On Wednesday night, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for the first time publicly responded to the escalation of the conflict with Israel, which erupted after Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and military facilities. On his page on the social network X, Khamenei wrote: “In the name of the noble Haydar, the battle begins,” referring to the Shiite saint Ali. In another post in English, he called for “a strong blow to the Zionist terrorist regime” and added: “We will show no mercy to the Zionists,” CNN reported.
In response to these statements, US President Donald Trump published a series of harsh messages on his own social media platform, Truth Social. He warned that the US knows Khamenei’s whereabouts and called him an “easy target”, although he added that Washington “has no plans to eliminate him yet”. At the same time, he stressed that things have changed and that America’s patience is “at an end.” In another post, Trump wrote only two words in capital letters: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER”.
CNN sources say that Trump has personally blocked Israel’s plan to eliminate Khamenei, but is also seriously considering a US strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, including the underground uranium enrichment centre in Fordow. Axios adds that Trump interrupted his participation in the G7 summit in Canada to return to Washington and focus on the situation around Iran.
According to Israeli sources, Israel expects the US to join the war in the coming days. So far, US troops have been helping Israel defend itself, but have not been involved in offensive operations.
According to Axios, the White House even discussed the possibility of a direct meeting with Iranian representatives this week. Trump told reporters that the talks would depend on the situation upon his return to the capital.
Against this backdrop, US Vice President J.D. Vance defends the administration’s position, saying that Trump has shown “restraint” in trying to avoid a direct war, but also has the right to take decisive action to stop Iran’s nuclear programme.
