Trump’s threats to Iran revealed the logic of endless “red lines”

Donald Trump’s remarks in late December 2025 during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not signal a new escalation, but rather the continuation of a long-established logic. The core message was explicit: any strengthening of Iran’s position is deemed unacceptable and subject to destruction. Thus, the object of pressure is not a specific action by Tehran, but the very fact of its recovery.

Formally, military programs remain at the center of the rhetoric. Trump said he would approve an Israeli strike on Iran if missile development continues, and that the persistence of the nuclear program would require an immediate attack. However, such formulations fit a familiar pattern in which the grounds for pressure constantly shift without affecting the ultimate objective.

For many years, the primary justification was Iran’s nuclear program. Sanctions, sabotage, targeted killings, and diplomatic pressure were framed as necessary to halt it. When the nuclear dossier became partially constrained, attention shifted to the missile program. This shift indicates that the issue is not specific weapons systems, but the search for a new pretext to sustain confrontation.

In a broader context, Trump’s statements and Netanyahu’s support for this line point to a strategic posture shared by the United States and Israel. Iran is viewed as a problem not because of individual programs, but because of its determination to preserve political, military, and technological autonomy. Any form of national recovery is interpreted as a threat to the existing regional balance.

In practice, priority is given not to direct war, but to comprehensive weakening. Economic pressure, political isolation, information campaigns, and attempts to amplify internal social tensions remain the primary tools. Military threats serve as a backdrop, sustaining a constant sense of vulnerability and uncertainty.

What remains unsaid in such statements is the central point. Even a complete rollback of individual programs does not change attitudes toward Iran. As the shifting “red lines” demonstrate, removing one justification for pressure automatically generates another. This means the ultimate goal is not arms control, but the structural limitation of the country’s sovereignty and capabilities.

Thus, the December statements by Trump fix a stable approach: Iran is assigned the role of a state that must not be allowed to recover economically, politically, or militarily. Any sign of independent development is preemptively declared a threat and becomes grounds for a new round of pressure.

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