Trump ‘has APPROVED Iran attack plans and is waiting to give orders' but Starmer warned UK involvement could be ILLEGAL
READY FOR WAR Trump 'has APPROVED Iran attack plans and is waiting to give orders' but Starmer warned UK involvement could be ILLEGAL
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DONALD Trump has reportedly approved US airstrikes on Iran and is now waiting to give the final order to attack.
The US president has declared he will now only accept a "total and complete victory" against Iran and is no longer interested in a ceasefire.
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Donald Trump has declared he only wants a 'total and complete victory' against Iran and is no longer interested in a ceasefire
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Iranian missiles seen flying towards Israel as the conflict rages on into its six day
Credit: Reuters
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A still image released by Iranian media that shows a missile being fired towards Israel on Wednesday night
Credit: Reuters
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President Trump gave the greenlight to drop bombs on Tehran nuclear sites to his closest aides on Tuesday evening, people familiar with the matter have said.
But Trump is yet to go through with any attack as he is holding off to see if the evil regime will agree to abandon its nuke program, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Tehran has already warned the US will only be sparking an "all out war" in the Middle East if they join Israel and attack them.
The UK - a close ally of both Israel and the US - are yet to comment on if they will also launch strikes of their own.
Sir Keir Starmer has already been warned by Attorney General Lord Hermer that the UK's involvement could be illegal.
It comes as Sir Keir held a Cobra crisis meeting on Wednesday with a potential US-led strike reportedly being discussed.
Trump has become heavily involved in the conflict over the last 48 hours with him speaking on the potential airstrikes from the White House as he said: "I may do it, I may not do it."
It is believed that the US may choose to first attack Iran's Fordow nuclear development area, according to the Telegraph.
This would likely be done by a fearsome 15-ton mega bomb known as a Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bomb that can penetrate deep inside the ground before blowing up.
Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office Trump did say the US is the only nation capable of blitzing the key nuke site.
But he added: "That doesn't mean I'm going to do it - at all."
Trump also gave a two-word warning to Iran's Supreme Leader after he revealed Tehran was trying to run back to the negotiating table since the conflict broke out.
When a White House reporter asked Trump about Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's declaration that he will "never surrender", Trump simply responded: "Good luck."
Trump even directly threatened Khamenei as he said the US knows where he is hiding but will not kill him 'for now'.
Khamenei responded by saying: "The battle begins."
'This nation will never surrender,' he said in a speech read on state television.
'America should know that any military intervention will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage.'
US officials indicated the next 24 to 48 hours will be crucial in determining whether diplomacy could ever be achieved with Iran, ABC News reports.
It comes as warmongering Russia ironically warned the world sits "on the brink of catastrophe" as the raging Middle East conflict entered day six.
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Iran, Israel trade fresh air attacks as Trump weighs US involvement
WASHINGTON/DUBAI/JERUSALEM, June 19 (Reuters) - Iran and Israel traded further air attacks on Thursday as President Donald Trump kept the world guessing about whether the United States would join Israel's bombardment of Iranian nuclear facilities. A week of Israeli air and missile strikes against its major rival has wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command, damaged its nuclear capabilities and killed hundreds of people, while Iranian retaliatory strikes have killed two dozen civilians in Israel. The worst-ever conflict between the rivals has raised fears that it will draw in world powers and rock regional stability already undermined by the spillover effects of the Gaza war. Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Wednesday, Trump declined to say if he had made any decision on whether to join Israel's air campaign. "I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," he said. Trump in later remarks said Iranian officials wanted to come to Washington for a meeting and that "we may do that." But he added, "It's a little late" for such talks. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rebuked Trump's earlier call for Iran to surrender in a recorded speech played on television, his first appearance since Friday. The Americans "should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage," he said. "The Iranian nation will not surrender." Iran denies it is seeking nuclear weapons and says its program is for peaceful purposes only. The International Atomic Energy Agency said last week Tehran was in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in 20 years. The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva to urge Iran to return to the negotiating table, a German diplomatic source told Reuters. But while diplomatic efforts continue, some residents of Tehran, a city of 10 million people, on Wednesday jammed highways out of the city as they sought sanctuary from intensified Israeli airstrikes. Arezou, a 31-year-old Tehran resident, told Reuters by phone that she had made it out of the city to the nearby resort town of Lavasan. "My friend's house in Tehran was attacked and her brother was injured. They are civilians," she said. "Why are we paying the price for the regime's decision to pursue a nuclear programme?' The Wall Street Journal said Trump had told senior aides he approved attack plans on Iran but was holding off on giving the final order to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear program. Senior U.S. officials are preparing for the possibility of a strike on Iran in the coming days, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Early on Thursday, air defences were activated in Tehran, intercepting drones on the outskirts of the capital, the semi-official SNN news agency reported. Iranian news agencies also reported it had arrested 18 "enemy agents" who were building drones for Israeli attacks in the northeastern city of Mashhad. Israel's military said sirens sounded in northern Israel and in the Jordan Valley on Thursday and that it had intercepted two drones launched from Iran. The Iranian missile salvoes mark the first time in decades of shadow war and proxy conflict that a significant number of projectiles fired from Iran have penetrated defences, killing Israelis in their homes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video released by his office on Wednesday, said Israel was "progressing step by step" towards eliminating threats posed by Iran's nuclear sites and ballistic missile arsenal. "We are hitting the nuclear sites, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of the regime," Netanyahu said. Israel, which is not a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that. Netanyahu also thanked Trump, "a great friend of the state of Israel," for standing by its side in the conflict, saying the two were in continuous contact. Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the war to suggesting the United States might join it. In social media posts on Tuesday, he mused about killing Khamenei. Russian President Vladimir Putin, asked what his reaction would be if Israel did kill Iran's Supreme Leader with the assistance of the United States, said on Thursday: "I do not even want to discuss this possibility. I do not want to." Putin said all sides should look for ways to end hostilities in a way that ensured both Iran's right to peaceful nuclear power and Israel's right to the unconditional security of the Jewish state. A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations. Since Friday, Iran has fired around 400 missiles at Israel, some 40 of which have pierced air defences, killing 24 people, all of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities. Iran has reported at least 224 deaths in Israeli attacks, mostly civilians, but has not updated that toll for days.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump says supporters ‘more in love' with him than ever despite Iran divisions
'I may have some people that are a little bit unhappy now, but I have some people that are very happy, and I have people outside of the base that can't believe that this is happening, they're so happy,' he said. Pete Hegseth (Jose Luis Magana/PA) Defence secretary Pete Hegseth told legislators on Capitol Hill on Wednesday that the Pentagon was providing Mr Trump with options on Iran but would not say whether the military was planning to assist with Israeli strikes. 'I may do it, I may not do it,' Mr Trump said Wednesday. 'I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do.' Some longtime defenders of his America First mantra are criticising him for considering a greater US role in the conflict between Israel and Iran after a week of deadly strikes, and reminding their own audiences of Mr Trump's 2024 promises to resist overseas military involvement. Steve Bannon, one of Mr Trump's 2016 campaign's senior advisers, told an audience in Washington that bitter feelings over Iraq were a driving force for Mr Trump's first presidential candidacy and the Maga (Make American Great Again) movement, saying that 'one of the core tenets is no forever wars'. Steve Bannon (Alamy/PA) But Mr Bannon — a longtime Trump ally who served a four-month sentence for defying a subpoena in the congressional investigation into the US Capitol attack on January 6 2021 — went on to suggest Mr Trump will maintain loyalty from his base no matter what. On Wednesday, he acknowledged that while he and others will argue against military intervention, 'the Maga movement will back Trump'. Ultimately, Mr Bannon said Mr Trump will have to make the case to the American people if he wants to get involved in Iran, and he has not done that yet. 'We don't like it. Maybe we hate it,' Mr Bannon said, predicting what the Maga response would be. 'But, you know, we'll get on board.' Alex Jones, the right-wing conspiracy theorist and Infowars host on Wednesday posted on social media a side-by-side of Mr Trump's official presidential photo and an AI-generated composite of Mr Trump and former president George W Bush, who Mr Trump and many of his allies have long disparaged for involving the US in the so-called 'forever wars' in Iraq and Afghanistan. Writing 'What you voted for' above Mr Trump's image and 'What you got' above the composite, Jones added: 'I hope this is not the case.' Alex Jones (Alamy/PA) Commentator Tucker Carlson's rhetoric towards Mr Trump has been increasingly critical, with the longtime supporter — who headlined large rallies with the Republican during the 2024 campaign — this week suggesting the president's strategy was breaking his pledge to keep the US out of new foreign entanglements. Mr Trump hit back at Carlson on social media, calling him 'kooky'. During an event at the White House later on Wednesday, the president said Carlson had 'called and apologised', adding that Carlson 'is a nice guy'. On Wednesday, Carlson's conversation with Republican senator Ted Cruz laid bare the divides among many Republicans. The two sparred for two hours over a variety of issues, primarily potential US involvement in Iran, and Carlson accused Mr Cruz of placing too much emphasis on protecting Israel in his foreign policy worldview. 'You don't know anything about Iran,' Carlson said after the senator said he did not know Iran's population, or its ethnic composition. 'You're a senator who's calling for the overthrow of a government, and you don't know anything about the country.'
NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
Tulsi Gabbard sidelined in Trump administration discussions on Israel and Iran
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, an outspoken critic of past U.S. military interventions abroad, appears to have fallen out of favor with President Donald Trump as he weighs military action against Iran, according to multiple senior administration officials with knowledge of the matter. Gabbard allies insist that, while there is some White House tension, some of the public blowback is overstated, and none interviewed by NBC News expect her to leave the administration as a result of the president's Iran policy, even if that includes direct U.S. involvement. Gabbard's politically perilous position burst into the open this week when Trump brushed her back over her testimony to Congress in March. At that time, she said the U.S. intelligence community did not believe Iran was building a nuclear weapon — a comment at odds with Trump's recent public statement about the threat posed by Iran's potential nuclear program. 'I don't care what she said. I think they were very close to having one,' Trump told reporters Tuesday on Air Force One. A person with knowledge of the matter said the U.S. intelligence community's view has not changed since Gabbard's testimony in March. But the idea that a president would openly refute his director of national intelligence immediately spurred questions about whether she is now iced out of decision-making on the issue. It also reflects a rift that is playing out publicly in Trump's MAGA coalition, with some supporters advocating standing by Israel in whatever military action it takes against Iran and others saying intervention would go against the 'America First' philosophy. Trump's criticism of U.S. involvement in past conflicts — and his campaign promise to be a ' peacemaker ' in his second term — brought in unusual bedfellows, such as Gabbard, who had been a Democratic congresswoman. Multiple senior administration officials said Gabbard has been sidelined in internal administration discussions about the conflict between Israel and Iran. Even two of her allies who spoke to NBC News acknowledged that her standing took a hit when she posted a video on June 10 after a trip to Hiroshima, Japan. The video, which featured the simulated destruction of American cities and Gabbard warning about the dangers of nuclear war, annoyed the White House team, the officials said. Gabbard did not attend a meeting of top officials June 8 at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, to discuss tensions between Israel and Iran, which raised fresh questions about her status in the administration. A White House official told NBC News that Gabbard was not present only because she had to take part in scheduled training as a member of the National Guard. Gabbard's past positions on Iran, coupled with her recent comments and Trump's responses to them, have forced top administration officials into a difficult position. Gabbard has seemingly been at odds with the administration line, but not to the point where they feel the need to abandon her. 'Tulsi is a veteran, a patriot, a loyal supporter of Pres Trump and a critical part of the coalition he built in 2024,' Vice President JD Vance said in a statement Tuesday. 'She's an essential member of our nat sec team, & we're grateful for her tireless work to keep America safe from foreign threats.' Other Republicans, though, have taken shots at her recent Iran comments. 'She obviously needs to change her meds,' Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Jewish Insider last week. Gabbard has long used her public platform to oppose U.S. military action against Iran and has been working behind the scenes to try to find a diplomatic solution, two of the administration officials said. In one case, Gabbard sought to enlist the help of European allies who have communication channels with Tehran, an official said. That stands, at times, in direct conflict with Trump's public comments about the now open fight between Israel and Iran, a fight he himself has acknowledged might now require U.S. intervention. 'I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do,' Trump told reporters Wednesday. Gabbard allies who spoke to NBC News acknowledge that the video was not received well by White House officials but said reported rifts between her and Trump on the issue have been overstated. 'I have heard that also,' a Gabbard ally said of the tension spurred by the Hiroshima video. 'But I don't think it reached the level of the president himself. I am told the matter has been 'resolved.'' The Gabbard ally downplayed any idea that she would resign over the public Trump rebuke or whether the United States got directly involved in the Iran-Israel conflict. 'The online claim that she will resign if the president decides to take direct action in Iran are false,' the person said. The video, however, did circulate widely among White House aides, and it left many wondering why she was taking such a public position as tensions escalate and Trump appears ready to get further involved. 'I think she is generally in OK standing,' a Republican operative familiar with administration thinking said. 'In situations like this, folks with more traditional Republican and neocon views are going to use the opportunity to minimize her influence.' Asked about the recent video on Hiroshima, Gabbard's deputy chief of staff, Alexa Henning, said: 'Acknowledging the past is critical to inform the future. President Trump has repeatedly stated in the past that he recognizes the immeasurable suffering, and annihilation can be caused by nuclear war, which is why he has been unequivocal that we all need to do everything possible to work towards peace.' As a Democratic congresswoman, presidential candidate and supporter of Trump's 2024 campaign, Gabbard portrayed herself as a fierce opponent of what she sees as America's misguided military interventions overseas, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and U.S. assistance for rebels in Libya and Syria. In last year's electoral campaign, Gabbard accused the Biden administration of bringing the United States 'closer to the brink of nuclear war than we ever have been before.' During Trump's first term in office, Gabbard strongly criticized his handling of Iran and his decision to pull the United States out of a 2015 nuclear agreement that imposed limits on Tehran's nuclear work in return for an easing of sanctions. If Trump decides to order military strikes on Iran amid talk by Israel that military pressure might cause the Tehran regime to collapse, Gabbard would find herself in an awkward political position. She has vowed to ensure America no longer engages in 'regime change' wars. Gabbard's being warmly welcomed into Trump's MAGA political base during the last presidential election was seen at the time as an injection of ideological diversity. A Trump administration official acknowledged that the heterodox views that made her a welcome addition to the MAGA movement now mark her as an outsider in an administration appearing to coalesce around a policy antithetical to those views. 'If you adopt a Chihuahua, you should not be surprised that you have a Chihuahua,' the person said.
