President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the US knew exactly where Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was hiding, calling him an easy target, but added he would not be killed, at least for now.
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” said Trump.
Minutes later, the US president followed up with another message simply saying: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
Trump flew back early from the G7 summit in Canada late Monday as the conflict between Iran and key US ally Israel escalated, and was set to meet top officials in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday.
The US president has so far stressed that his country is not getting involved in the conflict, and has said that Iran could still take a deal to end its nuclear program that he had proposed before Israel’s attacks.
But Trump has given mounting signals that Washington’s intervention in some form may now be imminent.
“We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, hailing the use of US-made weaponry, although without explicitly mentioning Israel. “Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA.”
Israel, the closest US ally in the Middle East, had recently made a similar claim.
Earlier, Trump told reporters on Air Force One while returning from Canada that he wanted “a real end, not a ceasefire” to the Iran-Israel conflict, and warned that “I’m not in too much of a mood to negotiate.”
US moving fighter jets to Middle East
The US military is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, bolstering US military forces in the region as the war between Israel and Iran rages, three US officials said.
One of the officials said the deployments include F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter aircraft.
Two of the officials stressed the defensive nature of the deployment of fighter aircraft, which have been used to shoot down drones and projectiles.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters was first to report on Monday the movement of a large number of tanker aircraft to Europe as well as the deployment of an aircraft carrier to the Middle East, providing options to President Donald Trump as Middle East tensions soar.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described the deployments as defensive, as Washington looks to safeguard forces in the Middle East from potential blowback from Iran and Iran-aligned forces in the region.
A fourth US defence official on Tuesday raised the possibility of the deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean of additional US Navy warships capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.
The United States already has a sizeable force in the Middle East, with nearly 40,000 troops in the region, including air defence systems, fighter aircraft and warships that can detect and shoot down enemy missiles.
Israel launched its air war, its largest ever, on Iran on Friday after saying it concluded Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
— With additional input from Reuters
