Trump urges Tehran's 'unconditional surrender' as US edges closer to war with Iran
President Donald Trump on Tuesday demanded the 'unconditional surrender' of Iran's supreme leader and said America's patience is wearing thin, apparently paving the way for the US to join Israel's war against Iran.
Mr Trump had earlier said "we" have control of the skies above Iran, and hailed the use of US-made weapons. His remarks came after he urged Tehran's residents to evacuate the Iranian capital. Residents poured out of the city, and shops and the historic Grand Bazaar were closed on Tuesday.
The President headed back to Washington late on Monday, cutting short his trip to the G7 summit in Canada to confer with his national security team as the Israel-Iran air war raged for a fifth day.
His comments were a far cry from earlier messaging, in which he maintained that a US-Iranian nuclear deal remained within reach.
In a pair of posts on Truth Social on Tuesday, Mr Trump warned Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the US knows where he is "hiding" but doesn't plan to kill him, "at least for now". In a subsequent post, he wrote simply: "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!"
The US military is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of others, US officials told Reuters. One said F-16, F-22 and F-35 warplanes would be involved.
Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, issued a lengthy statement on social media that appeared designed to convince Mr Trump's staunchly anti-war and isolationist Maga base that war in the Middle East might be inevitable.
'The President has shown remarkable restraint in keeping our military's focus on protecting our troops and protecting our citizens," Mr Vance wrote. 'He may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment. That decision ultimately belongs to the President.'
But Khaled Elgindy, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and an expert on US foreign relations in the Middle East, said Mr Trump may still believe he can reach a deal with Iran.
"He thinks he can get a deal, but the kind where you put a gun to someone's head – I don't think that's feasible," he told The National."It looks like the Maga people, the America First people, have lost that debate."
Analysts in Washington questioned whether US strikes on Iran's known nuclear sites – believed to be buried deep underground – would damage Tehran's programme, let alone its ambition.
"US strikes on Iran would undermine non-proliferation goals and Congress has not approved any war on Iran – launching one would thwart the will of the American people, who oppose another costly Middle East war,' Rosemary Kelanic, director of the Middle East programme at Defence Priorities, wrote in a statement. "We need a political solution, not war."
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