Trump on Iran strikes: 'I may do it, I may not do it'
President Donald Trump left the question of whether the United States will join Israeli strikes on Iran up in the air Wednesday, as he said that Tehran had reached out to seek negotiations.
"I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," Trump told reporters as he supervised the installation of a new flagpole on the White House South Lawn.
Trump said his patience has "run out" with Iran but added that it was not too late for negotiations.
Asked when his patience would run out, Trump told reporters: "It's already run out. That's why we're doing what we're doing." However, when asked if it was too late for negotiations, he said: "Nothing is too late."
Trump met his National Security Council on Tuesday to discuss the Iran-Israel war as he considered whether to join Israel's air campaign against Tehran.
The meeting comes after Trump said the United States would not kill Iran's supreme leader "for now" and demanded Tehran's "unconditional" surrender.
U.S. officials said Trump was keeping all all options on the table, while insisting that Washington had no hand in the campaign so far.
The most likely option under consideration by Trump would be the use of giant U.S. "bunker-buster" bombs against Iran's deeply buried Fordow nuclear facility that Israel's bombs cannot reach.
The New York Times said Trump was also considering allowing U.S. tanker aircraft to refuel Israeli combat jets so they could carry out long range missions.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://prod.naharnet.com/stories/en/313637 |