U.S. President Donald Trump said the survival chance of the truce with Iran is only 1%, and that he is considering expanding and resuming the "Liberation Project." Iran, meanwhile, said it is fully prepared to respond to any U.S. attack, raising tensions between the two sides ahead of the U.S.-China summit.
Meeting reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump described the truce with Iran as being in "an incredibly weak state." "The ceasefire is largely on life support, and the doctor comes in and says there's about a 1% chance," he said.
Trump particularly denounced Iran's proposal as "a piece of garbage," adding, "I didn't even read the whole thing." He also emphasized that he has a very simple plan to end the war with Iran and that Iran cannot be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.
Earlier, in an interview with Fox News, Trump said he is considering expanding and resuming the suspended "Liberation Project" (Project Freedom). However, Fox reported that a final decision has not been made. Trump had carried out the Liberation Project on the 4th to extract merchant ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, then temporarily suspended it on the 5th, citing progress in negotiations with Iran.
Reports have also emerged that Trump is leaning toward military action against Iran. U.S. online outlet Axios, citing two U.S. officials, said, "Trump is leaning toward taking some form of military action to intensify pressure on the Iranian regime and extract concessions on its nuclear program." Options being discussed include resuming the Liberation Project and renewing airstrikes on the remaining 25% of targets that have not yet been struck. The Israeli government wants Trump to deploy special forces to secure Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, but Trump is hesitant due to the high risk of such an operation, the outlet reported. However, the two U.S. officials said Trump is unlikely to order military action against Iran before returning from China.
Meanwhile, the United States made an unusual disclosure of the location of a nuclear-powered submarine carrying nuclear missiles. The U.S. Navy's 6th Fleet, which covers Europe and Africa, said in a press release the same day that an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine had arrived at British-controlled Gibraltar on the southern coast of Spain the previous day. The U.S. military did not disclose the submarine's name, but military publication Stars and Stripes reported that the USS Alaska, one of 14 Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, had arrived at the Strait of Gibraltar, and that the submarine carries Trident missiles capable of being armed with nuclear warheads. The disclosure of a nuclear submarine's location by the U.S. military is rare, and is being interpreted as a message of pressure toward Iran.
Iran also did not back down. Mohammad Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament who had sat at the negotiating table with the United States in Pakistan, warned on X (formerly Twitter), "Our military is ready to respond decisively to any aggression." "We are prepared for all options, and they will be surprised (by our response)," he added. According to Bloomberg, Iran announced the same day that it had deployed mini-submarines to control the Strait of Hormuz.
