According to informed sources, US President Donald Trump held a meeting with his national security team for over an hour in Washington on Tuesday to discuss the escalating conflict in the Middle East, which has sparked speculation that the US is about to join Israel in attacking Iran.
According to a White House official, Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the meeting, while the outside world was speculating on how the US president would act.
After the investigation was completed, White House officials refused to comment or issue a statement.
It is believed that American weapons are crucial for more thoroughly destroying the nuclear program of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and are more important than anything Israel could achieve on its own. However, despite being Israel’s closest defense partner and weapons supplier, Trump has so far refused the calls of some political allies and refused to participate in the strikes against Iran and its nuclear program.
Before convening his advisers to the Situation Room, Trump issued a statement demanding Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and warning of possible attacks on Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump wrote on social media: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is easy to hit, but he is safe there – we won’t take him out (kill him!), at least not yet.”
Both Israel and Iran have indicated that they plan to escalate the conflict. These two sworn enemies have been exchanging missile strikes for five consecutive days.
Trump posted on social media earlier Tuesday that “We now have total control of the skies over Iran,” and praised US military equipment for helping Israel gain air superiority.
Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Tuesday that Trump “has made it clear to the American people and the world that the policy of the United States is that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons, and part of that is not allowing Iran to enrich uranium,” adding that “the president has many different ways and options to achieve this policy goal.”
U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday as Trump played down the possibility of talks with Iran, raising widespread concerns that the conflict could spread to other oil-producing countries in the region. Oil prices climbed to a near five-month high.
The US State Department announced Tuesday evening that the US embassy in Jerusalem and the consulates in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv will be closed for the next three days.
Before Trump withdrew from the G7 summit, Iran was subjected to intense bombing for 24 hours. Iran launched ballistic missiles and Israel attacked targets across the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the capital Tehran. The US Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group set sail for the Middle East ahead of schedule. This is the first large-scale deployment of US military assets to the region since Friday.
The UN nuclear watchdog said in an article on website X that new satellite images show that Israel’s attack has damaged the underground uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, Iran’s main nuclear fuel production site. The statement said that the International Atomic Energy Agency has not found any damage to Iran’s other underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordow.