Trump teases full takeover of Iran amid fears of impending US attack

President Donald Trump floated the idea of a U.S.-takeover of Iran Saturday with an image of a map of the Middle East nation overlaid with the American flag, and the caption in the form of a question: “United States of the Middle East?”

Trump shared the image on his social media platform Truth Social, and amid growing speculation that his administration is preparing to launch a massive attack on Iran sometime this weekend. Signs supporting a U.S. attack commencing this weekend include the president’s abrupt cancellation of his weekend plans in New Jersey, as well as Iran shutting down much of its airspace until Monday.

Trump has already set a precedent for a hostile U.S.-takeover of a sovereign nation after declaring full U.S.-control of Venezuela in January after the Trump administration’s unprecedented attack on the South American nation and abduction of its president, Nicolás Maduro.

The United States and Iran have been in a fragile ceasefire since early April, and peace talks between Washington and Tehran remain stalled. Iran has warned that it would “spread war beyond the Middle East” were the United States to launch another attack.