Israel-Iran conflict: Prospect of US military intervention divides Trump's supporters
Everything rests on a single man, confident in his own experience, and dismissive of experts, consultation with allies and even members of his own administration. An American president, facing history, surrounded by loyalists, torn between asserting the nation's power, regardless of the consequences, and upholding his pledge to avoid disastrous military adventures. This was the position Donald Trump finds himself in, facing a choice that could define his second term and destabilize the Middle East for years to come. Should the United States support Israel in destroying Iran's nuclear program facilities, or even aim for regime change in Tehran? That prospect has increasingly grown, as Israel's military successes fueled division and anxiety even within Trump's MAGA movement.
"We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran," Trump wrote Tuesday morning, the "we" suggesting a joint production. "Unconditional surrender," he later demanded from Tehran on his social network Truth Social, clarifying that the life of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was "at least for now" not at risk. His escalating rhetoric was all the more striking as it came even before the midday meeting of the National Security Council, when the commander-in-chief was expected to hear the top leaders of the military, intelligence services and diplomats before making his decision.
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France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Iran threatens response if US crosses 'red line': ambassador
After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, Israel says its surprise air campaign that began on June 13 is aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons -- an ambition Tehran denies. Iran said early Wednesday that it fired hypersonic missiles at Israel in the latest round of overnight strikes between the arch foes. US President Donald Trump has said that Washington has played no part in the bombing campaign by its ally Israel, but has also warned Iran that his patience is wearing thin. "We firmly believe that the United States is complicit in what Israel is doing," Iranian ambassador Ali Bahreini told a press conference. "And at any time, at any point, if we come to the conclusion that the United States is directly involved in attacks against Iran, we will start responding to the United States." He said Tehran was "vigilant" about Trump's "completely unwarranted" and "hostile" remarks. "There is a line which, if crossed, there should be a response on our side... once the red line is crossed, the response will come," Bahreini said. 'We will respond strongly' "We will respond strongly and we will stop aggression from any side, be it Israel or the United States," he told the UN correspondents' association. "And we have given a message to the United States that we will respond very firmly and will stop the aggression by anybody -- including the United States. Bahreini also said Tehran was "resolute in responding to Israeli attacks". "We will respond very, very, very seriously and strongly, and that is what we are doing now. Nobody should expect Iran to show any kind of restraint," he said. He also criticised the attitude of Western and European nations. "Not only they are not condemning the attacks and aggression, they are trying to justify the aggression," he said. Addressing the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday, Bahreini issued a warning to Israel's allies. "The Israeli regime's supporters, and the United States at the forefront, should know that supporting this regime means directly supporting international humanitarian and human rights law violations," he said.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
US deploys fighter jets, ships to the Middle East as Israel-Iran conflict escalates
The US is shifting military aircraft and warships into and around the Middle East to protect Israel from Iranian attacks as President Donald Trump warns Tehran to step back from the conflict. Trump's social media posts saying his patience with Iran was 'wearing thin" have raised the possibility of deepening US involvement, perhaps by using its bunker-busting bomb to strike a key Iranian nuclear site built deep underground in the mountains. Israel doesn't have the massive munition it would take to destroy the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant, or the aircraft needed to deliver it. Only the US does. As America's national security leaders discuss the next steps, the Pentagon has moved to ensure that its troops and bases in the region are protected. Here's a look at the US military presence in the Middle East: In a social media post, Trump warned that 'we now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran". US officials insisted as of Tuesday that the American military has not taken any offensive actions against Iran, only defensive strikes to take out incoming Iranian missiles to protect Israel. Additional US fighter jets and refueling tankers have been deployed to the region, but officials have declined to provide specific numbers. Fighter jets have joined in launching strikes to defend Israel, but officials said Tuesday that no American aircraft were over Iran. Aurora Intel, a group that reviews open source information in real time in the Middle East, said the US Air Force had put additional refueling aircraft and fighter jets in strategic locations across Europe, including England, Spain, Germany and Greece. The information was obtained from public aviation tracking websites. US fighter jets have been patrolling the skies around the Middle East to protect personnel and installations, and bases in the region are on heightened alert and are taking additional security precautions, the officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has not provided any details, but said on Fox News Channel late Monday that the military movements were to 'ensure that our people are safe". American warships also are shooting down Iranian ballistic missiles targeting Israel, with the USS The Sullivans and the USS Arleigh Burke launching strikes over the weekend. The Sullivans has been joined in the Eastern Mediterranean by the USS Thomas Hudner this week to continue those defense strikes, while the Arleigh Burke has moved away from the area, according to a US official. The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier is in the Arabian Sea with the four warships in its strike group. They are not participating in the defence of Israel. But they are positioned to provide security for US troops and bases along the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. The USS Nimitz has been long scheduled to take over for the Carl Vinson and is heading west from the Indo-Pacific region toward the Middle East. The official said it is slated to arrive in the region by the end of the month, and the two carriers would likely overlap at least for a short time before the Vinson heads home to San Diego. There also are destroyers in the Red Sea, and others are based in the Western Mediterranean and participating in exercises in the Baltic Sea. The forces in the region have been taking precautionary measures for days, including having military dependents voluntarily leave bases, in anticipation of potential strikes and to protect personnel in case of a large-scale response from Tehran. Officials said they were not aware of many families actually leaving. Typically around 30,000 troops are based in the Middle East, and about 40,000 troops are in the region now, according to a US official. That number surged as high as 43,000 last October in response to heightened tensions between Israel and Iran as well as continuous attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. The Air Force's B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is the only aircraft that can carry the 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, known as the bunker buster. The powerful bomb uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets – and then explode. There are currently no B-2 bombers in the Middle East region, although there are B-52 bombers based at Diego Garcia, and they can deliver smaller munitions. If tapped for use, the B-2 bombers would have to make the 30-hour round trip from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, refueling multiple times.
LeMonde
2 hours ago
- LeMonde
Supreme Leader Khamenei says Iran will 'never surrender,' warns off US
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday, June 18, that the nation would never surrender as demanded by President Donald Trump and warned the United States it would face "irreparable damage" if it intervenes in support of its ally. The speech came six days into the conflict, with Trump demanding Iran's "unconditional surrender" while boasting the US could kill Khamenei and fuelling speculation about a possible intervention. The long-range blitz began Friday, when Israel launched a massive bombing campaign that prompted Iran to respond with missiles and drones. "This nation will never surrender," Khamenei said in a speech read on state television, in which he called Trump's ultimatum "unacceptable." "America should know that any military intervention will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage," he said. Khamenei, in power since 1989 and the final arbiter of all matters of state in Iran, had earlier vowed the country would show "no mercy" toward Israel's leaders. The speech followed a night of strikes, with Israeli attacks destroying two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran's nuclear program near Tehran, according to the UN nuclear watchdog. "More than 50 Israeli Air Force fighter jets (...) carried out a series of air strikes in the Tehran area over the past few hours," the Israeli military said, adding that several weapons manufacturing facilities were hit. "As part of the broad effort to disrupt Iran's nuclear weapons development program, a centrifuge production facility in Tehran was targeted." Centrifuges are vital for uranium enrichment, the sensitive process that can produce fuel for reactors or, in highly extended form, the core of a nuclear warhead. The strikes destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran's nuclear program in Karaj, a satellite city of Tehran, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. In another strike on a site in Tehran, "one building was hit where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested," the agency added in a post on X. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had launched hypersonic Fattah-1 missiles at Tel Aviv. Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept. No missile struck Tel Aviv overnight, though Agence France-Presse (AFP) photos showed Israel's air defence systems activated to intercept missiles over the commercial hub. Iran also sent a "swarm of drones" towards Israel, while the Israeli military said it had intercepted a total of 10 drones launched from Iran. It said one of its own drones had been shot down over Iran.
