Iran’s Leader Shows Defiance With US Weighing War Intervention
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he won’t yield to Israel, defying US President Donald Trump’s calls for an “unconditional surrender” and raising speculation Washington may join the Israeli attacks.
“The Americans should know that any military incursion by the United States will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage,” Khamenei said in a statement published by the semi-official Fars news agency on Wednesday.
Diplomatic maneuvering from the White House and a series of Trump social media posts appeared to indicate the US leader is considering joining the war — a momentous decision that could come to define his presidency. Direct US military action alongside Israel would greatly improve the chances of permanently ending Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon —- but would risk throwing the oil-rich region into widespread conflict.
Before a meeting with his national security team to discuss the escalating conflict on Tuesday, Trump posted a demand for Iran’s capitulation and threatened a possible strike against Khamenei.
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” Trump said on social media. “He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.”
The meeting in the US capital on Tuesday lasted more than an hour, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu afterward, a White House official said. No further official comments were made.
Hours after the Situation Room conference, the White House announced Trump would meet Pakistan’s army chief on Wednesday. The South Asian country — a key ally of Iran — has expressed a willingness to play a role as a mediator between the US and Iran.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Monday Iran is open to resuming talks about its atomic activities if Israel refrains from further strikes, citing direct communication with his counterpart in Tehran.
“Our intention was always to see successful negotiations between the United States and Iran,” Dar said in parliament.
US weapons are seen as crucial to achieving a more complete destruction of the Islamic Republic’s atomic program — the stated objective of Israel’s assault that began late last week. Yet while the US is Israel’s closest defense partner and arms supplier, Trump has so far resisted calls from some political allies to join in strikes against Iran.
Israel wants US participation, both for its military prowess — bunker busting bombs and B-2 aircraft — and for the advantage of having the world’s most powerful state by its side. But officials have been wary of directly asking for Washington’s help, seeking to avoid push-back from within the Republican Party.
Asked on Channel 12 Tuesday evening about the US joining the operation, Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said Israel has been conferring with the US but hasn’t urged its involvement.
Israel planned the operation without US assistance and could do it alone, if necessary, said two senior Israeli officials who asked not to be identified when discussing sensitive matters. One of the officials added Israel has already done most of the hard work by eliminating the bulk of Iran’s missile-defense systems and damaging the Natanz nuclear facility, allowing the US to gain a major security advantage without putting boots on ground
Strikes between Israel and Iran continued into a sixth day. The Israel Defense Forces said it had identified missiles launched from Iran toward Israel overnight and intercepted most of them. Early on Wednesday, the IDF said it hit a facility that made centrifuges for uranium enrichment.
The International Atomic Energy Agency continues to see no indication of significant damage to Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
More than 200 people have been killed in Iran by the Israeli strikes, according to the last official tally from the Iranian government. In Israel, the government has said 24 people have been killed — unchanged for the second day — and more than 800 injured.
Source : Bloomberg
