Trump keeps world guessing on Iran strikes: ‘I may do it, I may not do it’
Trump held his second Situation Room meeting in two days with his national security team as he left the world guessing about his potential order of military action. — AFP pic
Thursday, 19 Jun 2025 8:32 AM MYT
WASHINGTON, June 19 — US President Donald Trump said yesterday he was still deciding whether to join Israel’s strikes on Iran, claiming Tehran now wants talks at the White House but may have waited too long.
Trump held his second Situation Room meeting in two days with his national security team as he left the world guessing about his potential order of military action.
“I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” Trump told reporters at the unveiling of one of two giant new flagpoles at the White House.
“I can tell you this, that Iran’s got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate.”
He added that “the next week is going to be very big” when it comes to determining Iran’s fate.
Trump’s comments came after the Islamic republic’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected his demands for an unconditional surrender and warned the United States of “irreparable damage” if it intervenes.
A day after saying Khamenei was an “easy target”, Trump told AFP in the Oval Office that a change of leadership in Tehran “could happen.”
But Republican Trump, who faces opposition from the isolationist wing of his support base to joining any more foreign wars, insisted that he had not yet made up his mind on whether to take US action.
“I have ideas as to what to do, but I haven’t made a final (decision),” Trump said. “I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due, because things change. Especially with war.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had told aides on Tuesday he had approved attack plans for Iran but was holding off to see if Iran would give up its nuclear programme.
“All options are on the table,” a White House official told AFP when asked about the report.
‘Very late’
Trump appeared to be in no hurry to reach what would be one of the most consequential decisions of his presidency — spending more than an hour dealing with the installation of his new flagpoles.
He said Iran was reaching out to try to strike a deal on its nuclear programme to end the conflict with US ally Israel.
“They want to come to the White House, I may do that,” Trump said. He added however that it was “very late to be talking... There’s a big difference between now and a week ago.”
Iran denied it had offered to send officials to Washington.
“No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations posted on X.
Trump had favored a diplomatic route to end Iran’s nuclear programme, seeking a deal to replace the agreement he tore up in his first term in 2018.
But since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched strikes on Iran six days ago Trump has moved in behind the key US ally and is now weighing whether to use American military power against Tehran too.
Trump said yesterday that Iran was “weeks” away from being able to make a nuclear bomb.
He noted that the United States is the only country with “bunker buster” bombs capable of taking out Iran’s Fordow nuclear plant “but that doesn’t mean I’m going to do it.”
The US president said he had told Netanyahu to “keep going” with Israel’s offensive against Iran, adding that they were speaking every day.
Trump however rebuffed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to mediate in the Israel-Iran conflict, saying Russia should end its own war in Ukraine first.
“He actually offered to help mediate, I said ‘do me a favour, mediate your own. Let’s mediate Russia first, okay? You can worry about this later,’” Trump said. — AFP
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kt comments:
Such a blatant liar when Ayatollah said FO to any more talks.
Israel has established air superiority over Iran's skies within 4 days..
ReplyDeleteTehran is basically open kimono to Zion's Air Force.
Iranians have shared videos of non-Stealth Israeli warplanes operating over Tehran in broad daylight.
The Mullah's have now ordered Iranians to uninstall all Western social media apps wakakaka..
Iran will come to the table..it may take a few days to face up to the reality..even if they say FO up front.
Similarly Iran has claimed upperhand over the zionist state sky with hypersonic missiles.
DeleteIsraeli have shared videos of missiles hitting targets over Haifa/TelAviv/Jerusalem in broad nightsky.
The mfering zionists have now imposed strict media sanction to anyone.
wakakaka.. videos of non-Stealth Israeli warplanes operating over Tehran!!!
Mfer, shows evidences lah. Any F15/16 flying over 1500km to Tehren r sitting duck! But do u know?
'ordered Iranians to uninstall all Western social media apps'
Bcoz those bastard zionists would use the same tactic deployed in killing the Hamas fighters via pagers. This is a preemptive precaution to safeguard innocent lives.
But AGAIN, do u have a dot of sense to know?
ReplyDeleteMaybe he'll do Myammar, what ASEAN has been sleeping on all this while and set a new standard for conflict resolution.
https://t.me/bioclandestine/5180
Trump announces he and Rubio helped broker a peace deal between Congo and Rwanda, and that representatives will be coming to Washington to sign documents.
Trump then reiterates he is the peace President, and that diplomacy is his objective for all conflicts worldwide.
It’s beginning to look like the panicans jumped the gun, AGAIN. Like clockwork.
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/114717932061341718
I am very happy to report that I have arranged, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a wonderful Treaty between the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of Rwanda, in their War, which was known for violent bloodshed and death, more so even than most other Wars, and has gone on for decades. Representatives from Rwanda and the Congo will be in Washington on Monday to sign Documents. This is a Great Day for Africa and, quite frankly, a Great Day for the World! I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for this, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the War between India and Pakistan, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the War between Serbia and Kosovo, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for keeping Peace between Egypt and Ethiopia (A massive Ethiopian built dam, stupidly financed by the United States of America, substantially reduces the water flowing into The Nile River), and I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for doing the Abraham Accords in the Middle East which, if all goes well, will be loaded to the brim with additional Countries signing on, and will unify the Middle East for the first time in “The Ages!” No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that’s all that matters to me!
https://t.me/WeTheMedia/125254
ReplyDeleteAmid the pitched political battles that have engulfed Washington over Ukraine, there is one rare point of bipartisan consensus: Everyone has had it with Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The second most powerful man in Ukraine, Yermak has been a particularly frustrating interlocutor for the Trump administration, according to 10 people familiar with his interactions.
Yermak has made regular trips to Washington since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has acted as an intermediary to Ukraine’s president. But many in Washington have found Yermak to be uninformed about U.S. politics, abrasive and overly demanding with U.S. officials — and generally unable to navigate the inner workings of the Washington establishment on Capitol Hill. Some also worry he has not accurately conveyed U.S. positions to the leadership back in Ukraine.
POLITICO spoke to 14 people for this story, including congressional aides, former U.S. and Ukrainian officials and others informed of Yermak’s interactions in Washington. Most of those interviewed were granted anonymity to speak candidly about sensitive diplomatic matters.
One of the people familiar with Yermak’s interactions with the Trump administration described him as a “bipartisan irritator.”
XPOST | WTM LINKS
https://x.com/dotconnectinga/status/1936067892967071927?s=19
Giving out "Boleh lah sau-tong already..." vibe...
ReplyDeletehttps://t.me/WeTheMedia/125255
🥴Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine will need at least $40 billion per year from Western allies to ensure that it can keep up the fight against Russia and has called for additional pressure from the Trump administration on Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky missed out on a personal meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump this week as the American leader cut his trip to the Group of Seven nations summit in Canada short to return to Washington.
Zelensky had been seeking to secure fresh commitments from the United States to supply more weapons, as Kyiv attempts to strengthen its position in the largely stalled negotiations with Moscow and an increasingly grim situation along the frontlines against the Russian army.
After being sidelined in favour of the Middle East war, Zelensky took to social media on Tuesday to lay out his demands for his Western allies.
XPOST | WTM LINKS
https://x.com/dotconnectinga/status/1936070449311416381?s=19