Once again the old question of whether force or talk will shape the relationship between Washington and Tehran has come to the surface, this time in a campaign rally in Florida where a president reached back to the name of his own opening campaign against Iran as a threat of its return. Beneath the bluster lies a familiar pattern in which a powerful state tries to bend an adversary through the memory of violence, while the adversary answers by pointing to the fragile arteries of the modern world, the undersea cables that carry nearly all global data. Diplomats in four Middle Eastern capitals h
Trump Threatens 'Another Little Epic Fury' as Iran Warns Against 'Playing With Fire'
"We may do another little Epic Fury, or they'll agree."
Mark
Trump called a possible new strike "another little Epic Fury." Why does that phrase matter?
Mimi
Because Epic Fury was the operation that began the war. He's pointing to a repeat of that, and offering Iran a choice: agree to talks or face it again.
Luke
Worth noting it was a rally line. Nothing in the reporting says a strike is planned or that talks are scheduled.
Mark
And the warships passing Cuba? That seems like a tangent.
Mimi
It's a vivid aside. He said one ship could stop 50 yards offshore and Rubio would be sent in to finish the job. He didn't say what job.
Luke
Right, and I wouldn't read policy into it. It's a speech remark, not an announced plan.
Mark
What about the intelligence memo on Iranian plots?
Mimi
Axios reports it says Iran has substantially increased efforts to target US diplomats, with plots at advanced stages. Embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the UAE have cut staff but remain open.
Luke
That's Axios describing a memo. We haven't seen it, and the details of the plots aren't public. The staffing cuts, though, are confirmed by AP through three officials.
Mark
Then the undersea cable threat. How serious is it?
Mimi
Cables carry about 99 per cent of global internet traffic, and an IRGC official named seven under the Strait of Hormuz. But less than one per cent of international bandwidth runs through there.
Luke
And the claim that Iran can easily destroy them comes from an anonymous official. That's a threat, not a demonstrated capability.
El Pulso
- Trump has publicly threatened a fresh round of strikes on Iran, invoking the name of the earlier Epic Fury operation as a warning to Tehran to negotiate or face renewed force.
- An intelligence memo reportedly warns that Iranian plots against American diplomats have reached advanced stages, raising alarm across the region.
- The State Department is cutting staff at embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the UAE, while Saudi Arabia has ordered non-essential personnel to leave.
- Iran's Revolutionary Guards have threatened to cut undersea internet cables near the Strait of Hormuz if attacked, pushing the standoff toward a new kind of front.
- Analysts note the global impact of such cable cuts would likely be limited, but the outcome still hinges on whether talks begin or strikes resume.
Once again the old question of whether force or talk will shape the relationship between Washington and Tehran has come to the surface, this time in a campaign rally in Florida where a president reached back to the name of his own opening campaign against Iran as a threat of its return. Beneath the bluster lies a familiar pattern in which a powerful state tries to bend an adversary through the memory of violence, while the adversary answers by pointing to the fragile arteries of the modern world, the undersea cables that carry nearly all global data. Diplomats in four Middle Eastern capitals have been quietly thinned out, and an intelligence memo speaks of plots already advancing, so the human cost of this standoff is being borne first by those who serve abroad. Whether this moment becomes a negotiating table or another round of strikes remains open, and history suggests that threats spoken aloud often narrow the space in which either side can step back.
At a campaign rally in Florida on Friday, President Donald Trump told supporters that the United States might launch "another little Epic Fury" against Iran unless Tehran agrees to come to terms with Washington. Epic Fury was the name of the opening American military operation in the US-Iran war, and Trump used it now as shorthand for a possible second round. He suggested Iran's leaders would be wise to "get down to business," though he doubted they would. He also spoke, in strikingly vivid terms, of American warships heading home past Cuba, and of a possible Rubio-led gesture at sea whose purpose he left unexplained.
The warning arrived alongside troubling reports about the safety of American personnel. Axios, citing a US intelligence memo addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said Iran had sharply increased its efforts to target American diplomats and officials in the Middle East, with some plots reaching advanced stages. US officials are also concerned that Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen could expand their attacks beyond Saudi Arabia.
The State Department has responded by reducing staff at embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Those embassies remain open, though they were already operating under restricted conditions. In Saudi Arabia, non-essential government employees and their families were ordered to leave.
Tehran has answered with its own warnings. Iranian officials told Reuters that if the United States and Israel resume strikes, Iran would target undersea communication infrastructure as well as military bases, including covert ones. A Revolutionary Guards official later named seven major cables beneath the Strait of Hormuz as possible targets. Such cables carry about 99 per cent of global internet traffic, yet only a small share of international bandwidth passes through the strait, so the wider effect of such action may be limited. For now, the path ahead depends on whether the two governments choose negotiation or renewed force.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Florida on Friday, President Donald Trump told the crowd that the United States might carry out "another little Epic Fury" against Iran if Tehran does not come to terms with Washington. Epic Fury is the name of the opening US military operation of the US-Iran war, and Trump used it as shorthand for a possible second round of strikes.
"We may do another little Epic Fury, or they'll agree," he said. He added that if Iran's leaders were smart they would say, in his words, "Let's get down to business," but that he doubted they would, because perhaps they are not smart.
Trump also turned to the American warships now heading home from the Middle East. He said they would pass Cuba on the way, and that one of them could stop about 50 yards off the coast. The crew, he said, would raise their hands, and then Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be sent in to finish up the job. He did not elaborate on what that job would be.
The warning came as new reporting pointed to danger for American personnel in the region. Axios reported on a US intelligence memo, addressed to Rubio, which found that Iran had substantially increased its efforts to target American diplomats and officials in the Middle East. According to the report, plots against US diplomats were reaching advanced stages. US officials are also worried that Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen could widen their attacks beyond Saudi Arabia to other countries in the region.
The memo followed an announcement by the State Department that it was cutting staff at its embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. AP, citing three officials, reported that the changes were tied to threats from Iran and from the Houthis. All four embassies were already under "restricted operations" status, which had thinned their staffing, and all will stay open. The situation differs from Saudi Arabia, where non-essential US government employees and their family members were ordered to leave on Wednesday. Staff at the other four embassies are not required to depart.
Iran, for its part, has issued threats of its own. Reuters, citing two anonymous Iranian officials, reported that Tehran has warned it would go after undersea communication infrastructure if the United States and Israel resume strikes. "If Iran is attacked, there will be no more red lines ... from undersea cables to military bases, including covert ones," one of the officials said. The official told Washington not to "play with fire" and claimed Iran had full access to the cables and could easily destroy them.
The warning echoed a public statement on Wednesday by Yadollah Javani, deputy head of political affairs for the Revolutionary Guards. He said Iran could target seven major internet cables beneath the Strait of Hormuz if Iranian infrastructure were attacked, Reuters reported.
The International Telecommunication Union, a UN agency, says undersea cables carry about 99 per cent of global internet traffic. Reuters noted, however, that the worldwide effect of an Iranian attack on them might be limited, since less than one per cent of international bandwidth passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
What happens next depends on whether the two governments move toward negotiations or toward renewed strikes. Trump has framed the choice as a deal or another round of force, and Iran has answered by naming cables and bases as potential targets.
Citas Notables
We may do another little Epic Fury, or they'll agree.— President Donald Trump, Florida rally
If Iran is attacked, there will be no more red lines ... from undersea cables to military bases, including covert ones.— Anonymous Iranian official, via Reuters
Quieres la nota completa?
Lee el original en The Times of India ↗
Politics & Governance