Donald Trump says US ‘may or may not’ join Israel-Iran war

The US could be headed into another Middle East war as Iran threatens ‘irreparable damage’ and Donald Trump says it is too late for negotiations. Follow updates.

The US could be on the brink of joining the Iran-Israel conflict after Donald Trump refused to rule out ordering US air strikes, saying he “may or may not do it”.

Mr Trump told senior aides that he approved of attack plans for Iran, but was holding off to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear program, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The US President Thursday morning (AEDT) said his patience “had already run out” with Iran and repeated his call for the Islamic republic’s “unconditional surrender.”

“I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” Mr Trump responded when asked if he would launch US air strikes.

Mr Trump said Iran had even suggested sending officials to the White House for talks on Tehran’s nuclear program in a bid to end Israel’s air assault, but added that it was “very late”.

“I said it’s very late to be talking. We may meet. There’s a big difference between now and a week ago, right? Big difference,” he said.

It comes after Iran had earlier issued a chilling threat in reaction to President Trump’s demand to surrender its war with Israel, warning of a “major surprise tonight”, one it claimed the world will “remember for centuries”.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had pushed back against growing pressure from the US, declaring that the Iranian people “are not one to surrender”.

“Let the Americans know that the Iranian nation is not one to surrender, and any military intervention on their part will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage,” Khamenei said in a national address on Wednesday.

The current conflict has lasted six days, with global leaders now urging for peace before it spirals further.

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Originally published as Donald Trump says US ‘may or may not’ join Israel-Iran war