Trump keeps world guessing about US military action against Iran
WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM: President Donald Trump kept the world guessing about whether the United States will join Israel's bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites as the Israel-Iran conflict entered its seventh day on Thursday (Jun 19).
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump declined to say if he had made any decision on whether to join Israel's campaign. "I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," he said.
Trump in later remarks said Iranian officials wanted to come to Washington for a meeting and that "we may do that". But he added, "It's a little late" for such talks.
The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva aimed at persuading Iran to firmly guarantee that it will use its nuclear program solely for civilian purposes, a German diplomatic source told Reuters.
But while diplomatic efforts continue, some residents of Tehran, a city of 10 million people, on Wednesday jammed highways out of the city as they sought sanctuary from intensified Israeli airstrikes.
The Wall Street Journal said Trump had told senior aides he approved attack plans on Iran but was holding off on giving the final order to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear program.
Asked if he thought the Iranian government could fall as a result of the Israeli campaign, Trump said: "Sure, anything could happen."
Referring to the destruction or dismantling of Iran's Fordow nuclear enrichment center, Trump said: "We're the only ones that have the capability to do it. But that doesn't mean I'm going to do it - at all."
Military analysts believe that Israel might need US military help to destroy Fordow, dug beneath a mountain near the city of Qom.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, rebuked Trump in a recorded speech played on television, his first appearance since Friday.
The Americans "should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage", he said. "The Iranian nation will not surrender."
In its latest bombings, Israel said its air force destroyed Iran's police headquarters.
Israel's military said sirens sounded in northern Israel just before 2am local time on Thursday (7am, Singapore time) and that it had intercepted a drone launched from Iran. It said several minutes later that another drone was intercepted in the Jordan Valley area.
The Iranian missile salvoes mark the first time in decades of shadow war and proxy conflict that a significant number of projectiles fired from Iran have penetrated defences, killing Israelis in their homes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video released by his office on Wednesday, said Israel was "progressing step by step" towards eliminating threats posed by Iran's nuclear sites and ballistic missile arsenal.
"We are hitting the nuclear sites, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of the regime," Netanyahu said.
Israel, which is not a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.
Netanyahu also thanked Trump, "a great friend of the state of Israel", for standing by its side in the conflict, saying the two were in continuous contact.
Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the war to suggesting the United States might join it.
In social media posts on Tuesday, he mused about killing Khamenei.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, asked what his reaction would be if Israel did kill Iran's Supreme Leader with the assistance of the United States, said on Thursday: "I do not even want to discuss this possibility. I do not want to."
A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations.
Iran's mission to the United Nations mocked Trump in posts on X, describing him as "a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance".
Israel's military said scores of Israeli jets had struck targets in and around Tehran and in western Iran in the previous 24 hours in three waves, hitting sites producing raw materials, components and manufacturing systems for missiles.
FLEEING TEHRAN
Arezou, a 31-year-old Tehran resident, told Reuters by phone that she had made it out of the city to the nearby resort town of Lavasan.
"My friend's house in Tehran was attacked and her brother was injured. They are civilians," she said. "Why are we paying the price for the regime's decision to pursue a nuclear programme?'
In Israel, sirens rang out anew at dusk on Wednesday warning of further incoming Iranian missiles. A motorist was injured by missile debris, Israeli medics said. The army later advised civilians they could leave protected areas, signalling the threat had passed.
At Ramat Gan train station east of Tel Aviv, people were lying on city-supplied mattresses or sitting in the odd camping chair, with plastic water bottles strewn about.
"I feel scared, overwhelmed. Especially because I live in a densely populated area that Iran seems to be targeting, and our city has very old buildings, without shelters and safe spaces," said Tamar Weiss, clutching her four-month-old daughter.
Iran has reported at least 224 deaths in Israeli attacks, mostly civilians, but has not updated that toll for days.
Since Friday, Iran has fired around 400 missiles at Israel, some 40 of which have pierced air defences, killing 24 people, all of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
LEVERAGE
Iran has been exploring options for leverage, including veiled threats to hit the global oil market by restricting access to the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important shipping artery for oil.
Inside Iran, authorities are intent on preventing panic and shortages. Fewer images of destruction have been allowed to circulate than in the early days of the bombing, when state media showed pictures of explosions, fires and flattened apartments. A ban on filming by the public has been imposed.
The communications ministry said on Wednesday that temporary restrictions on internet access would be imposed to help prevent "the enemy from threatening citizens' lives and property".
Iran's ability to hit back hard at Israel through strikes by proxy militia close to Israeli borders has been limited by the devastating blows Israel has dealt to Tehran's regional allies - Hamas and Hezbollah - in conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon since 2023.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
43 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Trump assurance of US support for Aukus to Starmer some consolation for Albanese after meet cancelled
US President Donald Trump (left) and British PM Keir Starmer shake hands as they speak to reporters during the G-7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada. PHOTO: AFP – A much-vaunted meeting between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump to discuss the future of a three-way security pact that also involves Britain did not take place as planned at the Group of Seven (G-7) Summit in Calgary, after the American leader abruptly left to deal with the Israel-Iran war. Nevertheless, Canberra's concerns about the US commitment to the Aukus pact – which involves the supply of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia at a cost of A$368 billion (S$306.73 billion) – were partially assuaged when British Prime Minister Keir Starmer appeared to secure the backing of the mercurial Mr Trump for the deal. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Israel-Iran conflict: Europe's diplomats push for solution as talks begin in Geneva
Iran's foreign minister will sit down with his European counterparts for talks in Geneva. The outreach to Tehran comes after the US issued a two-week deadline to decide on its possible involvement in Israel's bombing campaign against Iran. Will Denselow reports from Brussels.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Forced to wait for Trump, Israel faces strategic dilemma in Iran
Protesters rallying in New York on June 18. US President Donald Trump says he will wait up to two weeks before deciding on a US attack on Iran. PHOTO: REUTERS JERUSALEM – President Donald Trump's decision to defer a US attack on Iran has left Israel in a strategic bind. Israel's main remaining war goal is to wipe out a nuclear enrichment site at Fordo in northern Iran, which is buried so deep underground that Israeli bombs will struggle to damage it. For days, Israeli officials hoped Mr Trump would send US warplanes armed with the only munitions in the world that are deemed powerful enough to destroy Fordo. Now, Mr Trump says he will wait up to two weeks before deciding whether to make such an intervention, a delay that imposes a dilemma on Israel. The longer Israel waits for Trump, the greater the strain on its air defence system. To keep out Iran's ballistic missile barrages, Israel is burning through its stocks of missile interceptors, forcing it to prioritise the protection of some areas over others. As time goes on, that raises the risk of more missiles hitting both civilian neighbourhoods and strategic security sites. With Israel's airspace closed and much of its economic life suspended, the war's protraction will also come at an economic cost. The sooner the war ends, the faster commercial flights will return and businesses can resume full operations. Rather than wait for US help, Israel could decide to attack Fordo alone, taking a chance with the planes and munitions it has at its disposal. Some analysts say Israel could even send commandos to enter and sabotage the site. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at going it alone June 19, saying in a television interview that Israel would 'achieve all of our objectives, all of their nuclear facilities. We have the power to do so'. But experts say this route is fraught with risk and that its effect may be limited. 'It probably won't be on the scale of what the US can achieve,' said Mr Itamar Rabinovich, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington. 'If we could do what the US can, we would have already done it.' Another option is for Israel to wind down the war unilaterally, without attacking Fordo. But that approach would leave at least a significant part of Iran's nuclear enrichment programme intact, leaving open the possibility that Iran might create a nuclear bomb that could be used against Israel. For now, Israel does not seem set to take that route. Israel's political leadership has begun to speak explicitly about prompting the collapse of the Iranian regime and assassinating its leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Even if Israel has no real way of toppling his government, the tone of the comments suggest that Israel, at the very least, intends to continue with its strikes for several days. The tone of the Israeli news media on June 20 also indicated continued domestic support for the Israeli campaign, as did new opinion polling. After Israel's attack on Iran, Mr Netanyahu's party is in its strongest polling position since October 2023, when Hamas carried out the deadliest attack in Israel's history. NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
