Trump will not say whether he will move forward with US strikes on Iran

President Donald Trump would not say whether he has decided to order a US strike on Iran, a move that Tehran warned anew would be greeted with stiff retaliation if it happens.

“I may do it, I may not do it,” Mr Trump said in an exchange with reporters at the White House.

“I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”

Mr Trump added that it is not “too late” for Iran to give up its nuclear programme as he continues to weigh direct US involvement in Israel’s military operations aimed at crushing Tehran’s options.

“Nothing’s too late,” Mr Trump said. “I can tell you this. Iran’s got a lot of trouble.”

“Nothing is finished until it is finished,” Mr Trump added. But “the next week is going to be very big — maybe less than a week”.

Mr Trump also offered a terse response to Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s refusal to heed to his call for Iran to submit to an unconditional surrender.

“I say good luck,” Mr Trump said.

Mr Khamenei earlier warned that any United States strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will “result in irreparable damage for them” and that his country would not bow to Mr Trump’s call for surrender.

Mr Trump said on Tuesday the US knows where Iran’s Mr Khamenei is hiding as the the Israel-Iran conflict escalates but does not want him killed — “for now”.

“He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Mr Trump said.

In a video address to Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed appreciation for Mr Trump’s support, calling him “a great friend of Israel” and praising US help defending Israel’s skies.

“We speak constantly, including last night,” Mr Netanyahu said on Wednesday. “We had a very warm conversation.”

Mr Trump’s increasingly muscular comments toward the Iranian government come after he urged Tehran’s 9.5 million residents to flee for their lives as he cut short his participation in an international summit earlier this week to return to Washington for urgent talks with his national security team.

Mr Trump said that the Iranian officials continue to reach out to the White House as they are “getting the hell beaten out of them” by Israel.

But he added there is a “big difference between now and a week ago” in Tehran’s negotiating position.

“They’ve suggested that they come to the White House — that’s, you know, courageous,” Mr Trump said.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations refuted Mr Trump’s claim in a statement on social media.

“No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House. The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to ‘take out’ Iran’s Supreme Leader.”

Vladimir Putin offered on Wednesday to help mediate an end to the conflict, suggesting Moscow could help negotiate a settlement that could allow Tehran to pursue a peaceful atomic programme while assuaging Israeli security concerns.

The Russian president noted that “it’s a delicate issue” but added that “in my view, a solution could be found”.

He said he had shared Moscow’s proposals with Iran, Israel and the US. His comments follow a mediation offer he made in a call with Mr Trump last weekend.

Mr Trump said he told Mr Putin to keep focused on finding a solution to his own conflict with Ukraine.

“I said, ‘Do me a favour, mediate your own’,” Mr Trump said he told Mr Putin.

“I said, ‘Vladimir, let’s mediate Russia first. You can worry about this later’.”

The Russia-Iran relationship has deepened since Mr Putin launched a war on Ukraine in February 2022, with Tehran providing Moscow with drones, ballistic missiles, and other support, according to US intelligence findings.