President Donald Trump seems to be talking himself into a fateful new chapter of America’s bitter duel with the Iranian Islamic Republic. The rationale for US military strikes to help Iran’s protesters at a crisis moment for the theocratic regime is becoming more urgent and compelling by the hour. Trump keeps creating new red lines after Iran’s leaders defied his earlier warning that if they started shooting, he would too. Asked what he’d do about Iran, the president, in a white baseball cap emblazoned with the letters USA, kept everyone guessing. There’s also a head-spinning contradiction in Trump apparently pushing for democracy in Iran while sidelining the democratic opposition in Caracas after ousting Maduro.

Source: CNN January 14, 2026 09:33 UTC