US President Donald Trump has “boxed himself in” with earlier threats to act against the Iranian leadership, according to a former Pentagon Middle East adviser.
Protests in Iran have entered their third week and almost 500 protesters have been killed, according to US-based rights group Human Rights Activist New Agency (HRANA). CNN is unable to independently verify HRANA’s casualty numbers.
“At this point, President Trump has boxed himself in somewhat by saying that he would take action if protesters were killed,” Jasmine El-Gamal told CNN’s Rosemary Church earlier today, “We have reached that point, and so President Trump will have to take some kind of action.”
“We have to think about what impact a military strike could have,” El-Gamal, who is also the host of political podcast The View from Here, said, adding that US military strikes often provoke a “rally around the flag” response from within the targeted nation.
For context: President Donald Trump is weighing a series of potential military options in Iran following deadly protests in the country, two US officials told CNN, as he considers following through on his recent threats to strike the Iranian regime should it use lethal force against civilians.
“There seem to be some people killed that aren’t supposed to be killed. These are violent, if you call them leaders. I don’t know if their leaders are just they rule through violence, but we’re looking at it very seriously,” Trump told reporters today on Air Force One. “The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options. We’ll make it determination.”