Exclusive: Trump floats "off ramps" after attacking Iran

[ancianita]

Source: Axios

...What they're saying: "I can go long and take over the whole thing, or end it in two or three days and tell the Iranians: 'See you again in a few years if you start rebuilding [your nuclear and missile programs]," Trump said in a five-minute phone interview from Mar-a-Lago.
"In any case, it will take them several years to recover from this attack," he predicted.

Why it matters: The comments offer the first real window into Trump's thinking about how this ends — and suggest he's still open to a diplomatic solution, even after U.S.-Iran nuclear talks collapsed in Geneva.
A short operation followed by new ultimatums would be a dramatically different outcome than the regime change that some U.S. and Israeli officials have described as the goal.
Trump is facing domestic pressure, including from his MAGA base, to avoid a prolonged Middle East intervention.

Driving the news: Trump cited two main reasons for launching the strikes — the first being the failure of negotiations this week led by his envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
"The Iranians got close and then pulled back — close and then pulled back. I understood from that that they don't really want a deal," he said.

The second reason was Iran's conduct over the last several decades.
Trump said that while writing his speech Friday announcing the attack, he asked his team to compile every Iranian-linked attack around the world over the past 25 years.
"I saw that every month they did something bad, blew something up or killed someone," he told Axios.



Read more: https://www.axios.com/2026/02/28/trump-iran-war-israel-off-ramps

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non paywall https://archive.ph/ws24E

[BarbD]

1. Another TACO move?

What a demented idiot!

[ancianita]

2. Possibly. But the action itself demolishes

his so-called Board of Peace as any good faith answer to war.

That he's thrust the USA in a Middle East war says who he is for all time.

[kurtyboy]

13. The "Bored of Peace"

...has performed its function and is now superfluous. The bribe/extortion money has been deposited.

[ancianita]

18. Perfect.

And exactly who this psychotic is.

[LudwigPastorius]

3. If any non-nuclear country had any doubts as to why it needs a nuclear deterrent,...

this attack by Trump & Bibi should clear things up.

[EX500rider]

8. Except it's the trying to acquire the nuclear weapons that causes the attacks

[ancianita]

19. Yes, but in his first term he blew up the deal that had Iran totally controlled.

This international psychopath made this problem, and his way of solving it is to kill innocent children in a unilateral war of choice.

[fujiyamasan]

4. Market dump and pump

Short it, then buy it low.

[Javaman]

5. There is no "off" ramp

This is so far beyond any “off” ramp

We didn’t just break something and now we have to buy it, we dropped a bomb on a kids school. 50 children are dead

He has opened yet another Pandora’s box. But there is no closing it or ignoring it or convincing the media to look the other way.

We are in the sub basement of the rabbit hole, we are not only through the looking glass but once through we broke that looking glass and there is no way back. The orange asshole looked into the abyss and jumped in.

We are no longer anything but evil now.

Yes, we are the baddies

[colorado_ufo]

7. A girls' school. At least 85 dead right now, and it is likely to go higher.

[slightlv]

26. I had seen mention of this, but haven't found the article, myself.

But why doesn't it surprise me that it was a GIRL'S school trump bombed?! I say no sex to any male until the most violent ones are brought to heel. Lysistrata this thing!

[Katinfl]

11. We broke it, you fix it. I am concerned about the news coverage on this.

With his cronies in charge of most of the media these days I am afraid it will all be white-washed. We cannot trust anyone with the truth.

[ancianita]

12. Yep, we're the baddies. The whole nation will suffer for the sins of this man and his Dept of War.

[ancianita]

15. maybe kinda weird to post, but this song I just heard connects me to what you say

Come and see
Where I witness everything
On my knees
You beat it down to get to my soul
Against my will
Anyone could tell us you're coming
Baby don't mind
Leave it on the line, leave it hanging on a rail

Come and ride away
It's easier to stick to the old
Surrounded by the night
Surrounded by the night, and you don't give in
But you abuse my faith
Losing every time but I don't know where
You're on my side again
So ride the heat wherever it goes
I'll be the one to care, woo!

(chorus)
You're all I've got, wait
Don't wanna let the dark night cover my soul
Well, you can see it through the darkness coming my way
Well, we won't get lost inside it all again

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Oh, my ride
No one sees me when I'm right here waiting
They don't mind that I'm here, I hear
Throw the big weight of your mind against it
I would keep you here, but I can't

(Pre-Chorus)
Oh, I am trying to see the right way
I don't see it anywhere I come, babe
Yeah, woo!

Lost on my sea again
The easy way to cover my sin
Don't want another dark time think to myself
Yeah, I won't get lost inside it all, you're on my way
Well, I can see it, the darkness covering my mind
Well, we can hear the voices war inside, yeah
They won't get lost inside it all
You're on my way, woo

[kurtyboy]

17. The demented hope that Iranians will rise up against the regime

was destroyed by the bombing of the school (s?).
Any person in Iran will now have a SHARPLY focused understanding of which evil to oppose in the short term. Their resolve, having had children murdered by Israel and the United States, will not waver. Chicken-sized hornets will come home to roost....

[ancianita]

21. Total Truth.

And 77% of America didn't even vote for him. Yet in Iranians eyes we remain The Great Satan.

[slightlv]

27. When even WE see America as a form of the Great Satan

because of the Magas and the oligarchs and the tech bros who stole the last election, why wouldn't Iran... or any other country, for that matter? America under Trump is a threat and danger to all world order, and will have to be brought to heel. If we can't do it ourselves, other countries will see to it... just like they did with Hitler. They're not going to sit there and wait for the bombs to drop on their own countries. And all this, because of a demented old man who should have been in a Nursing home over a decade ago!

[ancianita]

31. I hear you. I simply refuse to see America that way in the long arc of its history.

77% of Americans did not vote GOP in either 2016 or 2024.

We are not what we are called. We are only what we answer to.

We of the 77% must refuse to be dragged into this psychopath's darkness.

Fear of how the world see us is to fear that we're identified with our oppressor.

[ShazzieB]

45. I hear you, and I agree.

"I simply refuse to see America that way in the long arc of its history"
Yes, yes, 1,000 times yes.

"77% of Americans did not vote GOP in either 2016 or 2024."
They didn't in 2020, either, did they? I mean, Biden won!

We are in the clutches of a psychopathic dictator right now, because too many stupid voters were taken in by him, but we ARE better than this, and we WILL get through this.

I refuse to give up hope, because if I did, I would lose my freaking mind. I cannot control the Orange Hellbeast's stupid and evil actions, but I will NOT let him take my sanity, no matter what!

[slightlv]

49. The long arc of History may play out the way the founders

and the rest of us want... but we'll (at least *I*) will be 6 feet under and not able to enjoy what I worked so hard all my life to achieve. I think about that statement as I look back on all the great people we've lost before they could see the fruits of their labor. I wonder if any of them felt as I feel today. At least religionists have their myths and beliefs to hang on to and hope with. It's funny how that kinda slipped away from me the minute trump came down the escalator. I could see back then what we'd be like in the future, and storming mad that no one else seemed to be paying attention. But how could they? The R's had already made sure that just about every media outlet was owned by a kindred fascist soul. People today would rather spend 15 to 30 minutes taking a "personality" test than take 15 to 30 minutes to really do research on something of consequence.

I stayed away from everything today until just now. I know how I'll feel when I close my browser. I may be coming to a point in time when I ferret away from everything for the sake of my own soul. But then, that's never been me in the past... so who knows. All I know is I feel driven with anger and rage at a man and his minions who have taken over the country I served, and who is once again killing innocents abroad in my name... not to mention our own brothers and sisters in the military. Not to mention... he won't even mention them, let alone say their names. I have such rage, and no place nor way to get rid of it. It doesn't make for easy living.

[ancianita]

51. Yes to all you say. But we live beyond life if we try to perceive what our good work has done for those

who come after us.

As St. Vincent de Paul says:

"Nature demands that trees be deeply rooted
before they can bear fruit, and this
is a gradual process."

When you feel like giving up
Because you're not seeing results,
Remember this: The
Last thing to grow on a fruit tree is
The fruit.

Robt Louis Stevenson: Don’t Judge Each Day by the Harvest You Reap but by the Seeds that you Plant

As the 2,500 year old Confucian saying goes:

"If your plan is for one year, plant rice.
If your plan is for ten years, plant a tree.
If your plan is for one hundred years, educate children."

[slightlv]

52. Really liked that latter sentiment

Ive got a meme saved down that says people are trying to build a better earth for their kids
Why don't we work on building better kids for the earth
I liked it... even if it wasn't written on top of a cat pic

[Crowman2009]

41. Not to mention that Prince Pahlavi just screwed over his supporters in Iran when he sided with the orange assclown.

[flashman13]

24. I don't think for a minute the Iranians are going to let Trump off this petard of his own making.

The Straits of Hormuz are closed. That is a very large trump (no pun intended) card. All the Iranians need do is stand pat and let Trump make the next move. What could possibly go wrong?

[slightlv]

50. Well, there goes trump's promised low gas prices! (LOL)

And I'll lay odds all that gas and oil the American corporations are hoarding and selling at exorbitant prices aren't going to be returned to the people of America at rock bottom dollars.

In fact, we're going to be lucky if the "dollar" is anything after this foray by trump. Can we start calling Iran "Trump's Folly"... even today, we remember "Seward's Folly"... perhaps this is one way to remember that trump started WWIII for all times. But, whatever happened to the military not following illegal orders? Does no one in this man's army have the intelligence and knowledge we once went into boot camp with? And the backbone to stand up for the constitution? GW made sure that a great numbers of really smart people were mustered out, to be replaced by anyone they could find -- no matter what crimes they were charged with on the outside. The intelligence level needed to be join was lowered and lowered because he was running out of cannon fodder during the first gulf war. We're dealing with mad children who have nuclear weapons and are jonesing to use them on someone. If trump does it first (which I think he will), we, as a country, will never come back from that.

[Talitha]

6. Are we a shithole country yet?

[ancianita]

10. Given what Katinfl says, it's more like we're a rogue country spreading state sponsored terrorism

[MissouriDem47]

44. Yes

Since 1/20/25.

[Katinfl]

9. If I remember correctly it took a long time for John Kerry to get them to sign the treaty years ago.

Long time and much better negotiators. He comes in and rips it up in 2016. What makes anyone think the Iranians would enter into another agreement with the US when it is not worth the paper it is written on?

[angrychair]

14. Doesn't matter

No one country, especially ours, has the right to unilaterally decide which countries can exist and which cannot.

[ancianita]

16. Totally agree. It's the basis of international law. And we have broken that which makes this

WH occupant a war criminal.

[FakeNoose]

20. Remember when PBO announced the death of Osama bin Laden?

Yeah, it's been bothering Chump ever since that day.

[ancianita]

22. Because he's a psychotic narcissist.

Dragging down this whole country with him.

[Bayard]

23. New ultimatums....

Like--You will be installing who we choose as your new leader. And, give us your oil, or else.

[RussBLib]

25. What will happen now?

If this results in a free Iran, Trump will get some credit. The way he went about it was illegal and wrong, and it will bring back the old “end justifies the means” argument.

Obviously, a world where one country can reach into another country and kill the leader is going to be an unstable world.

How about Putin, Donny? Oh, yeah, he loves Putin.

[slightlv]

28. If I were Donny, I wouldn't be worried about Putin...

I'd be worried about myself, if I was him. Of course, he feels untouchable, ever since the "assassination attempt" that wasn't really an attempt...

[ancianita]

29. I hear you.

Here's some in depth timeline and detail on the runup.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iran–United_States_crisis

And then Roaring Lion by Israel and Operation Epic Fury by the US Dept of War

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Israeli–United_States_strikes_on_Iran

Without international support, I can't foresee anything beyond trump's utter failure, except perhaps an eventual international investigation and restructuring of global politics re the U.S.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

30. His added brain requires a total lobotomy.

"A lobotomy, also known as leucotomy, is a surgical procedure that involves severing connections in the brain's prefrontal cortex to treat psychiatric disorders. It was widely used from the 1930s to the 1970s but is now considered a discredited and controversial practice due to its severe side effects and ethical concerns."

[mdbl]

32. He thinks everything can happen in the time it takes to crap his pants.

[MadMike47]

33. Look Over Here!!!!

Forget those silly Epstein files!

[ancianita]

34. Death and destruction as distraction. How Diabolical.

Thanks for the reminder.

[Ol Janx Spirit]

35. Funny that he pretends to care that they do bad things....

"I saw that every month they did something bad, blew something up or killed someone," he told Axios.

But I remember when he defended Putin:

In an interview with Fox News, he said: "There are a lot of killers. We've got a lot of killers. What do you think? Our country's so innocent?"

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38872328

And of course, the rest of the world would probably agree....

[ancianita]

36. EXACTLY. Well said.

Hypocrisy isn't the province of religion alone. He's the hypocritical embodiment of man's inhumanity to man.

Most of the world's people know that any country has killers, and that a sane leader doesn't use that fact to justify a leadership and governing strategy of killing. Only a criminal dictator would rationalize such systematic murder by conflating his survival and profit with "national security."

[bluestateboomer]

37. These offramps

I suspect access to these off ramps will be a lot stickier than the access to the on ramps.

[ancianita]

38. ...

and deadlier for all the innocents whose lives don't matter.

[2na fisherman]

39. Trump Invites Retaliation

Just imagine a scenario if the Iranians start activating vengeful terrorist cells on US soil to target large civilian gatherings. Soft targets with mass casualties like World Cup Soccer matches etc. This fits in with his plan to declare extreme war powers and never leave office. And he won't care about the casualties in the thousands if it gives him the excuse he needs to declare martial law. Perhaps he will covertly orchestrate or assist such an attack on the US as his Reichstag Fire moment to suspend civil liberties and try to seize control of the country. And when citizens engage in mass protests against him, he will authorize shoot to kill orders against all "terrorist sympathizers." Too far-fetched? We all know he is an amoral desperate man capable of doing things once thought to be unthinkable. And he may yet bring us to the brink of WWIII.

[ananda]

40. This whole episode is an off ramp into complete insanity.

Trump is playing at extortion and negotiations
after ego-bombing a country to try to outdo
Obama.

Obama may live rent free in his head, but
outside his head real people and countries
are being harmed and killed.. both here and
abroad.

!@#$%

[usonian]

42. "Two Main Reasons" are actually one.

Projecting, as always.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100221058132

[58Sunliner]

43. He bombed a school full of children.

Who doesn't believe he killed kids he raped? Past is prologue. That they were female children was intentional.
I truly doubt he cares what Iran has done. It didn't affect his life. So what is his end game? It isn't "diplomacy".
Several theories and probably some truth to many of them. The end is terrorism. He can't bomb us, yet. Why do I feel like Iran is the king's whipping boy?

[ColoringFool]

47. I Believe His Immediate Psychological Goal Is Killing. I Think His....

Longer-range CONSCIOUS goal is to, in tandem with Israel (and a bigger Zionist than I you will not meet, unless you meet Bibi, so I speak objectively here), with Jared as ombudsman, MAKE A TRILLION DOLLARS---NOT JOKING; HE IS OBSESSED WITH SURPASSING ELON---IN TRANSFORMING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE INTO "NEW DUBAI."

[ColoringFool]

46. "I Saw That Every Month [ICE AGENTS] Did Something Bad,......"

Or Killed Someone."

I infer (from the original) that Trump is subconsciously signaling to Americans TO RISE UP AGAINST TYRANNY!

[perdita9]

48. You can control a war as well as you can control an earthquake

This situation will not end well for anyone.