WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump Wednesday said that Iran is seeking negotiations while describing the country as “totally defenseless” amid ongoing military exchanges. Talking to reporters at the White House lawn, Trump said Iran is in “a lot of trouble” and that “they want to negotiate,” though he lamented that Tehran “should have negotiated” earlier, international media outlets reported.
The president said that he was uncertain about whether the US would strike Iran but emphasized the shifting dynamics in the region. “You don’t know that I’m going to even do it. You don’t know. I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.” He continued: “I can tell you this, that Iran’s got a lot of trouble and they want to negotiate. And I said, why didn’t you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction.” He said the Iranians have reached out about negotiation and he told them it was “very late”. “I don’t know — there’s a big difference between now and a week ago,” Trump said.
The US has been providing defensive support to Israel since the back-and-forth missile attacks began last week. But Trump again used the word “we” to describe military action in Iran. “Nothing’s finished until it’s finished. You know, war is very complex. A lot of bad things can happen. A lot of turns are made. So I don’t know. I wouldn’t say that we won anything yet. I would say that we sure as hell made a lot of progress,” he said.
The president suggested there could be an end to a conflict soon, saying at one point he did not “know how much longer it’s going to go on.” He added, “The next week is going to be very big. Maybe less. Unconditional surrender, that means I’ve had it.” Asked for his response to Khamenei rejecting his demand to surrender, Trump said: “I say, good luck. They don’t have air defence — none. They’re totally defenceless.”
When questioned about his message to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu amid spiraling regional tensions, Trump told CNN: “I said: Keep going. I speak to him every day. He’s a good man, doing a lot.” Asked whether he had given Netanyahu any indication that he may aid the country beyond what he has done already, Trump said he had not. The US president dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to mediate between Israel and Iran, urging Moscow to first resolve its ongoing war in Ukraine before intervening in other global conflicts. The US military is “prepared to execute” any decision President Donald Trump might make on matters of war and peace, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said, even as he declined to confirm preparations of strike options on Iran. A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations.
Meanwhile, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi told CNN that if the US decides to join Israel in attacking Iran, Tehran would have “no choice” but to retaliate. In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, he said “That is clear and simple. Because we are acting in self-defence.” Ravanchi also said that his country’s leadership now doubts “the sincerity of the Americans” given the timing of Israel’s first attack. “Two days before the next round started, the aggression took place. So this is a betrayal of diplomacy. This is the betrayal of our trust to Americans,” he said, referring to nuclear deal talks that were underway with the US. “We should be the ones who should criticise the way that we were treated by the Americans, not vice versa.”
According to the deputy foreign minister, Tehran has not reached out to the US or Israel to try to resume nuclear talks since hostilities erupted. “We are defending ourselves. Although we have always promoted diplomacy… we cannot negotiate under the threats. We cannot negotiate while our people are under bombardment every day. So we are not begging for anything, we are just defending ourselves.” He also argued that the attack had rallied Iranians around their government. “Now there is a very strong cohesion within the Iranian society to resist aggression, to resist foreign interference in our domestic affairs,” Ravanchi said. Meanwhile, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Donald Trump’s demand for unconditional surrender. Khamenei, 86, rebuked Trump in a recorded speech played on television, his first appearance since Friday. The Americans “should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage,” he said. “Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian nation and its history will never speak to this nation in threatening language because the Iranian nation will not surrender.”
Meanwhile, the UN nuclear watchdog said Israeli strikes on Wednesday destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran’s nuclear programme near Tehran, while Iran said it fired hypersonic missiles as the arch foes traded fire for a sixth day.
The Israeli military said it had launched a new wave of attacks targeting missile systems and storage sites in western Iran. In retaliation, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had launched hypersonic Fattah-1 missiles at Tel Aviv. The Fattah hypersonic missiles “have successfully penetrated the Israeli regime’s defences,” state TV reported.
No missile struck Tel Aviv overnight, despite Iran’s claims that its attacks were “repeatedly shaking the shelters”, though AFP photos showed Israel’s air defence systems activated to intercept missiles over the commercial hub.
Iran also sent a “swarm of drones” towards Israel, while the Israeli military said it had intercepted a total of 10 drones. It said one of its own drones had been shot down over Iran. Israel’s attacks have hit nuclear and military facilities around Iran, as well as residential areas. Since Friday, at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded, according to Netanyahu’s office. Iran’s ISNA and Tasnim news agencies reported that five suspected agents of Mossad intelligence agency had been detained, on charges of tarnishing the country’s image online.
With air raid sirens regularly blaring in Tel Aviv, some people relocated to an underground parking lot below a shopping mall. Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency said Iran’s defence system is “currently intercepting hostile targets” over Tehran. Minutes later, Iran issued an evacuation warning written in Hebrew to residents of the Israeli coastal city of Haifa.
Meanwhile, according to Netblocks, a non-governmental organisation that monitors internet governance, Iran is experiencing an almost complete internet blackout on Wednesday evening local time.In another development, the USS Ford Carrier Strike Group will likely move into the eastern Mediterranean Sea, near Israel, putting a third aircraft carrier in close proximity to the conflict, a US official and two other people familiar with the matter said. At the same time, another aircraft carrier is en route to the Middle East, where it will either join or replace the USS Carl Vinson, CNN has reported.
