May, may not, nobody knows what I’ll do: Trump on joining Israeli attacks on Iran

Washington, New Delhi: President Donald Trump on Wednesday refused to confirm whether the United States would join Israeli strikes on Iran or target its nuclear infrastructure, saying, “I may, I may not. Nobody knows what I’m going to do.”
He added that while Tehran had reached out, “it’s very late to be talking,” and hinted at imminent action: “Next week will be big, maybe less than a week.”
“There’s a big difference between now and a week ago,” Trump said during an interaction outside the White House. “Nobody knows what I’m going to do.”
The President claimed that Iran had proposed holding talks at the White House, though he did not elaborate on the nature or timing of the outreach. He went on to describe Iran as “totally defenceless, with no air defence whatsoever”. The Republican also said that he asked Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to “keep going”, implying that he asked the Jewish nation to keep attacking Tehran.
When asked about Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayotallah Ali Khamenei, Trump simply said, “Good luck.” He added that his administration’s patience with Tehran had worn thin. “Patience has already run out,” he said amid Iran’s intensifying conflict with Israel.
Amid swirling reports that the United States was working in concert with Israel on plans to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Trump had earlier claimed that Washington knew exactly where Khamenei was “hiding”.
While stopping short of confirming any imminent strike, Trump asserted that the US would not “take him out” at this stage, but issued a stern warning that American patience was “wearing thin”. He aslo demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and said that Iran can’t ever have nuclear weapons.
Amid escalating tensions and US demands for Iran to surrender, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei firmly rejected the prospect on Wednesday, declaring that Iran would never capitulate. He warned that any American military intervention would be met with a crushing response, inflicting “irreparable damage” on the United States.
In a televised message on Wednesday, a day after Trump called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” amid its conflict with Israel, Khamenei said Tehran would stand firm against an “imposed war”.
“Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian nation, and its history will never speak to this nation in threatening language because the Iranian nation will not surrender, and Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage,” the Supreme Leader said.
Meanwhile, Israel and Iran continued to trade missiles for the sixth consecutive day on Wednesday, leaving over 600 dead. Iran has suffered the maximum damage, with the Health Ministry putting the death toll at 585.
Earlier in the day, Iran claimed to have fired the Fattah-1 hypersonic missile at Israel, the first in the ongoing conflict. Explosions were also heard in Tel Aviv, with Israel claiming that Iranian attacks have resulted in 24 deaths and over 1,300 injuries in the so far. Israel’s strikes on Wednesday were mostly centred around Tehran. The Jewish nation also claimed to have struck Iran’s internal security agency headquarters.