The president is waiting to see whether Iran agrees to abandon its nuclear program, sources told CBS News and the Wall Street Journal.
Trump is also waiting to see if the threat to join the operation on Iran will compel the country to act toward a deal. A senior White House official told the Wall Street Journal that multiple options remain on the table and that Trump would continue to watch how the Israelis operate.
Iran has said it won’t negotiate under military stress. “Iran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress, and certainly NOT with a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance,” it said in a statement issued by Iran’s U.N. mission.
Trump told reporters in the White House that he is still weighing whether to strike Iran. “I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due, because things change, especially with war,” he said.
“I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” he added.
There was confusion about whether the United States was already involved in strikes on Iran, with Trump saying on Tuesday, “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran.” The comment led some to believe the U.S. is involved in offensive operations against Iran with Israel when American assets have only defended Israel against Iranian missiles.
Israel and the U.S. have insisted that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, with Israel citing that reasoning for beginning its latest conflict with the country. “The intel we got and we shared with the United States was absolutely clear, was absolutely clear that they [the Iranians] were working, in a secret plan, to weaponize the uranium,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News.
He’s been mocked by The Daily Show for noting the urgency for intervention in Iran’s nuclear program several times in the past few decades.
But Trump has mirrored Israel’s urgency of not wanting Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple — you don’t have to go too deep into it. They just can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said Tuesday.
If the U.S. does join with Israel in military action, it could assist them in taking out an Iranian nuclear site, Fordow, that is buried under a mountain and would likely require one of the U.S.’s bunker-buster bombs to destroy. CBS News reported that Trump is considering joining in on a strike against the facility.
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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could be another target the U.S. joins in on if they wish to destabilize the country’s regime. Trump threatened their leader on Tuesday.
“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!),” Trump said, “at least not for now.”
