Trump Refuses to Reveal US Plans for Iran, Says ‘Late' for Talks
President Donald Trump declined to say whether the US plans to join Israel's military offensive on Iran, and said Tehran had reached out about the possibility of negotiations.
'I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do,' Trump told reporters Wednesday at the White House when asked if he is moving closer to striking Iran's nuclear facilities.
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Trump sharpened his anti-war stance during the 2024 election as he hit President Joe Biden over the haphazard US withdrawal from Afghanistan and pledged to avoid conflicts overseas. As recently as last month — and speaking in the Middle East, where he's currently building up US forces for potential engagement — Trump lambasted the US 'neocons' for the wars they fought in the region. He said he wants the Mideast to be a place 'where people of different nations, religions and creeds are building cities together, not bombing each other out of existence.' Now, as Trump agitates on Iran, the intra-MAGA fault lines are deepening. Trump and conservative media personality Tucker Carlson have traded barbs over the 'America First' doctrine as the former Fox News host calls for the US to steer clear of the Israel-Iran conflict. Laura Loomer, a right-wing social media influencer and staunch Trump supporter, jumped into the fray in Trump's defense. 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He said that American involvement should be determined by US intelligence and not Israel's, and he stressed several times that this is Israel's fight to finish. But even as Trump's base bristles at the notion of the president taking the US into a war, Bannon said he'll ultimately retain support. 'The MAGA movement, the Marjorie Taylor Green's, Matt Gaetz, we will fight it up until the end to make sure he's got the full information. But if he has more intelligence and makes that case to the American people, the MAGA movement will support President Trump,' Bannon said. Tumult in the Middle East has driven oil prices higher. Under the most extreme scenario, should the US join Israel in the strikes and the Strait of Hormuz is shut, crude could surge past $130 a barrel, weigh on the global economy and drive up consumer prices, according to a Bloomberg Economics analysis. 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