Trump Ready to Take Action, Israel Continues to Strike!
President Donald Trump met with his national security team in Washington for more than an hour on Tuesday to discuss the escalating Middle East conflict, according to people familiar with the matter, fueling fresh speculation that the U.S. will join an Israeli strike on Iran.
Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the meeting, according to a White House official, as speculation swirled about how the U.S. president would proceed.
White House officials declined to comment or issue a statement after the meeting ended.
American weapons are seen as essential to achieving a more complete destruction of the Islamic Republic’s atomic program than Israel could do on its own. But despite being Israel’s closest defense partner and arms supplier, Trump has so far resisted calls from some political allies to join in an attack on Iran and its nuclear program.
Before gathering his advisers in the Situation Room, Trump tweeted a demand that Iran “SURRENDER UNCONDITIONALLY” and warned of a possible attack on the country’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding. He is an easy target, but safe there - We will not be taking him out (killing him!), at least not at this time," Trump wrote on social media.
Both Israel and Iran have indicated they plan to escalate the conflict, which has seen the two arch-foes exchange missiles for five days.
The Israel Defense Forces said it had identified missiles launched from Iran toward Israel and instructed people to take shelter. Explosions were heard in Tel Aviv, according to Reuters. Separately, the New York Times reported that Iran was preparing missiles for a possible retaliatory strike on U.S. military interests in the Middle East, if Trump goes ahead with his offensive campaign.
At the same time, Israel has also sought to increase pressure on Iran, indicating it will intensify its campaign of airstrikes targeting the country's nuclear facilities as well as military leaders and infrastructure. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military would strike "very important targets in Tehran" and added that residents should evacuate. Earlier in the day, an IDF spokesman said that while it was too early to judge the success of the current campaign in Iran, the attacks on the country's nuclear facilities were "getting deeper" every day.
Source: Bloomberg
