Trump has options on Iran, but first must define goal |
US President Donald Trump has options to intervene in protest-hit Iran that range from low to high risk, but choosing his course depends on him deciding his ultimate goal.
It has been 10 days since Trump said the United States was "locked and loaded" and ready to "come to the rescue" if Iran's clerical state kills demonstrators who have taken to the streets in major numbers.
Since then, Trump has kept threatening a military option, even as hundreds of people have died, according to rights groups.
Iran has been a sworn foe of the United States since the 1979 Islamic revolution toppled the pro-Western shah. The downfall of the Islamic republic in power since then would transform the Middle East.
But Trump has previously lashed out against "regime change" as a goal, especially pointing to lessons from US involvement in Iraq, a smaller country.
Trump on Monday exercised economic leverage, announcing 25 percent tariffs on Iran's trading partners, and he has spoken of ways to forcibly restore internet access shut by Tehran.
The two governments have also........