Donald Trump has approved plans to attack Iran but has not yet made a final decision on whether to strike the country.
A senior intelligence source told CBS that the U.S. president is reluctant to strike in case Iran abandons his nuclear program. Trump is reportedly considering US strikeIran’s underground uranium enrichment facility.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Trump’s demand for unconditional surrender on Wednesday as the U.S. president said his patience had run out.
“I might do that, I might not do that,” Trump said Wednesday when asked about a question about our involvement in Iran.
Khamenei scolded Trump in a recorded speech Wednesday, saying “any U.S. military intervention” would be expensive, adding: “The Iranian nation will not surrender.”
Trump refuted the rejection, saying “good luck”, but once again refused to reveal his plan. “I mean, no one knows what I’m going to do,” he said.
“Unconditional surrender – which means I already have it.”
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Trump’s support for the strike plan.
Israeli troops launched more attacks on Iran, attacking missile sites and nuclear facilities. Iran said it has launched hypersonic missiles. Israel has not reported serious damage.
This is Khamenei’s debut since Israel launched a preemptive strike on Friday.
Iran’s mission to the UN mocked Trump in a post on X: “Iran does not negotiate under coercion, cannot accept a coercive peace, and of course it is not someone who insists on relevance.
It added: “No Iranian officials have ever asked to grove on the White House gate.”
“The only thing that is more despicable than his lies is his timid threat of ‘eliminating’ Iran’s supreme leader.”
The Iranians continue to squeeze out a city of 10 million people from the capital Tehran to seek shelter from the Israeli attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video Wednesday that his national forces are “gradually developing” to eliminate the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear ruins and ballistic missile Arsenal.
“We control the sky over Tehran. We are shocked with great force on the Ayatollahs regime. We are hitting nuclear sites, missiles, headquarters, symbols of regimes,” he said.
Trump’s Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate committee that the Pentagon is ready to implement any orders issued by Trump.
His comments were established by the U.S. military in the Middle East. A carrier strike group driven by USS Nimitz Pircraft is steaming from Southeast Asia to join another strike group led by Carl Vinson, who is already in the Gulf.
Various air assets including refueling tankers were also seen on flight trackers migrating from Europe, followed by reports of F-22 and F-35 strike aircraft.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, with the meeting expected to focus on Iran.
The BBC learned that so far the United States has not made a formal request to use the British military base in Diego Garcia or Cyprus to strike Iran.
Normally, if the United States intends to conduct an offensive action from these bases, the United States will first inform its allies. A British source said people believed that “all choices” were on the table in Washington, but there was no complete American intention.
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem released an evacuation plan on Wednesday for U.S. citizens currently in Israel. It is unclear how many Americans are seeking to leave Israel or whether the U.S. military will assist in evacuating the flight.
Since the attack was launched on Friday Israeli strike against Iran kills 585 peopleAccording to group human rights activists in Washington, D.C., the 239 are civilians and 126 are security personnel.
In retaliation, Iran fired about 400 missiles into Israel and killed 24 people, all of which were civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
Meanwhile, Iranian state television warned viewers to ignore a “irrelevant” clip, requiring the public to “rise” the regime after being hacked in obvious satellite feed.
“If you notice irrelevant news while watching TV, it’s because the enemy interferes with the satellite signal,” State TV said.
The hackers apparently broke in and played a video that accused Iran of building its own people, calling on viewers to “control your future.” It carried out several large-scale protests against the regime in 2022.
