Washington Post: Trump wants Ukraine to cede land to end conflict
Former US President Donald Trump proposed Ukraine's cession of Crimea and the Donbass region to Russia in order to end the conflict.
The information was disclosed by people who have discussed Trump or his advisers, but have not been identified.
The former US president's proposal includes pressuring Ukraine to cede Crimea and the Donbass region to Russia. Trump's approach to the issue is unreported, and would significantly reverse the policies of current U.S. President Joe Biden that emphasizes limiting Russian aggression and providing military aid to Ukraine.
In his bid to return to the White House, Trump has repeatedly said he could negotiate a Russia-Ukraine peace deal within 24 hours provided he is elected U.S. president. But Trump has repeatedly refused to provide details on how to quickly resolve the more than two-year-old war
According to a source who claimed to have discussed it directly with Trump, the former president said that both Russia and Ukraine "want to save face, they want a way out," and that people in parts of Ukraine would be fine with being part of Russia.
Moscow announced the annexation of Ukrainian territory beyond the Donbass region and the Crimean peninsula. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would not accept giving up any territory.
Emma Ashford, a senior fellow at the Stimson Research Center, said ceding territory to a ceasefire would put Ukraine in a worse position, with no assurances that Russia would not rearm and continue hostilities. as it has happened before.
It's a terrible deal," Ashford said of Trump's proposal. At the same time, the Trump campaign declined to respond directly to questions for the Washington Post report.
"All speculation about former President Trump's plans comes from unnamed and unknown sources who don't know what's going to happen or what's going to happen," Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said.
"Former President Trump was the only one who mentioned ending the killing," Leavitt added.
What scenarios does Iran have for Israel?
Scenario of Iran directly attacking Israel
In 2020, Qasem Soleimani – commander of the Quds Force – was assassinated by the US using a drone in Baghdad (Iraq). Tehran reacted violently, using missile strikes on bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq in retaliation. In April 2024, when Quds Force Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and six others were killed in an airstrike in Syria, many immediately thought Iran would react similarly to the 2020 incident.
There were grounds to think so when Iranian television reported missiles that could be aimed at Israel. Funerals and slogans of vengeance have also been circulating from Iran over the past week about the serious consequences Israel will face. At the same time, the reaction of countries such as the US and Israel, the tension between Iran and Israel, the West after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict makes people feel that Iran will "play big" this time
According to CNN, the US is on high alert and actively preparing for a possible "significant" attack as soon as this week by Iran, targeting Israeli or US sites in the Middle East.
Senior U.S. officials still believe an Iranian attack is "inevitable," a view shared by their Israeli counterparts. As of April 5, however, the two governments still did not know when or how Iran planned to strike
Among the scenarios, according to CNN, is Tehran's decision to strike directly on Israeli territory in revenge. If this happens, Iran will almost certainly spark a wider conflict in the Middle East. This would be the worst-case scenario and worst-case scenario that the U.S. has sought to avoid all along.
Two Iranian officials quoted by The New York Times on April 5 said Iran had decided to strike Israel directly to increase deterrence. CBS News reported that the U.S. had gathered intelligence suggesting Iran was planning an attack involving a series of Shahed drones and cruise missiles.
So is it possible that Iran will accept to do so? It is theoretically possible, given the hostile atmosphere between Tehran and Tel Aviv. But in many other ways, Iran has more to lose than it gains. There are potential consequences from a larger war in the Middle East that even Tehran has not anticipated.
The statements from Iran are worth considering, but they must also be placed in the context of the need for the country's authorities to show toughness so that the domestic people are aware of their actions of national harm.
Choose a proportionate response
If based on the argument that the headquarters of a diplomatic mission is inviolable or "an area of another country has sovereignty" as Reuters news agency uses the term, Iran could respond with a direct attack on Israel. However, this action will still be considered disproportionate retaliation and has many potential consequences.
In the midst of that, the statement on April 7 by Mr. Yahya Rahim Safavi, senior advisor to Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, attracted attention and made people believe that this was Iran's real decision. In it, Mr. Yahya Rahim Safavi warned that "all Israeli embassies are no longer safe" after the attack on the Iranian Embassy in Syria.
In other words, to be considered proportionate in retaliation, Tehran may target an Israeli embassy abroad. The problem is that no one knows which country Iran will "choose". In the case of General Soleimani's assassination by the US in 2020, Tehran targeted Iraq, its neighbor and a number of military bases with US soldiers.
But this time Iran will not be able to choose to attack the Israeli embassy in Iraq, because Tel Aviv does not have any diplomatic representation in the country. Yemen or Lebanon, where Houthi and Hezbollah forces are believed to be backed by Iran, are also not on the list of countries with Israeli embassies, according to the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.
In the Middle East, the closest country to Iran and having an Israeli embassy is only Jordan - where in January a drone attack injured more than 30 US soldiers stationed there. dead. In that incident, Iran denied all accusations and said that this could be the result of US military activities in the region.
Therefore, the possibility of a "throw a stone" retaliation cannot be ruled out, when Iran enlists its supported forces in the region. But Iran will have to carefully consider the reaction of Israel's diplomatic base or the US base, if it does not want to have more enemies. That may be the reason so far there has been no retaliatory move from Iran.
Iran asked the US to step aside
On April 5, an account on social network asked this country to "step aside" so as not to be harmed and not to fall into Israel's "trap". "In response, the US asked Iran not to target US facilities" - Mr. Mohammad Jamshidi said but did not provide evidence, and there was no reaction from Washington to this information.
