Trump Calls on Iranians to Revolt as U.S. Central Command Conducts New Strikes
The president's public statement that he is not seeking negotiations, combined with continued military strikes, places the administration's stated Iran objectives in tension with one another.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday publicly urged Iranian citizens to "rise up and fight" their government, while simultaneously stating that ongoing U.S. Military strikes against Iran are not intended to bring Tehran to the negotiating table, according to reporting by the Washington Examiner.
U.S. Central Command confirmed it completed another round of strikes on Iranian targets. The strikes were described by CENTCOM as retaliatory actions taken in response to Iranian targeting of U.S. Forces in Jordan and commercial shipping vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the same Washington Examiner report.
Trump specifically dismissed a report from ABC News, which had characterized the strikes as leverage to compel Iran back to diplomatic talks. "I'm not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table," Trump said, according to the Washington Examiner's account of his public statement.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical maritime chokepoint through which, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, approximately 20 percent of global oil trade passes. Iranian interference with commercial shipping in that corridor has direct implications for U.S. Economic policy, energy prices, and the security of allied trade routes.
The president's call for Iranian citizens to revolt against their government represents a stated U.S. Policy position that goes beyond conventional diplomatic or military pressure and falls into the category of explicit regime change advocacy. The last president to publicly call for Iranian citizens to rise up against the Islamic Republic government in direct terms was also Trump, during his first term in 2019, when he posted a series of messages on social media directed at Iranian leaders and citizens during protests following the downing of a Ukrainian airliner.
Congress has not, as of the date of this report, passed a formal Authorization for Use of Military Force specific to Iran in the current conflict. What legal authority the administration is relying upon for the current strikes is not fully disclosed in public statements. The relevant documents that would clarify this are a formal AUMF, a War Powers Resolution notification to Congress, or a Department of Defense legal opinion. Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the president is required to notify Congress within 48 hours of introducing armed forces into hostilities and must withdraw forces within 60 days absent congressional authorization.
The Senate Armed Services Committee and the House Armed Services Committee have oversight jurisdiction over the use of military force. Public committee records and floor statements, available through Congress.gov, would reflect whether either chamber has received a formal War Powers notification from the White House in connection with the current Iran strikes.
The strikes also come as the Army Secretary post remains in a state of transition. TCT previously reported on Army Secretary Driscoll's resignation amid the Iran conflict and a vacant Army Chief post, a gap in senior Army civilian leadership that adds an institutional variable to ongoing military operations.
The economic dimension of the conflict extends beyond energy markets. U.S. Defense contractors holding active Department of Defense contracts for munitions, aircraft, and naval systems are direct beneficiaries of sustained military operations. Specific contract awards related to the current Iran campaign would be disclosed in USASpending.gov records, though the specific munitions expended in the latest CENTCOM strikes and their replacement procurement costs have not been publicly itemized as of this report.
What remains unknown is the full scope of U.S. Casualties, if any, resulting from Iranian targeting of U.S. Forces in Jordan referenced in the CENTCOM statement. The number of personnel affected, the specific installations targeted, and the damage assessment are not detailed in publicly available statements. The Department of Defense's casualty reporting system and official CENTCOM press releases would be the primary public records containing that information.
Also unknown is whether the administration has transmitted a formal diplomatic communication to Iranian leadership alongside the military strikes, and whether any third-party intermediary, such as Oman, which has historically served as a back channel between Washington and Tehran, is currently involved. State Department communications of that nature would not typically be disclosed in real time, but congressional briefings and eventual inspector general reports would constitute the public record.