Trump Presses Tehran To ‘Surrender’ Even As He Considers Joining Israel’s Strikes On Iran
Via: Reuters
President Trump is weighing the possibility of getting the U.S. involved in ongoing strikes between Israel and Iran, as the conflict stretches into its fifth consecutive day.
He is reportedly deciding whether to join Israel’s effort to destroy Iran’s underground nuclear sites, which they cannot do without U.S. weaponry, or to pursue a peace deal with Tehran.
The issue at hand: Whether the U.S. should deploy a 30,000-pound bunker buster bomb to attack Fordow, Iran’s deepest nuclear enrichment site.
President Trump met for more than an hour Tuesday afternoon with his national security team in the Situation Room. As of this writing, it's unclear what, if anything, was decided.
Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social, “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran,” adding that the U.S. knows the location of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, but “for now” won’t “take him out (kill!).” Through these posts, Trump closely associated himself with Israel’s war effort.
He also called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender.”
On Monday evening, he warned on social media, “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” About 10 million people live in the Iranian capital.
Trump left the G7 summit a day early with the White House citing the situation in the Middle East as the reason for his departure. Trump told reporters early Tuesday that he wasn't interested in a "ceasefire" between the nations.
REPUBLICANS VS. REPUBLICANS
It comes amid infighting within the Republican Party over whether joining Israel’s efforts would abandon the president’s “America First” agenda.
On One Hand: Critics like former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon argue that military involvement in a war with Iran would undermine other American interests.
Trump jumped in on Monday, posting, “Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that,” IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!”
On The Other Hand: Vice President J.D. Vance posted on X Tuesday, appearing to speak to the GOP base, saying that Trump “may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment,” adding, “I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue… he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish the American people’s goals.”
Vance has been one of the loudest opponents of U.S. involvement in the war in Ukraine, making his comments an apparent attempt to reach the naysayers.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday evening on Fox News that “America First” includes protecting American troops stationed in the region.
THE PEACE DEAL OPTION
“We are postured defensively in the region to be strong in pursuit of a peace deal. And we certainly hope that’s what happens here,” Hegseth said. The U.S. and Iran had been set to resume a sixth round of talks Sunday on Iran’s nuclear program, but Iran pulled out of the talks in the wake of Israel's attack last Friday.
Bottom line: Axios’s Barak Ravid is reporting that Israeli officials believe Trump will join their war efforts in the coming days to strike Iran's underground enrichment facility. If that happens, it would mark a major escalation in both the scope and stakes of the conflict — and the first direct U.S. involvement in a war since former President Biden withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021.
Back in 2020, Trump authorized a U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani without congressional approval. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are now warning that any further action requires congressional authorization, citing Congress’s constitutional authority to declare war.
