President Donald Trump is considering whether to launch a military strike against Iran as he demands the country's leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, "surrender" in Tehran's conflict with Israel, current and former administration officials told NBC News on Tuesday.
A strike by the United States is one option among a range that Trump is weighing after meeting with his top national security advisors in the Situation Room on Tuesday afternoon, the officials told NBC.
The meeting came hours after Trump warned Khamenei that the U.S. knows "exactly" where he is "hiding."
"Our patience is wearing thin," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now," Trump wrote shortly after declaring "total control" over Iran's airspace.
"But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers," he wrote.
Trump in a subsequent post made clear what he does want from Iran: "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!"
TEL-CFC_lad on June 17th, 2025 at 17:17 UTC »
It's a good thing Trump put "kill" in brackets after saying "we will take him out".
I'd have had no idea what that could mean. I thought Trump was going to take him for an ice cream and a walk around a lake!
Arrttemisia on June 17th, 2025 at 16:45 UTC »
This in itself isn't surprising. What is alarming though is there are credible reports a LOT of American military vessels and planes are being surged to the Middle East. Israel has virtual uncontested air superiority over Iran right now. Trump has given a timeline of big things happening in 48hrs, left a major geopolitical meeting early, and warned people to leave Tehran. All signs are pointing to the entry of at the least a major American bombing campaign on the verge of starting.
cynikalkat on June 17th, 2025 at 16:42 UTC »
He posted this on Truth Social “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured ‘stuff.’ Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA.”