Iran threatens US, Trump undecided on military intervention

US President Donald Trump has been hesitant about his country's military involvement in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned that any US military intervention would cause "irreparable damage". It was Khamenei's second address since Israel began its attacks on Iran last week. He hit back on Wednesday at the US president, who has demanded Iran "surrender unconditionally" and warned Khamenei that the US knows where he is but has no plans to kill him for now.

United States President Donald Trump has not yet decided whether he wants his country to become part of Israel's latest conflict, while the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Wednesday that the US would face "irreparable damage" if it decides in favor of military intervention. 

Khamenei added that Israel had made a "very big mistake" in starting the war, in his first comments since the conflict began on Friday last week. 

"The Americans should know that any military intervention on their part will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage," the supreme leader said in an announcement read by a presenter on state television.

Based on a report by the New York Times, official Tehran was preparing missiles and other equipment to attack American bases in the Middle East region in the event that Washington joins the war. 

Trump announced that senior Iranian officials had requested to meet, and had also proposed a visit to the White House.

The American president declared to reporters gathered outside the White House that it was now "too late to talk," but that he had not yet made a decision to join the war. 

"He might do it, he might not. Nobody knows what he's going to do," he said.

Among other things, the American president said that he had also encouraged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue with the military campaign in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

"I told him, go ahead," Trump said when asked about his message to the Israeli leader amid rising tensions in the Middle East region.

"I talk to him every day, he's a good man, he's doing a great job," the American president added.
"The Guardian" wrote that this lack of clarity about what happens next could affect the American president himself, who is still in the phase of discussions to reach an agreement. According to experts, the US is trying to keep all options open to exert as much pressure on Tehran as possible.

America is moving aerial refueling planes to Spain and Greece, where they could be used to supply B-2 bombers on a long trip from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to Iran.

As reported, no request has yet been made to the UK for the use of Diego Garcia air base in the Indian Ocean for a B-2 strike, nor for the use of Akrotiri air base in Cyprus for refueling aircraft, although the latter is considered possible.

Other US military assets are on the way. The Pentagon has ordered the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to sail from Singapore to the Middle East, where it is expected to arrive in five to seven days. The USS Carl Vinson is already in the Arabian Sea.

According to reports from The Jerusalem Post, Qatar and Oman are trying to broker a ceasefire, hours after a plane close to the Iranian government flew to Muscat, Oman. 

Iranian authorities have signaled that they are willing to negotiate a deal with the United States, but expectations are that Israel will "relax the situation," a source told The Jerusalem Post.

Trump's insinuation that the Iranians offered him a meeting at the White House was met with a retort from Iran's mission to the United Nations. 

"No Iranian official has asked to kneel at the gates of the White House," the mission's post on social media said.

The Trump administration had previously distanced itself from the conflict, saying that Israel had acted alone, but in recent days there has been a change in rhetoric, as well as an increase in military presence in the Middle East. 

Even if the US decides not to join the war, Israel still has military options, but they would be riskier and more complicated. It could transport troops for special ground operations, like the one that targeted a missile factory in Syria last year, or disable the key Fordow nuclear site by attacking support systems, such as the power supply.

Senior Israeli officials claim that the war was launched in self-defense and to destroy Iran's nuclear program, but Netanyahu and several ministers from his cabinet have already made their desire for regime change in Iran a public secret.

Trump has reportedly opposed an Israeli plan to assassinate Iran's supreme leader, while critics have questioned Israeli bombings of civilian institutions, such as the attack on the building of Iran's public broadcaster.

On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel is bombing "symbols of power" in Iran, as he suggested that the clerical regime's days are numbered.
"A tornado is sweeping through Tehran," he wrote on the social network X. "Symbols of power are being bombed and toppled, from the broadcasting authority and soon from other targets, and large crowds of residents are fleeing. This is how dictatorships fall."

The escalating conflict has sparked concern and reactions across the international community. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was willing to broker a deal between Iran and Israel, after one of his top diplomats warned Washington not to consider "speculative options" for intervention.

"To say that they were not involved earlier and will be involved now – I think that would be incorrect. It is another thing what they consider in terms of direct military assistance to Israel. We warn Washington: do not even dare to think about it. Such an action would radically destabilize the whole situation," Sergey Ryabko said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that he was "deeply concerned that Israel's military operation against Iran has caused an unexpected escalation of tensions in the Middle East."

On the sixth night of attacks, the Israeli Army bombed a site where uranium centrifuges are produced and also claimed to have targeted a missile factory, in addition to destroying five attack helicopters.

On the other hand, Iran's military forces have suffered heavy blows, although they have not been completely destroyed. An Israeli drone was shot down on Wednesday, despite allegations that Israel controls the airspace over western Iran and Tehran. Overnight, Iran launched about 15 missiles at Israel.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had confirmed that Israeli attacks hit two centrifuge production plants in Iran, one in the capital and another on its outskirts.

In Iran, at least 224 people have been reported killed in Israeli attacks, mostly civilians, although these figures have not been updated for several days. Despite the figures provided by the authorities, a human rights organization in Iran has reported that at least 585 people have been killed, while more than 1,300 have been injured.

So far, Iranian attacks on Israel have killed at least 24 people, all civilians. Israel's air defense systems have destroyed or shot down most of the 400 missiles launched by Tehran, while only 10 percent of these missiles have managed to hit targets inside the country. 

Israel could become more vulnerable if the war drags on for a longer period of time as supplies of its most effective air defense missiles are running low, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a US official.

Although the US has supported Israel's defense with ground-based Thaad systems, F-16 interceptors, and naval-launched missiles, it does not have unlimited supplies of these defense systems.

Iran is believed to still have a significant portion of the approximately 2,000 missiles it had in its arsenal at the start of the war. Israeli strikes have focused on the missile launch systems needed to launch them.