The Daily Populous Monday February 2nd, 2026 morning edition
Authored by nbcnews.com and submitted by trendyplanner

President Donald Trump said Sunday that if Iran does not make a deal regarding its nuclear program, "we'll find out” whether Iran’s supreme leader was correct to predict that a U.S. attack on the country would spark a regional war.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Sunday remarks on a potential war come as Trump has weighed military action against Iran in response to the country’s nuclear ambitions and the government’s bloody crackdown on protesters.

Asked by a reporter about Khamenei’s remarks, Trump said, “Of course he would say that.”

“But we have the biggest, most powerful ships in the world over there, very close, couple of days, and hopefully we’ll make a deal,” he continued. “We don’t make a deal, then we’ll find out whether or not he was right.”

Tensions have been high after the U.S. struck Iranian nuclear facilities in June, and in recent weeks Trump has blasted Iran’s crackdown on protesters.

In January, Trump told Politico that he believed it was “time to look for new leadership in Iran.” As protests escalated last month, Trump told Iranian protesters that “help is on its way,” urging them to continue protesting. Thousands of people have been killed in the protests, according to a rights group.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said last week that there were no planned talks between his country and the U.S., but said he was prepared for talks to resume.

Also last week, Trump said that “a massive armada” was on its way to Iran.

“Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary,” he said in a post to Truth Social. “Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal — NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS — one that is good for all parties.”

Trump said the “armada” was a larger fleet than the one sent to Venezuela, referencing the operation to capture President Nicolás Maduro and bring him and his wife to the U.S. to face charges. Trump also referenced the June strikes in Iran, saying in the post that “the next attack will be far worse!”

NBC News has previously reported that the U.S. has sent a carrier strike group, as well as aircraft and land-based air defense systems, to the Middle East.

Following Trump’s post, Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, warned that any response to a U.S. attack would be widespread.

“Any military action by the United States, from any location and at any level, will be considered the start of a war,” Shamkhani said, according to Iranian state-run news agency IRNA. “The response will be immediate, comprehensive and unprecedented. The aggressor, the heart of Tel Aviv and all those who support the aggressor will be targeted.”

Trump pulled the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in 2018, during his first presidential term. The deal offered Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for limiting its nuclear program.

Schadenfreude_D on February 2nd, 2026 at 03:08 UTC »

A curious situation.

1) The military build up is very, very significant and because of that its taking a while. Either Trump is 100% prepared for a significant campaign or he's just doing a very significant bluff.

2) Iran seems very, very unlikely to agree to the type of surrender "deal" Trump likes, I think this article presents an interesting thesis of why it doesn't seem possible to reach a meaningful agreement:

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/2026/01/trump-khamenei-real-divide/685835/

3) Trump is very risk averse, ultimately he backed down from the Greenland folly without actually having done much and because of whatever set of circumstances, the Venezuela raid seems to have been a relative walk in the park.

The US can eventually unleash a very significant bombing campaign against Iran and if they have time to set up enough AA defense in the region, possibly minimize any retaliation.

Ok, but what then?

Let's say the US decapitates the Iranian leadership and this time really blows up their nuclear facilities and demolishes IRGC command centers and anything military they can find.

That will still take a while and what then? what if whatever leadership that remains doesn't capitulate or negotiate? there's no meaningful, armed opposition in Iran, no apparent signs of singificant military elements willing to defect and engage in a Syria style civil war.

You can bomb a lot of things to rubble but that by itself doesn't manifest somebody else to take over nor can they bomb every random militia with a machine gun, murdering any protesters emboldened by the strikes.

Well, maybe if they keep killing the top leaders until somebody down the chain of command values their life more? but maybe they just get killed/ousted by the more hardcore elements anyway?

Its hard to say, this really doesn't seem to fit Trump's preference, too risky, too long for his attention span, maybe he just genuinely does not understand anything at all about Iran, as the article I posted mentions, and is just thinking they will eventually just give in to pressure. But then what when his miscalculation becomes evident even to him? stand down and lose face?

SlumdogSkillionaire on February 2nd, 2026 at 01:48 UTC »

Remember last June when Trump "totally obliterated" the Iranian nuclear program?

HobbesNJ on February 2nd, 2026 at 01:42 UTC »

We had a nuclear deal with Iran. Trump tore it up in his first term.