Donald Trump May Strike Iran To ‘Go Out With A Boom,’ Former National Security Official Warns

Former national security official Samantha Vinograd warned on Friday that President Donald Trump could order a military strike on Iran in order to “go out with a boom.”

Per Raw Story, speaking with CNN’s Ana Cabrera, Vinograd said that Iran poses a threat to American national security, but noted that the Trump administration has “fabricated or twisted intelligence” about the country in order to advance its own agenda.

The tensions between the two nations, as Vinograd pointed out, culminated following the assassination of top Iranian general Qassim Suleimani.

The anniversary of Suleimani’s assassination is approaching, Vinograd continued, and Trump could decide to strike Iran in his final days in office.

“It’s no secret that striking Iran has been on President Trump’s bucket list for some time and with 19 days to go, he could want to go out with a boom.”

“That’s why U.S. officials are monitoring and redirecting assets to monitor threats associated with Iran in and around this period,” Vinograd stated, arguing that both members of Congress and the American people need to view any intelligence the Trump administration releases in the coming days with a great deal of skepticism.

Vinograd suggested that she does not expect Iran to escalate the tensions because official Tehran realizes that President-elect Joe Biden would seek to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA).

“I think that Iran will calibrate any attack associated with the anniversary, because they do not want to box themselves in ahead of Biden coming into office and restarting nuclear negotiations lifting sanctions,” she said.

Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement — which was negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama — in 2018. He has long advocated for a more aggressive posture toward Iran. In an October interview with radio host Rush Limbaugh, he told Iranian leaders not to “f*ck around” with America.

He issued the warning amid escalating tensions and as his administration imposed unprecedented sanctions, which targeted the nation’s financial sector. European leaders and policy experts denounced the move, noting that the sanctions were more likely to harm ordinary Iranians than the theocratic regime.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, founder of the National Iranian American Council Trita Parsi said earlier this month that Trump wants to start a war with Iran. Parsi said that the commander-in-chief is looking to strike the country because he sees military action overseas as the best way to prevent Biden from assuming office on January 20.

Trump has not yet conceded the 2020 presidential election to Biden, who won both the popular vote and the Electoral College.