this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2026
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Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain
Feb 18, 2026

A former senior U.S. intelligence official who is an informal advisor to the Trump administration on Middle East policy told Drop Site that, based on his discussions with current officials, he assesses an 80-90% likelihood of U.S. strikes within weeks.

Iran realizes that it is facing an unprecedented threat from the U.S. if a deal that conforms with Trump’s terms is not reached, former Pentagon official Jasmine El-Gamal told Drop Site. “This is not a dress rehearsal,” she said. “This is it. This is not the negotiations of last year or the year before or the year before that. They’re backed into a corner. There’s no off ramp.”

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[–] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 39 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Its never been about anything Iran is doing. They have never had a nuclear weapons program.

[–] CommieKhinkali@lemmygrad.ml 6 points 6 months ago

idk if they had or have nuclear weapons, but honestly they should get them asap. north korea hasnt been invaded only because they have nukes.

[–] felixwhynot@lemmy.world -2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (4 children)

Not that I support this action, but Don’t they have an enrichment facility with centrifuges?

[–] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml 29 points 6 months ago

They want nuclear energy, not weapons (though it's pretty stupid for them, nukes are the only thing stopping US monster)

[–] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 18 points 6 months ago (1 children)

They have nuclear power plants that require enriched uranium.

If Iran wanted a nuclear bomb, instead of spending months trying to enrich Uranium beyond what's required for power and medicine, they could simply chemically separate plutonium out from spent fuel.

[–] Aria@lemmygrad.ml 15 points 6 months ago

Just the fact that USA is comfortable attacking them means they don't have nukes.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 9 points 6 months ago

I wouldn't take a Lemmy comment as evidence either way.