The White House stated on Monday that “diplomacy is always the first option” for US President Donald Trump, but that he is not ruling out any alternatives, including bombing Iran, as he did in June of last year. This time, however, the possibility arises amid a wave of protests in the Central Asian country, the repression of which has already left more than 640 dead and over 10,000 detained.
“Diplomacy is always the first option for the president,” said White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt in statements to the press, shortly after emphasizing that “one of President Trump’s qualities is that he always keeps all his options on the table, and airstrikes would be one of the many options available to the commander-in-chief” of the US Armed Forces.
Leavitt also stressed, as the Republican president has, that what is heard “publicly from the Iranian regime is very different from the messages the administration receives privately,” a contrast that the White House occupant “is interested in exploring.”
“That said, the president has demonstrated that he is not afraid to use military options when he deems it necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran,” she reiterated, amid an increase in US sanctions that, along with Israel, have once again targeted Iran’s nuclear program, including airstrikes like those in June 2025, which killed more than 1,100 people.
