Washington: President Donald Trump said Tuesday the U.S. knows where Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding during the Israel-Iran conflict but doesn’t want him killed “for now.”
Trump urged, in a social media posting, Iran's “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” as the five-day conflict continues to escalate.
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” Trump added. “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.”
Trump's increasingly muscular comments towards Tehran come after urging Tehran’s 9.5 million residents to flee for their lives as he cut short his visit to an international summit to return to Washington for urgent talks with his national security team.
Trump arrived at the White House early Tuesday at a moment of choosing in his presidency. Israel, with five days of missile strikes, has done considerable damage to Iran and believes it can now deal a permanent blow to Tehran's nuclear program — particularly if it gets a little more help from the Republican president.
But deepening American involvement, perhaps by providing the Israelis with bunker-busting bombs to penetrate Iranian nuclear sites built deep underground or offering other direct U.S. military support, comes with enormous political risk for Trump.
Trump, as he made his way back to Washington, expressed frustration with Iranian leaders for failing to reach an agreement. He said he was now looking for “a real end” to the conflict and a “complete give-up” of Tehran's nuclear program.
“They should have done the deal. I told them, ‘Do the deal,’” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “So I don’t know. I’m not too much in the mood to negotiate.”
Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, and U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran is not actively pursuing a bomb.
Trump, who planned to meet with advisers in the Situation Room, appears to be gradually building the public case for a more direct American role in the conflict. His shift in tone comes as the U.S. has repositioned warships and military aircraft in the region to respond if the conflict between Israel and Iran further escalates.
AFP report; Donald Trump dramatically stepped up his rhetoric against Iran's supreme leader Tuesday, saying on social media that the United States knows where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is located but will not kill him "for now."
In another post, Trump also appeared to demand Iran's "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!" as he fueled questions about whether the United States would join Israel's attacks on Tehran's leadership and nuclear facilities.
"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," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
"But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" said
Trump.
Minutes later the US president followed up with another message simply saying: "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!"
Trump flew back early from the G7 summit in Canada late Monday as the conflict between Iran and key US ally Israel escalated, and was set to meet top
officials in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday.
The US president has so far stressed that his country is not getting involved in the conflict, and has said that Iran could still take a deal to end
its nuclear program that he had proposed before Israel's attacks.
But Trump has given mounting signals that Washington's intervention in some form may now be imminent.
Trump said Tuesday that "we" have "complete and total control of the skies over Iran," hailing the use of US-made weaponry without explicitly mentioning Israel.
Israel, the closest US ally in the Middle East, had recently made a similar claim.
Earlier, Trump told reporters on Air Force One while returning from Canada that he wanted "a real end, not a ceasefire" to the Iran-Israel conflict, and
warning that "I'm not in too much of a mood to negotiate."
