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United States military officials ordered the “voluntary departure” of the families of servicemen and women in multiple Middle Eastern U.S. embassies as president Donald Trump talked tough on Iran – and as Israel signaled its willingness to strike with or without American support.
While Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Whitkoff, spent the initial months of the second Trump administration pursuing a renewed nuclear non-proliferation deal with Iran, one Trump emphasized would avoid “destruction and death,” negotiations seem to have reached an impasse, leading to put death and destruction back on the table.
In February 2025, Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) to restore “maximum pressure” on Iran through economic sanctions – aiming to prevent the Islamic Republic from producing a nuclear weapon while also countering its regional influence via proxies like the Houthis and Hamas. Trump reiterated his 2020 vow that Iran would “never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon” under his presidency, and reinstated sanctions on the Iranian regime.
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While Trump ratcheted up the pressure on Iran via sanctions and tough talk early in his administration, he also repeatedly rebuffed requests by Israeli military leaders to help carry out airstrikes intended to cripple Iran’s nuclear facilities citing ongoing negotiations.
In May of 2025, Trump confirmed telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “I don’t think it’s appropriate right now,” saying a strike could imperil a deal he then thought was mere weeks away.
“Iran has sort of agreed to the terms: They’re not going to make, I call it, in a friendly way, nuclear dust,” Trump said at the time, referencing a proposal that would keep Iran from manufacturing enriched uranium.
Trump’s engagement in diplomacy infuriated middle eastern war hawks and thrilled dovish activists, and has driven repeated clashed between advocates for the two groups.
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Conservative commentators Mark Levin and Tucker Carlson have been at each other’s throats over the issue – and repeatedly exchanging barbs online in recent weeks.
“Mark Levin was at the White House today, lobbying for war with Iran,” Carlson said. “To be clear, Levin has no plans to fight in this or any other war. He’s demanding that American troops do it. ‘We need to stop Iran from building nuclear weapons’, he and likeminded ideologues in Washington are now arguing. ‘They’re just weeks away.'”
Carlson argued these justifications are as valid as the claims of weapons of mass destruction used to get America into the Iraq war.
“If this sounds familiar, it’s because the same people have been making the same claim since at least the 1990s,” Carlson added. “It’s a lie. In fact, there is zero credible intelligence that suggests Iran is anywhere near building a bomb, or has plans to. None. Anyone who claims otherwise is ignorant or dishonest.”
Levin responded by calling Carlson a “loathsome ass who is increasingly unhinged and pathetic.”
Levin also trained his fire on Whitkoff, claiming his criticism of neoconservative foreign policy is antisemitic.
It should be noted Whitkoff is Jewish.
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By the way, neocon is a pejorative for Jew. Unbelievable. https://t.co/aeWB6a4LLH
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) May 10, 2025
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While Trump initially seemed inclined to side with Carlson’s faction, recent Iranian intransigence has led to some not-so-subtle saber rattling.
“I don’t know,” Trump told the Pod Force One podcast this Monday when asked if he believed he could negotiate the end of the Iran’s nuclear enrichment program.
“I don’t know. I did think so, and I’m getting more and more — less confident about it,” Trump said.
Trump has repeatedly said he will not allow Iran to have the capacity to develop nuclear weapons regardless of the results of the negotiations.
“It would be nicer to do it without warfare, without people dying, it’s so much nicer to do it,” Trump explained. “But I don’t think I see the same level of enthusiasm for them to make a deal.”
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All eyes on the Middle East as the U.S. embassy in Baghdad is on high alert preparing for an immediate evacuation.
— Diliman Abdulkader (@D_abdulkader) June 11, 2025
No updates on the U.S. embassy Baghdad X page yet. pic.twitter.com/uIzQAzwNPo
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America’s withdrawal of nonessential personnel from embassies in Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain isn’t itself proof that a strike on Iran is imminent, but it indicates that U.S. defense officials are at the very least taking the necessary precautionary steps to ensure the safety of Americans in the event that Trump green-lights Israel’s plans to strike Iranian nuclear facilities with the assistance of American warfighters.
As of this writing, the U.S. and Iran are still scheduled to resume talks, and this withdrawal of personnell could be but-another leverage maximizing “Art of the Deal” negotiating tactic on Trump’s part, although it seems likely that escalating tensions could postpone or cancel the meeting.
Israel could also intend to take military action without American support that would result in retaliatory fire on on American instillations, something which aligns with reports that the Israeli Defense Force has been on “extremely high alert” for days in anticipation of conflict with Iran. Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps forces are reportedly also on high alert in anticipation of an imminent Israeli strike.
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While it is still unclear whether Trump will support strikes on Iran in the near future, his recent rhetoric and actions have upped the ante in nuclear negotiations which he insists will result in the dismantling of the Iranian nuclear program via the pen or the sword.
Count on FITSNews to continue tracking Middle Eastern developments in this tense geopolitical environment.
Cover photo of Iranian nuclear centrifuges was taken at the Eqtedar defence exhibition in Tehran on Febuary 2, 2019 by Majid Asgaripour for Mehr News Agency was reprinted with the consent of the publisher.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: Travis Bell)
Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.
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4 comments
Mark Levin is an absolute joke. He is the stereotypical whiney Joo, incarnate. Word has it that Levin was the model for Family Guy character, Mort Goldman. Levin is cheerleading for the old ploy of duping the goyim into fighting their wars for them. If they want war with Iran so badly, let the likes of Mark Levin, Netanyahu, and Lindsey Graham go to the front lines and kick it off. Lead by example. I bet you would never hear of greater advocates for a peaceful solution if those two and others like them were put at the front lines.
I bet you would never hear of greater advocates for a peaceful solution if those t?w?o? three and others like them were put at the front lines.
“While Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Whitkoff, spent the initial months of the second Trump administration pursuing a renewed nuclear non-proliferation deal with Iran”
In case anyone forgot the US had a deal that Trump tore up during his first reign of terror.
HalTurnerradioshow dot comm reporting at 8:13PM EDST that hundreds of military jets are going from Iraq into Iran. Once again, we have been duped into fighting Israel’s wars for them. All hail the wonderful Juden.