KEY POINTS
- Trump demands Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and warned the US may strike Iran’s Supreme Leader
- Nuclear talks between US and Iran may take place this week
- Iran and Israel continue missile exchanges for a fifth day
- Israeli strikes kill senior Iranian commander Ali Shadmani in Tehran
- IAEA confirms Israeli strikes direct impacts on underground Natanz nuclear site
- US deploying additional military assets to the Middle East
- China accuses Trump of “pouring oil” on the conflict
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed that the United States now has “complete and total control of the skies over Iran,” as questions grew over whether Washington will join Israel’s strikes against the Islamic republic.
His remarks, made on the social media platform Truth Social, came as tensions between Iran and Israel intensified, prompting growing international concern.
Trump also hailed the use of US-made weaponry although without explicitly mentioning Israel.
“Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured “stuff.” Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA,” Trump wrote.
The US President dramatically stepped up his rhetoric against Iran’s Supreme Leader, saying on social media that the United States knows where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is located but will not kill him “for now.”
In another post, Trump also appeared to demand Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” as he fuelled questions about whether the United States would join Israel’s attacks on Tehran’s leadership and nuclear facilities.
“We know exactly where the ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Trump said on his Truth Social.
Israel, the closest US ally in the Middle East, had recently made a similar claim.
“But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” said Trump.
‘Unconditional surrender’
Minutes later the US president followed up with another message simply saying: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
Trump flew back early from the G7 summit in Canada late Monday as the conflict between Iran and key US ally Israel escalated, and was set to meet top officials in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday.
The US president has so far stressed that his country is not getting involved in the conflict, and has said that Iran could still take a deal to end its nuclear program that he had proposed before Israel’s attacks.
But Trump has given mounting signals that Washington’s intervention in some form may now be imminent.
Earlier, Trump told reporters on Air Force One while returning from Canada that he wanted “a real end, not a ceasefire” to the Iran-Israel conflict, and warned that “I’m not in too much of a mood to negotiate.”
Trump said that he wanted a “complete give-up” by Iran in return for peace, without elaborating on the outcome he seeks.
“I’m not looking for a ceasefire, we’re looking at better than a ceasefire,” he told reporters after cutting short his attendance at a Group of Seven summit in Canada.
Trump, who has said Washington was not involved in Israel’s initial strikes, again warned Iran against targeting US troops and assets in the Middle East, saying “we’ll come down so hard, it’d be gloves off”.
The US president had earlier issued an extraordinary warning on his Truth Social platform, saying: “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”
US and Iran may meet this week
US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi may meet this week to discuss a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and Iran, news outlet Axios reported on Monday night.
The meeting is not yet confirmed but is part of Trump’s effort to de-escalate tensions between Israel and Iran.
A US official told Axios that a key bargaining chip for the US is its military’s ability, unlike Israel’s, to bomb Iran’s underground nuclear enrichment facility at Fordow.
Trump said at the G7 summit that his Administration is discussing the possibility of meeting with Iran and reiterated his position that a deal can be made.
The aim of the meeting will likely also involve reaching a nuclear deal, which has been the subject of protracted talks between the US and Iran over the last two months.
A scheduled round of negotiations over the past weekend was cancelled by Iran after the attack by Israel.
“I think a deal will be signed,” Trump told reporters at the G7. “I think Iran is foolish not to sign one.”
Israel, Iran traded fire
Israeli warplanes targeted dozens of missile launchers in western Iran and killed a senior commander, the military said, drawing retaliatory fire from the Islamic Republic.
Explosions were heard over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem shortly after sirens sounded in many parts of Israel warning of incoming missiles, with the military warning of another barrage in the afternoon.
Israeli police reported that debris fell in the central Tel Aviv area and the fire brigade said it was tackling a blaze.
The Israeli military said it killed senior Iranian commander Ali Shadmani in an overnight strike on a “command centre in the heart of Tehran”, just four days after his predecessor, Gholam Ali Rashid, was killed in Israel’s surprise attack.
Israel also said it targeted multiple missile and drone sites in western Iran overnight and again later on Tuesday, with black-and-white footage showing some of them exploding.
Despite mounting calls to de-escalate, neither side has backed off from the missile blitz that began Friday, when Israel launched an unprecedented aerial attack on Iran.
A new wave of Israeli strikes on Tehran — including a dramatic hit on state television headquarters that the broadcaster said killed three people — prompted both sides to activate missile defence systems overnight.
Iranian media reported several explosions in the central city of Isfahan, home to a key nuclear facility.
Residential areas in both countries have suffered, while foreign governments scrambled to evacuate their citizens.
A cyberattack on Tuesday crippled Sepah Bank, one of Iran’s main state-owned banks, the Fars news agency reported.
US deploying ‘additional capabilities’ to Middle East
Fearing the violence, many residents have fled Tehran since Friday.
On Tuesday, long queues stretched outside bakeries and petrol stations as the remaining residents rushed to stock up on fuel and basic supplies.
Security checkpoints have been set up across Tehran, adding to the atmosphere of tension as authorities monitor movement in and out of key districts.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the United States was deploying “additional capabilities” to the Middle East, with a US aircraft carrier reportedly heading to the region.
China accused Trump of “pouring oil” on the conflict.
“Making threats and mounting pressure will not help to promote the de-escalation of the situation, but will only intensify and widen the conflict,” said China’s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun.
At the G7 summit, leaders including Trump called Monday for “de-escalation” while stressing Israel had the right to defend itself and that “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon”.
Iran ‘will continue’
The UN nuclear watchdog said there appear to have been “direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls” at Iran’s Natanz facility.
Israel has maintained ambiguity regarding its own atomic activities, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says it has 90 nuclear warheads.
The escalation has derailed nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington and stoked fears of broader conflict.
At least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. It has not issued an updated toll since then.
Netanyahu said Israel was “changing the face of the Middle East, and that can lead to radical changes inside Iran itself”.
After several rounds of talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme in recent weeks, Iran said after the start of Israel’s campaign that it would not negotiate with the United States while under attack.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Monday that “absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue”.
Iranian state television said the Tel Aviv headquarters of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency was among the Revolutionary Guards’ targets.
