Bombing an Exit: Trump May Seek One Final Nuclear Strike Before Ending the War

By Elijah J. Magnier

There is a growing possibility that President Donald Trump will attempt to end the war against Iran with a highly visible attack on the country’s remaining nuclear related sites. The objective would not necessarily be to eliminate Iran’s nuclear knowledge or future capacity, an outcome air power cannot guarantee, but to manufacture a decisive image of victory before accepting an end to hostilities.

The most obvious targets would include Pickaxe Mountain, the deeply buried complex near Natanz that has not formally entered service, and the new underground enrichment facility declared at Isfahan. Their military importance remains uncertain, but their political value is considerable. By striking them, Trump could claim that every major known component of Iran’s uranium enrichment infrastructure had been attacked and that the principal American war objective had therefore been achieved.

This distinction between achieving victory and declaring victory is becoming central to Washington’s predicament. The United States announces almost daily that another group of Iranian missile launchers, command centres, storage facilities or military installations has been destroyed. Yet Iran continues to launch missiles and drones, demonstrating that degradation is not equivalent to paralysis and that accumulated destruction has not produced political submission.