The United States and Israel launched a war against Iran last weekend, dropping bombs on several cities across the country. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a bombing. According to reports, there were more than 100 children at a school in the Iranian city of Minab. Iran’s retaliatory attacks on US military bases in the Middle East have so far killed at least four US soldiers. It was reported that three American F-15 fighter jets were shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait. Israel also began attacking Lebanon, and Iran extended its retaliation to oil production facilities in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
As the Middle East teeters on the brink of all-out war, President Donald Trump spoke to reporters for a few minutes on Sunday. new york times. The resulting article is a remarkable example of three reporters attempting to apply a sheen of reason and dignity to the mutterings of a confused old man. “President Trump has presented several seemingly contradictory visions of how power will be transferred to a new government, and even whether the existing Iranian power structure will run that government or be overthrown.” times Trump fabricated what he said about his plans for Iran.
He first proposed that Iran’s elite military hand over its weapons to the people and voluntarily relinquish power. “If you think about it, they really will surrender to the people,” Trump said. He went on to suggest that the succession of powers that followed the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela and the United States could serve as a model for how governments can achieve their goals. “I think what we did in Venezuela was a perfect, perfect scenario,” Trump said. “Everyone kept their jobs except for two people.” President Trump also said he has “three very good choices” for who he wants to take power in Iran.
(that times“His response implied that what worked in Venezuela would also work in Iran, which has a population about three times larger and a military and clerical leadership that has been increasingly repressive since the 1979 revolution.” Okay, thanks.)
Hmm, but in the end we probably shouldn’t rely on “three very good choices.” ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl also spoke by phone with President Trump on Sunday, and it was reported that the candidates who will take office have been handpicked. “The attack was so successful that most of the candidates were eliminated,” Trump said. “Because everyone we thought of was dead. Second or third place were dead.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s younger, less meddlesome proxies are having no easier time justifying American attacks on Iran. “This is not a so-called regime change war, but there has definitely been a regime change,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a press conference this morning. In addition, it was clearly emphasized that this war would not be a ‘politically correct war’. Vice President JD Vance also appeared on TV and said, “We are not at war with Iran, we are at war with Iran’s nuclear program.” Meanwhile, CNN reported that Pentagon briefers acknowledged to members of Congress that Iran does not pose an immediate threat to US military bases in the region.
It has been dark and fascinating to watch the ability and willingness of various media outlets to test the government’s self-contradictory nonsense. While the motion-making machine groans, Trump is busy undermining himself on sleepy phone calls with reporters. This is a stress test his administration is particularly suited to apply to America’s narrative setters at all times. Whether politicians and journalists can maintain their enthusiasm to talk about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, focus on the repression of the Khamenei regime and praise the precision of the US attack that is actually unfolding before our eyes. He gave a coherent explanation for his actions, and was seen doing a little dancing in his rustic ballroom just hours before dropping the bomb on the school. This dissonance has been successfully metabolized many times before during Trump’s presidency. It will probably be harder this time, but I believe our great media institutions can do it.
