The Trump administration is tying itself in knots, clinging to a ceasefire with Iran that now remains in name only.
On Monday, President Donald Trump said Iran would be “blown off the face of the earth” if it attacked U.S. ships guiding vessels through the Strait of Hormuz as part of Trump’s ill-defined “Project Freedom.”
The following day, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said Iran had launched numerous attacks. “Since the ceasefire was announced, Iran has fired at commercial vessels nine times and seized two container ships. They’ve attacked U.S. forces more than 10 times,” he told reporters on Tuesday. He explained that despite attacking U.S. troops, the strikes were “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point.”
Trump suggested to reporters on Tuesday that Iran knew what actions constituted red lines that would violate the ceasefire, but refused to go on record on what they were. “Well, you’ll find out, because I’ll let you know,” he said, without letting anyone know.
But the big headlines today are the Americans bombing Iranian ships, today?
Funny looking cease-fire.
That said, even a real cease-fire doesn’t mean the two nations aren’t at war. It’s a cease-fire, not a peace deal. There still exists a state of war between them which can (and has, in this case) returned to active conflict.
The USA is at war with Iran, whether they like it or not.