Trump on Iran strikes: 'I may do it, I may not do it'
President Donald Trump said he was considering whether the United States will join Israeli strikes on Iran on Wednesday, June 18, as he said that Tehran had reached out to seek negotiations. Speaking as he watched the installation of a new flagpole at the White House, Trump added that his patience "had already run out" with Iran and repeated his call for the Islamic Republic's "unconditional surrender."
"I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," Trump told reporters on the South Lawn when asked if he had decided whether to launch US air strikes. "I can tell you this, that Iran's got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate."
Trump said Iran had even suggested sending officials to the White House to negotiate on Tehran's nuclear program to end Israel's air assault, but added that it was "very late."
"I said it's very late to be talking. We may meet. There's a big difference between now and a week ago, right? Big difference," Trump added. "They've suggested that they come to the White House. That's, you know, courageous, but it's, like, not easy for them to do."
Asked what he meant when he called in a social media post on Tuesday for Iran's " UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!," Trump again suggested that his patience had run out with Iran. "It's very simple – unconditional surrender. That means I've had it, okay? I've had it. I give up, no more, we go and blow up all the nuclear stuff that's all over the place," Trump said.
Trump compared Iran to "schoolyard bullies," adding: "And now they're not bullies any more, but we'll see what happens." When asked if it was too late for negotiations, he said: "Nothing is too late."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
US bases in the Middle East
Israel launched an unprecedented air campaign against Iran last week, and US President Donald Trump has said he is weighing whether to join Israel in the fight. US involvement in the conflict would likely result in attacks by Tehran on American troops in the region, who were already targeted by Iran-aligned forces in the course of the Israel-Hamas war. Below, AFP examines countries with major concentrations of US forces in the Middle East, which falls under the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM). Bahrain The tiny Gulf kingdom hosts an installation known as Naval Support Activity Bahrain, where the US Navy's Fifth Fleet and US Naval Forces Central Command headquarters are based. Bahrain's deep-water port can accommodate the largest US military vessels, such as aircraft carriers, and the US Navy has used the base in the country since 1948, when the facility was operated by Britain's Royal Navy. Several US ships have their home port in Bahrain, including four anti-mine vessels and two logistical support ships. The US Coast Guard also has vessels in the country, including six fast response cutters. Iraq The United States has troops at various installations in Iraq, including Al-Asad and Arbil air bases. The Iraqi government is a close ally of Iran, but also a strategic partner of Tehran's arch-foe the United States. There are some 2,500 US troops in Iraq as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group. Baghdad and Washington have agreed on a timetable for the gradual withdrawal of the coalition's forces from the country. US forces in Iraq and Syria were repeatedly targeted by pro-Iran militants following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, but responded with heavy strikes on Tehran-linked targets, and the attacks largely subsided. Kuwait Kuwait has several US bases, including Camp Arifjan, the location of the forward headquarters for the US Army component of CENTCOM. The US Army also has stocks of prepositioned materiel in the country. Ali al-Salem Air Base hosts the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, the "primary airlift hub and gateway for delivering combat power to joint and coalition forces" in the region. Additionally, the United States has drones including MQ-9 Reapers in Kuwait. Qatar Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar includes the forward components of CENTCOM, as well as of its air forces and special operation forces in the region. It also hosts rotating combat aircraft, as well as the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, which includes "airlift, aerial refueling intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and aeromedical evacuation assets." Syria The United States has for years maintained troop presences at a series of installations in Syria as part of international efforts against the Islamic State group, which rose out of the country's civil war to overrun large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq. The Pentagon announced in April that it would roughly halve the number of its forces in the country to less than 1,000 in the coming months as part of a "consolidation" of US troops in the country. United Arab Emirates Al Dahfra Air Base in the UAE hosts the US 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, a force that is composed of 10 squadrons of aircraft and also includes drones such as MQ-9 Reapers. Combat aircraft have rotated through Al Dhafra, which also hosts the Gulf Air Warfare Center for air and missile defense training.
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
The age of war? Israel-Iran conflict further undemines global security
42:04 Issued on: From the show Donald Trump sold us a different kind of Pax Americana. The U-S-led global rules-based order was always about soft power backed by bulk military rules on Inauguration Day veered instead to the utilitarian: yes to the world's top superpower staking imperial claims to parts of the planet deemed vital to national interests. Yes to coveting Greenland's strategic minerals and Panama's essential waterway. No to forever wars in places like Ukraine where the US pays while Europe reaps the benefits of curbing Vladimir Putin's westward march. So why now the sudden pull of the Middle East? As the US president weighs whether to go all-in with Israel's pre-emptive war against Iran? one whose stated aims oscillate between nuclear deterrence and regime change. Why Iran and not Ukraine and what conclusions Europe draws from the evolution of warfare in 2025? Both Ukraine and Israel inflicting damage with spectacular operations that combine special ops in the field, drones and artificial intelligence. Sales reps are all smiles at the big Paris Air Show but how should cash-strapped states be buying for their militaries? Can an unmanned gizmo really inflict as much damage as a state-of-the-art fighter jet? If so, just how volatile a world we live in?
LeMonde
2 hours ago
- LeMonde
Israel-Iran conflict: How Israel gained air superiority over Tehran
Two days after launching the June 13 attack on Iran, the Israeli military took control of the air corridor connecting Israel to Tehran. This dominance marks the culmination of a long conflict with Iran and its proxies, known as the "axis of resistance": Hezbollah, the Syrian regime, and Iraqi militia groups. After years of indirect confrontations, Israel took advantage of a favorable situation to act directly, by escalating the pressure in successive stages. The first turning point came in April 2024. On April 1, Israel destroyed an Iranian consular building in Damascus, killing several officers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The first direct confrontation between the two regional powers followed: On April 13, Iran targeted Israel's territory for the first time, notably the Nevatim Air Base in the Negev desert, with a barrage of 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles. The attack, which had been announced in advance, caused a limited level of damage. On April 19, the Israeli military responded in a measured, yet decisive, manner: Its air force destroyed a Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft battery, which had been tasked with defending nuclear facilities at Isfahan and Natanz. "This was a strategic warning strike to underline Israel's ability to attack any target located in Iran," wrote Pierre Razoux, academic director at the Mediterranean Foundation for Strategic Studies (FMES), in a study on the challenges of air superiority in the Middle East, published on May 20.
