile launches now leave the administration facing a critical choice on whether to strike back.
Pressure on diplomacy
Before the missiles flew on Wednesday, Trump told reporters that Washington was taking part in “very deep talks” with Iranian officials. Still, he warned that the window for a peaceful outcome was closing fast.
“Not much time. Either it goes fast or not at all,” Trump said. He added that the military was prepared to pivot to “very strong military action” if negotiations collapsed completely.
Trump also mentioned that failure to secure a deal could lead to the destruction of Mount Pickaxe, home to a key Iranian nuclear site. Now, with missiles crossing the night sky again, the clock is ticking even faster.
