Trump says the US knows where Iran’s Khamenei is hiding and urges Iran’s unconditional surrender
WASHINGTON AP President Donald Trump revealed Tuesday the U S knows where Iran s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding during the Israel-Iran conflict but doesn t want him killed for now Trump urged in a social media posting Iran s UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER as the five-day conflict continues to escalate We know exactly where the so-called Supreme Leader is hiding Trump added He is an easy target but is safe there We are not going to take him out kill at least not for now But we don t want missiles shot at civilians or American soldiers Our patience is wearing thin Trump s increasingly muscular comments toward the Iranian administration come after he urged Tehran s million residents to flee for their lives as he cut short his visit to an international summit to return to Washington for urgent talks with his national guard gang The comments about Khamenei and calls for surrender came shortly after Trump in a separate posting touted complete control of the skies over Tehran Trump returned the White House from his abbreviated visit to the Group of Seven summit in the Canadian Rockies early Tuesday at a moment of choosing in his presidency Israel with five days of missile strikes has done considerable damage to Iran and believes it can now deal a permanent blow to Tehran s nuclear plan particularly if it gets a little more help from the Republican president But deepening American involvement perhaps by providing the Israelis with bunker-busting bombs to penetrate Iranian nuclear sites built deep underground or offering other direct U S military encouragement comes with enormous political threat for Trump Trump as he made his way back to Washington expressed frustration with Iranian leaders for failing to reach an agreement He disclosed he was now looking for a real end to the conflict and a complete give-up of Tehran s nuclear undertaking They should have done the deal I narrated them Do the deal Trump reported reporters on Air Force One So I don t know I m not too much in the mood to negotiate Iran has insisted that its nuclear undertaking is for peaceful purposes only and U S intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran is not actively pursuing a bomb Trump who planned to meet with advisers in the Situation Room appears to be gradually building the community circumstance for a more direct American role in the conflict His shift in tone comes as the U S has repositioned warships and military aircraft in the region to respond if the conflict between Israel and Iran further escalates Trump made an early departure from G The White House released Monday while Trump was at the Group of Seven summit in the Canadian Rockies that he would cut his trip short Only stated IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON he wrote on social media I reported it over and over again Everyone should directly evacuate Tehran Questioned about his evacuation comment aboard Air Force One Trump narrated reporters I just want people to be safe We re looking at better than a ceasefire We re not looking for a ceasefire Trump reported Trump reported he wasn t ruling out a diplomatic option and he could send Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with the Iranians He also dismissed congressional testimony from National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard who communicated lawmakers in March that U S spy agencies did not believe Iran was building a nuclear weapon I don t care what she mentioned Trump noted I think they were very close to having it Speculation grows that Trump may be tilting toward more direct involvement The Israelis say their offensive has eviscerated Iran s air defenses and they can now strike targets across the country at will Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Israeli bombardment will continue until Iran s nuclear scheme and ballistic missiles are destroyed So far Israel has targeted multiple Iranian nuclear effort sites but has not been able to destroy Iran s Fordo uranium enrichment facility The site is buried deep underground and to eliminate it Israel may need the -pound GBU- Massive Ordnance Penetrator which uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets and then explode But Israel does not have the munition or the bomber needed to deliver it the penetrator is at this moment delivered by the B- stealth bomber Israel s own defenses remain largely intact in the face of Iran s retaliatory strikes but particular of Tehran s missiles are getting through and having deadly impact The White House dispatched Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for a prime-time TV appearance as speculation grows about whether Trump could be tilting toward more direct U S involvement Hegseth described Fox News Channel that of unit Trump longed to see a deal made to curb Iran s nuclear project His position has not changed Hegseth stated What you re watching in real time is peace through strength and America first Our job is to be strong 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 Trump continues to push Iran to negotiate on its nuclear effort Trump meanwhile during an exchange with reporters on the sidelines of the G declined to say what it would take for the U S to get more directly involved Instead he continued to press Iran on negotiations over its nuclear plan They should talk and they should talk forthwith Trump revealed during a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney He added I d say Iran is not winning this war To be certain Trump in the days-old conflict has sought to restrain Netanyahu He rejected a plan presented by Israel to the U S to kill Khamenei according to a U S official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity The Israelis had informed the Trump administration in fresh days that they had developed a credible plan to kill Khamenei A widening schism over Iran among Trump s MAGA supporters Trump bristled when demanded about various of his MAGA faithful including conservative pundit Tucker Carlson who have suggested that further U S involvement would be a betrayal to supporters who were drawn to his promise to end U S involvement in expensive and endless wars Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON the president wrote on social media Other prominent Trump supporters have also raised concerns about how far the president should go in backing Israel Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk are among prominent Trump World allies who have noted that voters backed Trump because he promised not to entangle the nation in foreign clashes and to be wary of expanding U S involvement in the Mideast conflict He ran on a promise to rapidly end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine but has struggled to find an endgame to either But there are also Trump backers including Sen Lindsey Graham R-S C who are making the event that this is Trump s moment to deliver a decisive blow to Iran Graham is calling for Trump to go all-in in backing Israel and destroying Iran s nuclear project
