President Donald J. Trump said Iran must not be allowed nuclear weapons, no matter what: “They’ve had their warnings. Now they get their consequences.” In an interview with Hannity on Fox News, he warned: “This is their last chance. Next time I speak, it may be over.” He added: “I don’t want war. I want victory. For Israel. For America. For civilization.” It seems a matter of hours, not days.
In the wake of Israel’s stunning July 13 surprise offensive against Iran—an operation that caught Tehran off guard and left key military and nuclear sites in ruins—former U.S. President Donald Trump issued his clearest ultimatum yet: unless Iran unconditionally surrenders and halts all aggression, the United States will actively join the Israeli campaign to end the threat of the Islamic Republic once and for all.
“They can give up, or they can get blown up,” Trump declared during a June 18 interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “This war started because Biden and his people gave them money and weakness. I will finish it with strength.”
The former president’s statement followed five days of escalating Iranian counterattacks, including deadly missile and drone salvos aimed at civilian centers in Israel. Twenty-four Israelis have been killed since last Friday, with dozens more injured. One strike on Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva came terrifyingly close to a mass-casualty event—averted only because a senior doctor ordered the evacuation of a surgery wing a day before impact.
The Iranian attacks, however, came only after Israel executed a meticulously planned and long-prepared air and cyber operation in the early hours of Saturday, July 13. Dozens of IAF fighters, including F-35I stealth jets, struck deep into Iran, targeting nuclear enrichment facilities in Natanz and Fordow, IRGC command bunkers near Tehran, and missile depots in Shiraz, Esfahan, and Bandar Abbas. Simultaneously, drones and saboteurs—likely Mossad—crippled air defense systems and fuel infrastructure.
Iran’s air force never got off the ground.
Operation Rising Lion: The Surprise That Shook the Region
According to multiple Israeli sources, Operation Rising Lion had been rehearsed for over a year, with only a small group within the IDF, Mossad, and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s war cabinet aware of the exact timing. The goal: inflict maximum damage on Iran’s capacity to wage a regional war—before Iran could drag Israel into one.
Israeli Air Force Chief Tomer Bar called the strike “the most effective first-day air operation in modern history,” noting that not a single Israeli aircraft was lost, and over 80% of priority targets were hit.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Knesset that evening:
“Iran thought it could threaten Israel, build nuclear bombs, and flood our borders with terror proxies. We have now destroyed the fantasy. The ayatollahs must surrender—or collapse.”
Yet as Iran began lashing out with ballistic missile attacks on Haifa, Tel Aviv, and the Negev, it became clear the war was just beginning.
Trump: “This Time, We Finish It”
Since Saturday’s offensive, Trump has posted five messages on Truth Social, spoken at two rallies in Florida and North Carolina, and given back-to-back interviews on Fox and Newsmax—all centered on the same message: support for Israel and readiness to destroy the Iranian regime if it does not capitulate.
“I told the world: no more endless wars. But that doesn’t mean we let terrorists in Tehran threaten our allies,” Trump said on Tuesday. “Israel did what had to be done. Now we stand with them. And if I were in charge, this would’ve been over already.”
He blamed the Biden administration for undoing his maximum pressure campaign:
“They gave billions to these maniacs. Unfroze money. Took off sanctions. What did Iran do? Built missiles. Built terror. Built nukes. Now Israel has to clean it up.”
According to senior GOP sources, Trump has already been briefed by CENTCOM officials sympathetic to his prospective 2025 transition team. “He’s not guessing,” one source said. “He knows exactly what assets are in place.”
U.S. Assets Already in Theater
Whether the Biden administration admits it or not, American military posture suggests preparations for imminent escalation:
- B-2 Spirit stealth bombers are now based at Diego Garcia and a Gulf host facility, capable of round-trip strike missions on Iranian nuclear and military sites.
- B-52 Stratofortresses—the U.S. Air Force’s strategic long-range bombers—were deployed from Minot Air Force Base last weekend.
- The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group, initially positioned to deter Houthis in the Red Sea, has rerouted closer to the Strait of Hormuz.
- F-22 Raptors stationed in Qatar and UAE are now flying escort and air patrol missions alongside Israeli F-35Is.
- Cyberwarfare units based in Maryland and Tel Aviv are reportedly collaborating in real-time to disable Iranian communications, radar networks, and satellite uplinks.
A U.S. military official told The Jerusalem Post under condition of anonymity: “The order hasn’t been given yet—but everything is in place.”
A Message Heard Loud in Tehran
The Iranian regime has so far responded to the strikes with a mixture of bravado and visible confusion. While Ayatollah Khamenei called Israel’s actions “criminal” and vowed “vengeance with fire,” Iranian state television has begun showing defensive briefings and tributes to fallen IRGC commanders—unusual signs of internal concern.
More tellingly, there are signs of panic across Iranian cities:
- Banking systems failed in multiple regions due to suspected cyberattacks.
- Fuel shortages and power outages struck Tabriz and parts of Shiraz.
- Prison breaks occurred in the north as guards abandoned facilities.
- Thousands of young Iranians flooded airports and border crossings, fearing a broader war or regime collapse.
A Tehran university professor told Iran International anonymously:
“There’s a sense here that something irreversible has begun. Either the regime survives by retreating, or it falls trying to retaliate.”
Netanyahu: “If America Joins, Iran Falls Faster”
Speaking late Tuesday night, Netanyahu acknowledged Trump’s statements as “a powerful signal to our enemies and to our friends.” He added:
“Israel has proven it can act alone. But if the United States joins us, Iran will fall faster. We welcome any and all allies who stand for freedom and against terror.”
For Netanyahu, Operation Rising Lion is the culmination of years of patient planning—and decades of warnings. In his 2012 UN speech, he drew a red line on Iran’s nuclear ambition. Now, thirteen years later, that line has become a battlefield.
The Path Forward
If Iran chooses to surrender—accepting inspections, halting attacks, and withdrawing its militias from Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq—Trump says the door to peace could open.
“I don’t want war. But I want victory. For Israel. For America. For civilization,” Trump told Hannity.
But if Iran does not back down, the world may witness a joint U.S.-Israeli campaign unlike anything since the Second World War—one designed not to contain the threat, but to eliminate it.
“This is their last chance,” Trump warned. “Next time I speak, it may be over.”
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