{"id":3875,"date":"2026-01-29T10:59:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T10:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/?p=3875"},"modified":"2026-01-29T11:41:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T11:41:36","slug":"from-the-trump-administrations-perspective-iran-today-is-weak-its-economy-is-collapsing-and-a-military-strike-is-possible-abbas-araqchi-warns-our-fingers-are-on-the-trigger-and-we-will-respond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/from-the-trump-administrations-perspective-iran-today-is-weak-its-economy-is-collapsing-and-a-military-strike-is-possible-abbas-araqchi-warns-our-fingers-are-on-the-trigger-and-we-will-respond\/","title":{"rendered":"From the Trump administration’s perspective, Iran today is weak, its economy is collapsing, and a military strike is possible. Abbas Araqchi warns: Our fingers are on the trigger, and we will respond immediately"},"content":{"rendered":"

A BBC Arabic report stated that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a congressional committee that the Iranian government may be \u201cweaker than ever\u201d and that its economy is \u201cfacing collapse,\u201d predicting a return of protests to the streets.<\/p>\n

According to a BBC Arabic report<\/a>, Rubio added: \u201cNo one knows\u201d who would take power if Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were removed from office.<\/p>\n

He indicated that the situation would be \u201cmore complicated\u201d than in Venezuela and would require \u201ca great deal of careful consideration.\u201d He also added that the United States \u201cmight launch a preemptive strike\u201d against Iran to protect American forces in the region.<\/p>\n

This comes amid a US military buildup, after US President Donald Trump said he had sent a large naval fleet led by the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln to the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Iran warns of immediate and strong response<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned on Wednesday that his country would “respond immediately and forcefully” to any US military action.<\/p>\n

Araghchi’s statement comes after President Donald Trump said that time is running out to avoid a similar scenario, without ruling out the possibility of reaching a new agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program.<\/p>\n

The Islamic Republic\u2019s top diplomat wrote on the X platform: \u201cOur valiant armed forces are ready \u2013 with their fingers on the trigger \u2013 to respond immediately and forcefully to any aggression from land, sea, and air\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cAt the same time, Iran has always welcomed a mutually beneficial, fair and equitable nuclear agreement \u2013 \u200b\u200bon an equal footing, and without coercion, threat or intimidation \u2013 that guarantees Iran\u2019s rights to peaceful nuclear technology, and ensures the absence of nuclear weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cSuch weapons have no place in our security calculations and we have never sought to possess them,\u201d reiterating Tehran\u2019s persistent assertion, which is doubted by Western capitals, that its nuclear program focuses exclusively on research and development of civilian energy.<\/p>\n

US forces are massing in the region<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Reports indicate that the number of US naval vessels in the region has risen to 10, with the arrival of a new aircraft carrier strike group, significantly bolstering the military capabilities<\/a> at Trump’s disposal should he decide to launch an attack on Iran.<\/p>\n

A US official told AFP that the total number of American ships deployed in the Middle East had reached 10. This includes the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, which comprises three destroyers and F-35C stealth fighters.<\/p>\n

There are also six US warships active in the region: three destroyers and three littoral combat ships.<\/p>\n

The number of ships that the United States is deploying in the Middle East is now approaching the number that Washington deployed in the Caribbean before the swift military operation carried out by US forces, which led to the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro.<\/p>\n

Trump had warned Iran against failing to come to the negotiating table and reach an agreement on nuclear weapons, stressing that any future US attack would be \u201cmuch worse\u201d.<\/p>\n

Trump says time is running out<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Reuters quoted Trump as saying in a post, \u201cWe hope Iran will quickly come to the negotiating table to reach a fair and equitable agreement\u2014no nuclear weapons, an agreement that is in the interest of all parties. Time is running out\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ali Shamkhani, a senior advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a warning via a post on the X platform, stating that any US military action, regardless of its level, would be considered a \u201cdeclaration of war and would be met with an immediate response\u201d.<\/p>\n

Shamkhani added that \u201ca limited strike is just an illusion,\u201d stressing that Iran\u2019s response will be \u201ccomprehensive and unprecedented,\u201d and will target \u201cthe aggressor and the heart of Tel Aviv\u201d.<\/p>\n

The spokesman for Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard, Ali Mohammad Naeini, warned the United States as the US fleet moved toward the Persian Gulf, stressing that Iran was ready for \u201call enemy scenarios\u201d.<\/p>\n

Naeini referred to the 12-day war with Israel in June 2015, stressing that the experience proved \u201cthe failure of the military option against Iran,\u201d and added: \u201cOur armed forces are the ones who determine the end of the battle\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A BBC Arabic report stated that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a congressional committee that the Iranian government may be \u201cweaker than ever\u201d and that its economy is \u201cfacing collapse,\u201d predicting a return of protests to the streets. According to a BBC Arabic report, Rubio added: \u201cNo one knows\u201d who would take power […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3876,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[153,154],"class_list":{"0":"post-3875","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-middle-east","8":"tag-iranian-nuclear-program","9":"tag-the-american-iranian-war"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3875"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3877,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3875\/revisions\/3877"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}