President Trump refused to say explicitly on Wednesday whether he would order U.S. forces to attack Iran’s nuclear sites, suggesting the possibility that he had not yet decided whether to join in the war between Iran and Israel.
“I may do it,” he told reporters on the White House lawn. “I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”
Mr. Trump’s cryptic remarks were being watched closely for clues about his intentions. The prospect of direct American involvement in the war has added to fears of a wider conflagration in the Middle East, and led to rifts among the president’s Republican allies and supporters.
Hours earlier, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had dismissed threats Mr. Trump had made a day earlier and rejected his call for an “unconditional surrender.”
“Intelligent people who know Iran, the nation and the history of Iran will never speak to this nation in the language of threats, because the Iranian nation cannot be surrendered,” Mr. Khamenei said in a televised statement, according to Iranian state media. “The Americans should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage.”
As Israel’s strikes on Iran continued for a sixth straight day, and Iran fired missiles in response, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, issued an “urgent notice” to American citizens wanting to leave Israel. He said the embassy in Jerusalem was working on “evacuation flights & cruise ship departures” for those interested; Israel, meanwhile, was doing the same to bring home citizens who had been caught abroad when the fighting began.
Mr. Trump told reporters in Washington that Iran wanted to negotiate and that it was not too late for talks, but criticized the leadership in Tehran for not acting sooner. “Why didn’t you negotiate with me two weeks ago? You could have done fine,” he said, ominously concluding, “You would have had a country.”
In fact, Iran had entered into negotiations with the United States about the future of its nuclear program, but it put those talks on hold after Israel began its bombing campaign. Iran’s mission to the United Nations on Wednesday rejected Mr. Trump’s claim that Iran was now seeking to resume talks, saying “no Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House.”
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/18/world/israel-iran-trump
My bet is on TACO, but it’s still entirely possible that Trump fears being outed as a kiddie diddler with the Epstein tapes and will be forced to comply with his masters.
Israel has now banned its own citizens from leaving the country. Some reports say that Ben Gurion Airport will only have two daylight flights per day, other reports say it is closed indefinitely.
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-06-16/ty-article/.premium/israel-prohibits-airlines-from-letting-israeli-citizens-leave-the-country/00000197-7854-d3ff-a7bf-7cd4b67d0000
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250617-israel-has-barred-its-citizens-from-leaving-the-country/
Because of the airport closure, Poland, Czech Republic, and Lithuania are evacuating their citizens to Jordan (some reports say Egypt) and then flying them to Warsaw:
https://www.politico.eu/article/poland-evacuate-nationals-from-israel-amid-continued-israel-iran-strikes/
More reports suggest that all Israeli air bases have been bombed out of action, and that they must now rely on the UK’s bases in Cyprus as well as various US bases in the region. Iran therefore has legal justification to bomb those bases.
Iran has figured out how to get the Iron Dome to attack itself. Israeli air defense is now practically non-existent, and they are at the mercy of Khameni and Trump. (trying…not…to…laugh)
Ah, yes – the Trump tease. He loves that attention. Lots of noise that should be ignored. Actual information from him – never mind action that involves risk – is a rarity.