Peace President Trump: “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”

Trump posted on his “Truth Social“ account: “Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” [my emphasis in bold] (1)

According to Wikipedia, there are 16.8 million people in the Tehran metropolitan area.

The US getting involved directly in a regime-change war in Iran would be one of the worst disasters in the history of American foreign policy. And that’s saying a lot.

I remember back in 2006 (or maybe 2007) hearing a presentation by then-former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer in San Francisco about the situation at the time in the Middle East. Someone asked him what a direct war with Iran would look like. Usually not short on words, he just shook his head in dismay at the thought.

Amos Harel, an experience interpreter of the tea leaves being displayed by Netanyahu’s rogue government, has an informative article about Netanyahu’s outlook on the war with Iran that he has initiated. I’m including a link to the full column below. (2)

Briefly, these are some key points he makes:+

• Despite the rally-around-the-flag impulse at the beginning of any war, the grim reality of Netanyahu’s war on Iran is already setting in.
  
• From Israel’s viewpoint, this is a regime-change war: “it's … clear that Israel is trying to promote the downfall of the [Iranian] regime.” (That goal is not at all feasible without direct American intervention, an action which would inflict huge costs on US forces, even more so than in Iraq.)
• Iran’s government will also benefit from a rally-around-the-flag effect.
• “Israel began the war brilliantly, but the military operation is far from over.” There is no exist strategy, in other words.
• The war could well become “a long war of attrition for which Israel isn't prepared.”
• “[We] shouldn't ignore the basic fact that almost all recent governments failed to do anything to eliminate one critical gap. A sizable percentage of Israelis – tens of percent – have  no accessible protection from rockets in the form of a nearby shelter or safe room. And many of them live in major cities.“
• “[N]obody prepared the [Israeli] public for the differences between missile fire from the Gaza Strip or Yemen and what residents of greater Tel Aviv and Haifa have experienced over the past few nights.
• “[P]erhaps the most dangerous – touches on a war of attrition. Israel could find itself in the same situation as Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia for more than three years. But at least Ukraine enjoys strong international support.”

David Hearst of the British Middle East Eye provides an overview of the situation in this interview from June 16. He accurately describes Netanyahu as “a messianic leader … whose life’s ambition has been exactly the war that we’re now seeing.” (3)

There is, of course, no shortage of flaming warmonger takes on the situation. That of Ian Bremmer in a June 16 interview with Preet Bharara is one example. (4)

Notes:

(1) <https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114695407357588413> (Accessed: 2025-17-06.)

(2) Harel, Amos (2025): With Its Goals in Iran Out of Reach and Its Endgame Unclear, What's Next for Israel? Haaretz 06/17/2025. <https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-06-17/ty-article/.premium/its-goals-fighting-iran-are-out-of-reach-its-endgame-uncertain-whats-next-for-israel/00000197-7a45-d3ff-a7bf-7ed5b2460000?gift=91390da95d3a4939873d838a632da486> (Accessed: 2025-17-06.)

(3) The Israel-Iran war is more dangerous than we imagine. Middle East Eye YouTube channel 06/16/2025. <https://youtu.be/qwPPQZPHHeE?si=UkFYv4EMmO_pni3j> (Accessed: 2025-17-06.)

(4) Ian Bremmer explains the Israel-Iran conflict. Stay Timed with Preet Bharara YouTube channel 06/16/2025. <https://youtu.be/3XLst5f4mAY?si=uw2fms5kzJflixn7> (Accessed: 2025-17-06.)