Why Trump Chose Weekend To Attack Iran? (image-Instagram/potus)
US President Donald Trump, after giving out mixed signals about joining the Iran-Israel conflict, on Saturday joined Israel’s military campaign by launching airstrikes on nuclear sites in Iran. The raid on the Iranian nuclear sites was carried out by B-2 stealth bombers that dropped so-called “bunker buster bombs,” along with submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles, according to US media reports.
The investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, citing a network of long-standing Israeli insiders and American officials, had earlier alleged a US-backed plan for extensive bombing in Iran. According to his report, Iran’s most advanced centrifuges, “buried at least 80 metres below the surface at Fordow,” are their primary targets. He further stated that the attack would be carried out during the weekend.
Read also: US Presidents Who Went To War Still Won Nobel Peace Prize
According to the Pulitzer-winning journalist, the timing of the strike was delayed following a request from President Trump. The delay, he reported, would help reduce the potential shock or panic that news of the bombing might cause in financial markets, especially before trading opens on Wall Street Monday.
Wall Street reacts strongly to war-related news, especially when it involves oil-producing regions like Iran. So, a strike would likely lead to a spike in oil prices, increased market volatility, and panic selling. Thus, if the strike had been carried out on Monday, it could have triggered sharp sell-offs. Apart from this, the delay also served a strategic military purpose by giving the US time to prepare its military bases and naval ports in West Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean in case Iran retaliates for the strikes.
Moreover, in his article, Hersh had specified that the strikes would broaden, targeting “the BASES of the Republican Guards,” “Iranian police stations,” and “Government offices that house files on suspected dissenters in Iran.” However, the informed official had said that it would “not be carpet bombing.”
Read also: Gulf Region On High Alert Over Nuclear Radiation Fears After US Strikes On Iranian Nuclear Sites
According to Seymour Hersh, a key aspiration among some American and Israeli intelligence officials is that the bombings might trigger a “democratic uprising against the Ayatollahs.” However, he cautioned that a large-scale bombing campaign could plunge Iran into “permanent failure,” potentially leading to further destabilisation in the region. President Trump “clearly wants an international win he can market,” Hersh noted.
