Trump poised to join war against Iran

Telegraph

4 hours ago

Donald Trump was on Tuesday night poised to enter the war between Israel and Iran.
The US president met his senior national security advisers shortly after sending a series of social media posts in which he warned Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, that the US knew where he was hiding.
JD Vance, the vice-president, and other Trump loyalists also appeared to be preparing supporters for a new phase in the conflict, with Mr Vance posting on X that the president 'may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment'.
Five days after Israel launched strikes on Iran, it puts the Middle East on the brink of a significant new escalation.
Former Trump administration officials said the president was shifting to a more warlike posture after warnings of devastating Iranian reprisals against Israel had failed to materialise.
Mr Trump called for Iran's immediate 'unconditional surrender' as missiles flew between the two countries.
He added: 'We know exactly where the so-called '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. But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.'
John Healey, the Defence Secretary, said on Tuesday that British Typhoon fighter jets could be deployed to support the UK's allies, although he stressed the need for de-escalation in the region.
Speaking at the Rusi Land Warfare conference, he said: 'The deployment of Typhoons and other military assets are part of the moves to reinforce de-escalation in the region, security in the region and may also be used to help support our allies.'
Earlier in the day, Sir Keir Starmer had said there was nothing to suggest that Mr Trump 'is about to get involved in this conflict'.
In contrast, speaking on the sidelines of the G7 summit, Friedrick Merz, the German chancellor, warned that the complete destruction of Iran's nuclear weapons programme was on the agenda if Tehran did not return to talks.
He said: 'The Israeli army is obviously unable to accomplish that. It lacks the necessary weapons. But the Americans have them.'
Israel and Iran exchanged rocket fire again on Tuesday. Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iran's armed forces chief, urged residents of the major Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv to evacuate, warning: ' Punitive operations will be carried out soon.'
Mr Trump hurried home early from the G7 summit in Canada, arriving back at the White House at dawn on Tuesday.
He accused Emmanuel Macron, the French president, of wrongly saying that he had left to work on a 'ceasefire' when in fact he was needed for something 'much bigger than that'.
That Mr Trump was weighing up entering the conflict seemed to be confirmed when he shared on Truth Social a text message he had received from Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel.
Mr Huckabee said that God had saved Mr Trump from an assassination attempt 'to be the most consequential president in a century – maybe ever'.
Likening the stakes to the US decision to drop nuclear bombs on Japan in the Second World War, he told Mr Trump 'only' to listen to God when it came to making his next choices.
On his return to Washington, Mr Trump convened a meeting of his National Security Council to consider his next moves.
At the same time, the Pentagon has been moving military hardware, including refuelling aircraft, closer to the Middle East. Flightradar 24, an aircraft tracking service, reported that 30 US Air Force planes were on their way to Europe.
The US Navy has dispatched a second aircraft carrier group to the region. The carrier USS Nimitz, with its nine air squadrons and an escort force of five destroyers, is en route to join the USS Carl Vinson strike group in the Arabian Sea.
A former Trump administration official said the president had become more bullish as warnings of mass casualties in Israel had proven unfounded. 'A lot of his generals gave him very ugly intel assessments, and those did not pan out,' he said.
Simone Ledeen, former deputy assistant of defence for the Middle East under Mr Trump, said Israel's offensive had been far more decisive than expected.
'For all these years, smart thinking people and the intelligence community had been saying it would be an extremely bloody, protracted conflict, with thousands and thousands of casualties,' she said. 'That hasn't been the case.'
Mr Trump trumpeted Israel's air supremacy on Tuesday, using a collective 'we', which commentators suggested could indicate forthcoming US action. 'We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran,' he posted on Truth Social.
Fred Fleitz, who served on the National Security Council during Mr Trump's first term said the president had made the case that destroying Iran's nuclear facilities was in US interests.
The most likely move, he said, was sending US heavy bombers to use bunker-busting weapons to target the Fordow uranium enrichment plant, buried deep within a mountain. 'That doesn't mean putting boots on the ground,' he added.
Israel believes it can deal a permanent blow to Iran's nuclear ambitions if it has the help of the US. But deepening American involvement may alienate many of the voters who elected Mr Trump to keep the nation out of foreign wars.
Mr Vance appeared to be preparing supporters for US military action, writing on X: 'The president has shown remarkable restraint in keeping our military's focus on protecting our troops and protecting our citizens. He may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment. That decision ultimately belongs to the president.'
Charlie Kirk, a Maga figurehead who is hugely influential with younger, male Trump supporters, also fell into line behind the president. After having warned against any US intervention, on Tuesday he reminded followers that Mr Trump had long promised to prevent Iran building nuclear weapons.
Mr Trump joined other G7 leaders on Monday to call for 'de-escalation'.