Scott Ritter, the former UN weapons inspector, said in an interview on Tuesday that it looks like another war between the U.S. and Iran is likely, and hypothetically said if he were a decision-maker in Tehran, the USS Abraham Lincoln would "already be sunk" after the recent rhetoric from the Trump administration and Israel.

"If I were the decision-maker in Iran, the Abraham Lincoln would already be sunk, American bases would be destroyed, Israel would be eliminated, and I'd be carrying out massive operations against the Kurds in Iraq" and other enemy groups in the region, he told Glenn Diesen's podcast.

"I would be sending assassination teams around the world to kill the Shah's son, I'd be killing everybody. But that's just me. I'm not Iranian…I'm just a blood-thirsty son-of-a-bitch who doesn't believe in standing by and getting hit in the face first," he said.

He said the Iranians, unfortunately for them, are "civilized," and I believe their government holds out hope that war could be avoided.

President Donald Trump posted another threat to Iran on social media on Wednesday and warned that if it does not make a deal, it will be confronted by the U.S. armada headed to the region with "great power, enthusiasm, and purpose."

"Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary. Hopefully Iran will quickly 'Come to the Table' and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS – one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence! As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn't, and there was 'Operation Midnight Hammer,' a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse! Don't make that happen again," he posted.

Trump is no longer pretending that he is defending Iranian protesters from a government crackdown and is back to selling the so-called Iranian nuclear threat to try to justify a new war against the country.

Even The New York Times wrote: "Notably absent from those demands — and from Mr. Trump's post on Truth Social on Wednesday morning — was any reference to protecting the protesters who took to the streets in Iran in December, convulsing the country and creating the latest crisis for its government."