Countdown To Catastrophe: Is The War With Iran About To Explode Into Something Far Bigger?

Escalating the war with Iran is not going to solve anything. President Trump and his team seem to believe that if they just hit the Iranians hard enough, eventually they will give up and surrender. But the truth is that the Islamic zealots that run Iran see the world completely differently than we do. They believe that “the Mahdi” is about to show up, many of them consider Trump to be “the Dajjal”, and they have been taught from birth that martyrdom is a great honor. So why would they surrender and give Trump everything that he wants?

So far, none of the Trump administration’s threats have worked.

No matter how much pain they have been threatened with, the Iranians have not wavered.

But instead of trying a different approach, Trump is issuing more threats.

In a lengthy post on Truth Social, he warned that if Iran does not quickly agree to the deal that he is offering, the U.S. will obliterate the Iranian power grid, destroy Iran’s oil producing facilities, attack Kharg Island, and potentially go after their desalination plants…

If President Trump was dealing with westerners, threats like this may be highly effective.

But the Iranians don’t think like westerners.

They are going to respond to these threats just like they have to all the others.

So the clock is ticking.

Trump has told the New York Post that we will know “in about a week” whether Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and other Iranian leaders are willing to make a deal or not…

He exclusively told The Post that the US will find out whether the speaker is willing to work with Americans –soon.

“We’re gonna find out,” Trump told The Post when asked about Iran’s Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. “I’ll let you know that in about a week.”

Of course the Iranians are not going to give Trump the deal that he wants.

So in about a week, Trump will likely follow through on his threats.

In response, the Iranians have already warned that they will show “zero restraint” and will hit energy producing facilities all over the region…

Attacks on oil fields across Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait could plunge the world into a chaotic energy crisis, triggering a cost of living emergency in Britain, but Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the regime would show ‘zero restraint’ if its infrastructure was struck again.

If you think that the price of oil is high now, just wait until that happens.

Such an Iranian response would probably make a U.S. ground operation inevitable.

CBS News is reporting that thousands of troops that were recently sent to the Middle East have already arrived…

Hundreds of U.S. Special Operations Forces, including Navy SEALs and Army Rangers, are now in the Middle East, as well as thousands of Marines and Army paratroopers, according to sources familiar with the deployments.

The sources said having the forces in the region gives President Trump military options in Iran, including operations that could target opening the Strait of Hormuz, take oil from Kharg Island or seize Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium.

There has been a lot of speculation that Kharg Island could be a potential target since the vast majority of Iran’s oil exports are shipped from there.

During an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday, Trump said “my favorite thing is to take the oil in Iran” and that those that would question such a move are “stupid people”…

President Donald Trump said Sunday that he would like to “take the oil in Iran” and is considering seizing the export hub of Kharg Island, which is responsible for more than 90% of Iran’s oil exports.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump said his “preference would be to take the oil.”

“To be honest with you, my favorite thing is to take the oil in Iran but some stupid people back in the U.S. say: ‘Why are you doing that?’ But they’re stupid people,” he said.

Interestingly, Trump has been publicly suggesting that the U.S. should take Iran’s oil since 1987.

But an operation to take Kharg Island would certainly not be easy, and it could ultimately result in large numbers of U.S. casualties.

According to the Wall Street Journal, an operation to seize Iran’s enriched uranium is also being strongly considered…

President Trump is weighing a military operation to extract nearly 1,000 pounds of uranium from Iran, according to U.S. officials, a complex and risky mission that would likely put American forces inside the country for days or longer.

Following the publication of that article, Trump confirmed to the press that he plans to get Iran’s enriched uranium one way or the other…

Trump reinforced that position hours later aboard Air Force One, warning that Iran must do what the United States demands or “they’re not going to have a country.” Referring to the uranium, he added, “They’re going to give us the nuclear dust.”

The report said Trump has encouraged advisers to press Iran to hand over the material as part of any settlement ending the conflict, while also discussing the possibility of taking it by force if Tehran refuses.

This would be an extraordinarily risky mission, but apparently at least some members of the administration are convinced that it is entirely possible and that it could be completed by the middle of next month…

The president and at least some members of his administration believe it would be possible for ground forces to seize Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles in a way that would not extend the war, which officials hope would be completed by mid-April, the WSJ reported.

Iran’s uranium stockpiles are believed to be housed in Iran’s underground facilities in Isfahan and Natanz, according to International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi.

Isfahan, located 270 miles south of Tehran, is believed to be where the majority of Tehran’s 60% enriched uranium is located, with Natanz likely holding additional caches of uranium in its fortified Pickaxe Mountain facility.

Personally, I think that whoever is advising Trump on this is being wildly optimistic.

First of all, we don’t know exactly where the enriched uranium is located.

It could have been moved.

It could be buried under enormous amounts of rubble.

Attempting to dig out nuclear material that is buried under tons of rubble deep in enemy territory when the Iranians know that we are coming would be a recipe for disaster.

A former commander of U.S. Central Command has confirmed that this would not be “a quick in and out kind of deal”…

American forces would likely need to fly into heavily defended territory, potentially under fire from Iranian air defenses and drones, before securing the nuclear sites believed to house the material.

Once on the ground, combat troops would be tasked with locking down the perimeter while specialist teams locate, secure and prepare the uranium for transport.

‘This is not a quick in and out kind of deal,’ retired Gen. Joseph Votel, a former commander of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command, told the Journal about the potential mission.

Even if we are able to locate the enriched material rapidly and even if it is not buried under rubble, the process of removing it and preparing it for transport would take up to a week…

The material itself is believed to be stored in dozens of specialized cylinders resembling scuba tanks that would need to be placed into transportation casks and removed under tightly secured conditions — a process experts said could take days or even a week.

Meanwhile, thousands of crazed soldiers would be attempting to breach the perimeter and kill all of the personnel that we have sent into Iranian territory.

I just don’t see how they will be able to successfully pull off such a mission.

But maybe they will prove me wrong.

Of course the moment that we put U.S. boots on the ground inside Iranian territory, that will escalate the war to an entirely new level and Iranian leadership is likely to go totally nuts.

At that point, would they unleash sleeper agents inside the United States?

Would Iranian forces use any unconventional weapons that they still possess?

There are so many unanswered questions.

But what seems clear is that we have reached a critical moment.

This war has already created a major crisis for the entire globe, but it could soon become something far bigger.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.